TORONTO - Brek Shea's 48th-minute goal spoiled the debut of the new-look Toronto FC and gave FC Dallas a 1-0 win Wednesday night in MLS play.

Toronto (3-10-9) had chances to tie it late in the game. Substitute Maicon Santos sent his header high in the 87th minute and Ryan Johnson's raking cross almost bounced into the goal in injury time.

Toronto head coach Aron Winter included five newcomers in his starting 11: Germany's Torsten Frings, the Netherlands' Danny Koevermans, Jamaica's Johnson, England's Andy Iro and Guadeloupe's Eddy Viator.

Frings and Koevermans, both big-ticket additions as Toronto's newest designated players, drew the loudest cheers from the crowd during introductions.

What followed, on a steamy 30-degree-plus night before 21,087 at BMO Field, was a work still very much in progress.

There were some promising signs for Toronto, who were let off the hook several times by a dangerous Dallas side (11-5-5).

It's clear that the hard-working Frings, whose soccer pedigree includes 79 caps for Germany, will pull the strings from deep in midfield. He took free kicks and corners, berated the referee and showed a deft passing touch -- not to mention being prickly in the tackle.

But the 34-year-old Frings was unable to stop the speedy Shea, who accelerated around him like a Ferrari outpacing a Chevy and then left several other Toronto players in his tracks before firing a left-footed shot past Stefan Frei from outside the box.

It was Shea's ninth goal of the season and it was pure class from the 21-year-old American.

The six-foot-three striker almost got his 10th in the 61st minute but an acrobatic Frei managed to get a leg on the shot.

Koevermans faded in the second half. But he is a big target man who, despite not being in top game shape, knows what to do with the ball close to goal.

He will require far better service than he got Wednesday.

The backline, which has given a league-worst 37 goals, looked jittery against a well-drilled Dallas side. The speed of Shea and guile of Brazilian midfielder Jackson caused real problems.

Frings wasted little time making his presence felt, banging in a long-range free kick on goal in the second minute that goalie Kevin Hartman had to turn away for corner.

For a team that failed to put a shot on target last time out, it was a welcome sight. And the free kick came after Koevermans was hauled down after a nifty one-two.

Defender Iro left his mark in the fourth minute, scything down Shea.

It took fullback Viator just 15 minutes to earn his first MLS yellow. And Ricado Villar came close for Dallas on the ensuing free kick, just bending the ball wide.

In the 39th, Koevermans forced a save off Hartman as -- perhaps irritated at the quality of ball he was getting -- he hammered a shot from well outside the box. He put a header on goal in the 45th but Hartman comfortably handled it.

A 53-minute goal by Toronto's Joao Plata was nullified by an offside call.

Winter threw on more offence in the form of Santos and Nick Soolsma. And it almost worked. Hartman, however, preserved the Dallas lead with a diving stop off Santos in the 63rd.

Jackson hit the crossbar a minute later as he cheekily tried to chip Frei. And Dallas substitute Bruno Guarda missed an open net in the 74rd.

Toronto looked for a penalty in the 78th minute when Johnson went down but referee Hilario Grajeda wanted none of it. A nice Dallas goal was negated due to offside minutes later.

Hartman earned his 11th shutout of the season.

The Toronto turnover has been such that only three of Wednesday's starters -- Frei, Plata and fullback Danleigh Borman -- remained from the starting 11 in Dallas in May.

There might have been four but fullback Richard Eckersley sat out Wednesday's game due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Frei wore the captain's armband for Toronto with Santos starting on the bench.

Terry Dunfield and Leandre Griffit, the other Toronto newbies, are both nursing knocks and did not make the bench. Midfielder Julian de Guzman, Toronto's other designated player, sat out with a swollen knee.

The steamy conditions were nothing new for Dallas, which played visiting D.C. United to a 0-0 tie in 38-degree weather at Pizza Hut Park last Saturday.

Still they were a far cry from Dallas' last trip to Toronto last November, when game time temperatures were a brisk seven degrees for the MLS Cup. Dallas lost to the Colorado Rapids 2-1 in extra time.

Toronto, which last played July 9, came into the match with a 1-5-4 record in its last 10 MLS outings and had now been outscored 8-0 in its last three games.

Dallas, meanwhile, has been headed up the standings despite a two-game winless and scoreless stretch heading into Toronto. After a 2-3-1 start to the season in March and April, the club was 8-2-4 before the BMO Field stop.