Atlanta United is an expensive, scary monster, but FC Dallas showed that hard work can slay the beast Wednesday night. After Reto Ziegler put Dallas on top with a wondrous free kick, Atlanta’s Human Cheat Code Josef Martinez scored on either side of halftime and the match looked all but settled. Dallas didn’t get off a shot inside the box after scoring, and Martinez’s 73rd minute go-ahead goal didn’t give them much time to return fire.
Enter Tesho Akindele. The Canadian striker that lit up the college ranks for the Colorado School of Mines (I know!) came on in the 75th minute and turned the match on its head. First, he took a clever flick on from Maxi Urruti down the left and beat Brad Guzan to even the scoreline in the 86th minute. Two minutes later, a scramble in the box led to the ball squirting out between Guzan and Akindele, and the big striker was first to react, knocking the ball home and sending Dallas fans into raucous cheers.
The loss marks the first time Atlanta has given up more than one goal on the road since their opening match of the season at Houston. The Five Stripes head north to Philadelphia this weekend to face a Union side ready for revenge after a controversial match in Atlanta in early June.
