FCD faces several tests in their match tonight, at home, against fellow Western Conference basement dwellers Portland. Brek Shea, Schellas Hyndman, and Jair Benitez all left San Jose on Wednesday with a bitter taste in their mouths.
Fortunately for Schellas Hyndman his side face the only team in MLS with a worse road record than FCD. Portland is 0-7-2 on the road, and one of their two points salvaged away from Jeld-Wen was in Dallas in mid March. It was a match that was indicative of Dallas’ early season difficulties in that they went up early and couldn’t hold on to the lead after the half. A similar result for Dallas will shift a tenuous situation into a dire one.
A Transformative Match In Many Senses
The misery that emerged out of the San Jose match came in a few forms. For one, Brek Shea’s substitution tiff with Schellas Hyndman emerged as the media focus after the match. Hyndman has so far handled the situation astutely, giving Brek some time off and speaking only plainly about the incident, with little complexity.
Jair Benitez’s penalty woes were the second issue that tagged along with Dallas as the side exited San Jose. Whereas Coach Hyndman handled the Brek Shea incident with relative efficiency, his treatment of Benitez after the match went otherwise.
“You know Brek [Shea] usually takes them, so does David Ferreira and Daniel Hernandez has taken them,” said Hyndman. “But for us at the moment after subbing Shea and Ferreira off, it was, ‘Who can take it?’ We had three guys in mind and looking back on it, I probably should have gone with one of the other two.”
It would’ve been more prudent to stand beside Benitez, a man who has been at odds with some self-inflicted problems of his own in the 2012 campaign. Now Hyndman has publically singled him out. Nonetheless, Jair is expected to start tonight against Portland, as he should – barring the missed penalty he put in a very solid performance against San Jose.
One issue that still lingers with FCD is frustration. There was a common expectation three games ago that with Shea, Ferreira, Jackson, and Castillo all on the same pitch results would begin to follow. Five points in five matches isn’t necessarily lousy, but time is now at a minimum to turn things around if there is any intent in Frisco to make the playoffs. What comes as most frustrating is that the San Jose match went from being a very understandable 2-0 loss to the league leaders, and transformed into a maddening dropped point away from home.
To Portland
Again, Portland is one of those sides that will drop points, and has, away from home. This is a game FCD must win – Portland is level on points with Dallas, and has two games in hand. To make matters worse for the Timbers, they boast a -13 goal differential in their nine road matches this season, their latest dropped points away from Portland occurring on Wednesday at Chivas USA.
Virtually all but three MLS opponents Portland has faced in 2012 have figured out a way to score on the Timbers. A leaky defense is an understatement, as the Timbers are the only team in the West with a worse goal differential than FC Dallas. They have also conceded the most penalties in the conference as well: four (Montreal leads the league with six, putting Portland tied for second with Houston). There are also no areas of their own half where the Timbers are particularly proficient at defending, and the have let by 24 of 30 goals conceded in their own penalty area.
This is yet another match where the first goal will be important – both sides are poor after going down a goal or two before the half. Portland does exceptionally well if they are up at halftime; it is that type of confidence earned by gaining a lead that Dallas will have to deny the Timbers.
But issues abound on whether or not Brek Shea will start, given his time off from Hyndman. Brek needs to put San Jose behind him, however, and the best way to do that will be by leading the team to victory, in whatever role he may have to play, tonight. Ambivalence and dissent will not help turn around anything for FCD in 2012. Brek emerged as a team leader early in the 2011 season without precedent – the only difference now is that he is being called upon to do so while he is in a personal rut.
Otherwise, expect a similar starting lineup for FCD. It is rumored that Scott Sealy may gain a start for Dallas, sending Castillo to the bench and Brek (if he up for it) on the left flank. The rest of the lineup will remain unchanged. Four starts in four matches for David Ferreira is a definite plus, and he will certainly play a role in any type of victory for FCD tonight. But the big absence in the lineup will still be Blas Perez, despite rumors and reports that his return may happen tonight; he is still listed as out.
Portland plays many open matches. Their games against San Jose and Los Angeles in the past two weeks were insanely entertaining to watch. The Timbers have no qualms about throwing a few numbers up in attack, but they get pinched more often on the counter than their opponents. If FCD do the same, and commit itself to attacking nonstop as it did San Jose, results will certainly favor the home side.
(image courtesy of fcdallas.com)
