Late goals power St. Louis City past FC Dallas

Updated: Aug 31, 2023, 03:59 am

Anthony Markanich and Nokkvi Thorisson broke through with goals in the late stages to lift host St. Louis City to a 2-1 victory over 10-man FC Dallas on Wednesday night.

FC Dallas starting goalkeeper Maarten Paes earned a rare red card in the 12th minute and the club had to play with 10 men, including a backup keeper, for the remainder of the match.

FC Dallas defended for as long as they could until Markanich broke through in the 82nd minute and Thorisson followed three minutes later with the ultimate game-winning goal.

St. Louis City (15-9-2, 47 points) extended their lead in the Western Conference to seven points over idle Los Angeles FC.

Eugene Ansah scored on a rebound for Dallas (9-10-6, 33 points) in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, but he couldn't stop his club from falling to 2-7-4 on the road this season.

The critical moment came when a ball was poked loose toward Dallas' net with a St. Louis player gaining on it. Due to a miscommunication between Dallas defenders Nkosi Tafari and Marco Farfan, Paes came off his line and the ball touched his left arm out of the box, cueing the red card.

Backup goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer entered the game and Dallas sacrificed forward Jesus Jimenez to stay at 10 men.

St. Louis couldn't capitalize right away as multiple shots missed just wide. The expansion club finished the match with a 22-5 advantage in shot attempts and 65.6 percent of the possession.

Markanich kneed in Rasmus Alm's cross to the far side of the box for his first career MLS goal. The defender was playing his second match for St. Louis after a trade from the Colorado Rapids on Aug. 1.

Thorisson, who subbed on at halftime, was on the receiving end of a smart pass by Eduard Lowen across the box that Joao Klauss feigned at before letting it pass to his teammate's left foot. The Iceland native converted for his first MLS goal in his third match since joining St. Louis.

Maurer made four saves in relief of Paes. Roman Burki made three saves for St. Louis but couldn't hold on to the shutout.

--Field Level Media