FRISCO, TX - Gabriel Gómez equalized in the 56th minute to erase countryman Blas Pérez's 7th minute goal, helping the Union earn a hard-fought 1-1 road draw on Saturday night at FC Dallas Stadium.
FCD applied the pressure early and often. In the sixth minute, midfielder Andrew Jacobson pulled away from the Union defense and chipped a shot over Philadelphia goalkeeper Chase Harrison, who was just able to tip the ball and change its path.
On the ensuing corner from Bryan Leyva, George John headed the ball the ball to the far post. Seemingly out of nowhere, Pérez dove in and gave Dallas a quick 1-0 advantage. FC Dallas continued its dominance in the first half, recording six shots on goal, including another near header goal by Pérez.
The makeshift back line, which was missing captain Ugo Ihemelu and suspended defender Zach Loyd, held Philadelphia to no shots on goal in the first 45 minutes. The closest the Union came to making any kind of noise in the first half came in the 35th minute when midfielder Michael Lahoud, who was acquired on Thursday, sent in a cross from outside the box that floated over FCD 'keeper Kevin Hartman and out for a Dallas throw-in. The FC Dallas back line took another hit just before intermission when Hernán Pertúz was stretchered off with a knee injury. Carlos Rodriguez, who had missed the last four games with a dislocated elbow, came on as a substitute.
The second half was a completely different story, however.
The Union wreaked havoc in the box 10 minutes in, and the fierce attack was capped off by Gómez’s equalizing header. Unfortunately for him and his team, the midfielder abandoned the pitch immediately after his goal due to an injury sustained after colliding with Hartman on the play. In 58th minute, Philadelphia defender Carlos Valdés hit the crossbar with a header off a corner kick. Then, in the 73rd minute, teammate Keon Daniel sent a rocket in from outside the box that forced Hartman to make a tremendous save. FC Dallas got its own chance in the 82nd minute. Pérez again got on the end of a ball, this time with his foot on a cross from Jair Benítez, but Harrison was there again to make the stop, capping the goalkeeper's strong MLS debut.
With the draw, Philadelphia move to 2-6-2 on the year and will hit the road again as they face Toronto FC next Saturday (4:30 p.m., TCN).
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