The record books don’t have nice things to say about referee Baldomero Toledo, and neither does his performance this game. He was quick to award three red cards and only one looked to be correct. Afterward, Toledo said that he sent of Mark Sherrod for intent in violent conduct. From most every vantage point at Avaya Stadium, it looked the wrong call and the replays confirmed such. So, obviously, the coaches had many things to say about Toledo post-match as well. Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear argued, obviously, that Sherrod’s was not a red. FC Dallas manager Oscar Pareja told Football Every Day he had trouble reining in his anger when speaking to reporters, even though his men only saw one red, compared to the Quakes’ two.

There was a match at hand as well, but the second half was overshadowed by Toledo’s decisions. The Quakes outplayed Dallas at their own possession-based game, something they had previously struggled with throughout the season. Bar the referee’s performance, Kinnear said he was happy with the effort his men put in. “It helps when Matias [Perez Garcia] is on the field because he sees that pass,” he said. “And Wondo was kind of bouncing off the back four a couple of times, he was finding those gaps. And a couple times Shea would dip in, or Cordell. We talk about that, you can play around teams all you want but sometimes you really have to kind of turn them around in the middle of the field rather than the outside.”

Pareja, however, said Dallas needed a result and he was somewhat disappointed that Dallas failed to take advantage of their extra man — “it could have been three (points),” he said. “I always want more and my players wanted more too.” But given Dallas lost their last match 4-0 to Sporting Kansas City, he’s grateful they’re back on track.

There was a frantic opening as the Quakes struggled to pin together passes. Both sides pressed high up the pitch, making the intensity of the game just as high as the 81-degree sunny heat at the stadium. A multitude of cheap fouls was also given, and the Quakes’ best chance came when Victor Ulloa cut his work short with a professional foul on Perez-Garcia in the fifteenth minute. Garcia whipped a fantastic cross in from the resulting free-kick, which fell right to the foot of Mark Sherrod, who miscued his shot high and wide.

Earlier, Mauro Diaz had smacked a twenty-five yard free-kick dipping over the wall and inches wide of the post and twenty-one minutes in, Michael Barrios cut in from the left wing to curl a beautiful effort on goal; but David Bingham produced a brilliant finger-tip save to tip the ball over the crossbar. A few minutes later Michel’s crossed free-kick from the right resulted in ping-prong in the Quakes box. By the twenty-third minute, referee Baldomero Toledo had to change vanishing spray cans. Toledo is known for pulling out his cards quickly (Wondo said, “You can’t change the way you play” because of the referee ), and his eagerness to show three yellows in the first half was a sign of things to come.

The Quakes began to settle in and dominate the game, as Dominic Kinnear urged from the sidelines. In the twenty-ninth minute, Cordell Cato’s cross from the right just barely evaded Sherrod at the far post, producing Avaya Stadium’s loudest cheers yet. The Quakes pinned Dallas back and Garcia put Chris Wondolowski in on goal in the thirty-first minute, only for Dan Kennedy’s quick reactions to deny Wondo’s low, poked effort. From the thirty-fifth to fortieth minute, the Quakes held 87% of possession.

Just on the brink of the half, Victor Bernardez dove unmarked to head Garcia’s corner into the ground and just over the crossbar. Speaking to reporters after the match, Kinnear said he wouldn’t have been happy with a point at the half: “With the way the game was going, I thought we were kind of leaning on them a little bit.”

The Quakes began the second half on the front foot, too, but when Sherrod clumsily attempted to jump over Dallas goalkeeper Kennedy following a collision, Toledo pulled out a red card. It was half clumsy and 100% unlucky for Sherrod, who said he hopes the Quakes appeal a potential suspension.

The Quakes did well to stay in the match, however their dominance evaporated. The match returned to a tight, balanced contest. In the seventy-third minute, Matt Hedges barely managed to clear Shea Salinas’ near-post, crossed free-kick off the line.

That is, it was even until Toledo again turned the tables. Je-Vaughn Watson and Cordell Cato both contested for a cleared corner and though it was a fifty-fifty challenge, Cato slid and Watson went in with his studs just barely showing. It scraped Cato, who had to come off as a result, but there looked to be no intent and only a smidgen of clumsiness involved in the challenge. Nonetheless, Watson saw straight red.

Good fight today down a man. ____ killed the game #fillintheblank — Adam Jahn (@PillowFeet14) June 8, 2015

Once again, the advantage was the Earthquakes’. Wondolowski came close from the following free-kick and with seven minutes to go, lobbed a header just wide of the post after Adam Jahn’s header had put the 32-year-old forward in on goal.

Yet the referee had none of it. In the eighty-fifth minute, JJ Koval — Cato’s replacement — went in for a high, studs-up challenge and saw another straight red. At least this time Toledo’s call was probably correct. But the paradigm of the game had shifted on so many occasions that neither side could put anything together for the finish. Wondolowski admitted it was “pretty weird” and that he didn’t even know what formation the Quakes were in come the final whistle.

Update: thanks to frazzbot on Reddit for a grammatical correction