Morales makes most of MLS debut with Dallas

Javier Morales scored in his first MLS match of the season to help send FC Dallas to a 2-0 win over Minnesota United FC on Saturday at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Tx.

Morales, who previously saw action in CONCACAF Champions League play, tallied in the 43^rd minute on a ball set up by Walker Zimmerman and Michael Barrios. After the break, it was Barrios who took on the scorer’s role when he slotted through a Kellyn Acosta pass in the 49^thminute.

Saturday’s match featured two teams coming off starkly different results, to say the least, and the storylines made for an intriguing showdown in the Lone Star state.

Dallas entered the conference clash only four days removed from their gut-wrenching defeat to Liga MX side Pachuca in the Champions League semifinal. Minnesota, for their part, sported a newfound confidence following their first MLS win, which came at the hands of Real Salt Lake last Saturday.

While both teams certainly weren’t lacking in the motivation department, it didn’t take long to see which side wanted it more.

Dallas dominated the match early on, outshooting their adversaries 8-1 during the first frame. To their credit, Minnesota, with new additions Marc Burch and Sam Cronin in tow, nearly  found a way to survive the first half unscathed.

But any hopes of holding off the hosts before the halftime whistle died in the 43^rd minute. With space and time to plot his options, Barrios launched a beautiful ball from the left to the far stick, where Zimmerman quickly put it in front of Morales for the opener.

Dallas didn’t miss a beat coming out of halftime, either. In the 49^th minute, Acosta found Barrios straying wide into space, where the Dallas forward unleashed a powerful shot that eluded Shuttleworth.

Down, but far from out, Minnesota made a strong bid to pull one back when Cronin attempted a 35-yard missile that forced a fingertip save from Jesse Gonzalez in the 51^st minute. Gonzalez was tested again seven minutes later when Johan Venegas ran along the edge of the box and blasted one off the goalkeeper’s mitts.

Gonzalez was far from finished after Minnesota’s barrage before the hour. In the 86^th minute, Venegas put a ball forward to substitute Abu Dunladi, whose header forced a sprawling save from the Dallas keeper.

With the win, Dallas improved to 3-0-1 (10 points) while Minnesota, who suffered their first shutout defeat of the season, fell to 1-4-1 (4 points).

Dallas returns to action on Friday at San Jose while Minnesota will be back in business on Saturday at Houston.