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The New England Revolution looked set to return home with a point from their trip to Dallas on Thursday night until a controversial free kick was awarded that led to FC Dallas captain Ugo Ihemelu's go-ahead goal in second half stoppage time. In a match where New England's attack appeared to be struggling at times, the defenders will be incredibly disappointed not to come away with a clean sheet after playing 90 minutes of shut-down ball.
Dallas definitely had the brighter first half, with the pace of Fabian Castillo and Brek Shea giving the Revolution fullbacks fits. Florian Lechner in particular looked out of his element and had great difficulty dealing with Castillo's raw speed. That said, New England was able to fashion a few chances, but they came from long range as Shalrie Joseph and Kelyn Rowe both tested Kevin Hartman with drives from distance.
The second half saw a stronger Revolution side put together more positive sequences. Lee Nguyen, Chris Tierney, and Clyde Simms connected well with each other and used Joseph as a lynchpin for attacking moves. The Revs still couldn't find a final ball, though, and despite some dangerous crosses and a couple of half-chances, they never really got too close to goal.
Late in the second half, Colombian forward Jose Moreno made his Revolution and MLS debut and announced his arrival with a cannon shot that nearly beat Hartman despite being pegged right at him. As expected, Moreno looked a tad off the pace but was a lot sharper than initially believed.
As the match wore on, it looked more and more like the Revs were headed for a creditable away draw. However, three minutes into stoppage time the referee awarded a controversial free kick just outside the box, and Zach Loyd dropped a cross right on the head of Ihemelu at the far post, beating Matt Reis and delivering a harsh gut-punch to the Revs.
New England is not in action again for another nine days, when they will return home to face DC United. For more Revolution coverage, visit our team page and blog, The Bent Musket.