Hoops come away content with draw

FRISCO, Texas -- Admittedly, FC Dallas wanted to take three points from San Jose on Thursday. But the Hoops will be happy with the single point they got after an 89th-minute penalty kick converted by Kenny Cooper answered a 58th-minute goal by San Jose's Ryan Johnson and left the teams with a 1-1 draw.

"Fast-paced game -- I think the game was too fast," said FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman said. "It was a beautiful night. The weather was great. Both games knew the importance of this game. A lot of counterattack balls on both sides and I thought, a lot of lost possession balls on both sides. It's what you would expect two teams trying to get into the playoffs would look like -- a very exciting game from the beginning to the end."

Hyndman made one alteration to his starting 11 from the team that beat D.C. United 3-0 on Sunday. Captain Duilio Davino returned at center back and played the full 90 for the first time since July 27 against Los Angeles.

Davino was at least partially to blame on the goal by Johnson when he didn't close down a long ball near midfield. The Mexican international also could have very easily been sent off in the 71st minute for an intentional handball that prevented a decent scoring chance by San Jose.

"I thought he did fine," Hyndman said. "The difference (with Davino as opposed to Aaron Pitchkolan) is there is a calmness with him back there. There's also a reading of the game, reading where the second pass is going. And when he's on the ball, he's very good with it, laying balls back to the 'keeper and getting himself out of pressure."

The Earthquakes goal came when Jason Hernandez knocked a long ball forward that bounced over Scott Sealy as the San Jose striker tried to flick it on. That left Davino stranded, and Johnson raced in behind to collect the ball and slot it past goalkeeper Dario Sala.

"We were holding a pretty high line at that point," said FCD right back Drew Moor. "I tried to run across the line and see if he was offside. I feel like at times, the ref is going to try and give an advantage to the attacking player. After that, I tried to get back in behind Dario but just wasn't quick enough to do it. It was a tough call."

But the Hoops pulled level in the dying minutes when a penalty kick was awarded by referee Abbey Okulaja. FCD rookie Eric Avila knocked in a cross that caromed off San Jose midfielder Francisco Lima's body and then his hand in the area.

"Dominic (Oduro) gave me the ball," Avila said. "I was going to hit it with my right foot across but he was kind of blocking it. So, I cut it back. As soon as I cut it, I saw an opening and I crossed it. As soon as I crossed it, he moved and it went off him. It hit his hand after it came off his body. As soon as I saw that, I raised my hand to make sure they saw it."

While Hyndman and his players were disappointed by not getting a full three points, they were all still looking at the bigger picture.

"Getting a point there at the end did some good things," Hyndman said. "It gave us a point and it stopped them from getting three. So, there was some great value there in that situation. So, I'm walking away with what a great ending. We still have games to play and we still control our own destiny."

Said Moor: "Yeah, at the end of the day, we pick up a point and at the end, we stopped them from getting three points. But it's not the result we wanted. We got to pick our heads up and head onto the final three games with Toronto next and see if we can go on the road and get some points there."

Another bright spot for FCD was the return of left-sided midfielder Victor Sikora for the final eight minutes. He had missed the last five games with a right knee injury.

"I didn't have many minutes but I felt good," Sikora said. "I'm close to being match-fit. All I can do is work hard and be ready when they call me. Tomorrow I will play with the reserves. I will try to get 90 minutes there and play well. Next week, I will be back in training and we'll see what the coach decides."

Despite getting just one point, Moor said he and his teammates are still positive. For the moment, the tie left FC Dallas tied with Colorado and Real Salt Lake for third place in the Western Conference with 34 points, though those other two teams still have games ahead on Saturday.

"Obviously, we're still on a good run, seven points in the last three games," he said. "We're still on a good run of form and I don't think there's a lot we need to change. We had a lot of good opportunities tonight and we need to continue to get those as the season goes on, limit goals and get opportunities in the back as well."

Avila concurred. "We wanted a winning result but I think the momentum that we have right now, we're going and aren't losing," he said. "We're fighting to the end, which I think the team is doing great at. We're just going to keep going. We've got another home game and that must be a win. I think we're in a good spot right now."