Last Saturday night at Giants Stadium, the tenure of Schellas Hyndman as FC Dallas head coach got off to an inauspicious beginning. The Hoops fell 1-0 to the New York Red Bulls, generating just one serious scoring chance while being outshot 12-4.
FCD returns to the field to face the Houston Dynamo on MLS Primetime Thursday at Robertson Stadium, and last weekend's showing clearly remains on Hyndman's mind.
"It's a huge concern," he said. "The way you become a dangerous team is to create numerous opportunities. Whether you score or don't score, that's determined on the execution but you need to at least have some opportunities. We had three opportunities and that's not enough in a game. That's a concern and we have addressed it the last few days in training by getting more people into the attack and slowing down the attack a little bit."
The two Texas sides have matched up twice this year, with Houston coming back to snatch late draws in both. On April 6, the sides played to a 3-3 deadlock after Geoff Cameron netted his first career tally in the 91st minute to secure a point for the home side.
Then, on May 28 at Pizza Hut Park, FCD again held a late edge, but this time it was Dwayne De Rosario who saved the day for the two-time defending MLS Cup champions with an equalizer in the 93rd minute for a 2-2 tie.
FCD clearly wants to finish the job Thursday. Not only would that mark their first victory ever on the Orange's home field, but a win would also secure El Capitan, the 19th-century cannon that is awarded to the winner of the season series, a series that Houston has won in both 2006 and 2007.
"It's going to come down to us finishing off the game at a certain level," said defender Adrian Serioux, a member of Houston's 2006 title team. "We've gotten a couple of quick goals on them but they have come back to score on us late. We're going to have to keep our focus and keep our concentration to not let one of those lapses happen at the last minute that they can capitalize on."
Hyndman agrees. "I think Houston is a great rivalry for us," he said. "They've been MLS champions and it's a difficult environment to play in. Giving up two late goals that have been heartbreakers can be a negative effect on the mentality where people start to get nervous later in the game.
"I don't there's such a thing as good luck and bad luck," he continued. "I think it's all about preparation. If you're prepared, then the ball is going to fall for you more than against you. Hopefully, we can prepare them enough that they know their roles. And if we're in the lead late in the game, then I think from a coaching point of view, we need to continue shouting encouragement and instruction."
Against the Red Bulls, Hyndman rolled out a 4-4-2 formation, a sharp departure from the 3-5-2 that FCD had played most of the year. With Serioux and Drew Moor both unavailable while away on international duty, he plugged Bobby Rhine into Moor's spot on the right, Blake Wagner in on the left, where Serioux had been playing, and Aaron Pitchkolan joined captain Duilio Davino in the middle.
With Moor and Serioux back, it will be interesting to see where Hyndman puts them. Earlier in the week, he indicated that Wagner will remain at left back for the time being so that he can evaluate him there.
Moor likely returns on the right with Serioux back in the middle alongside Davino but Hyndman also admitted that playing him at defensive midfield is another option. The Canadian international has admitted that is where he feels most comfortable playing and Serioux and veteran Pablo Ricchetti could be a solid pairing in the central midfield.
The Dynamo will be without two members of their starting back four. Richard Mulrooney will be out with a knee injury as will Eddie Robinson, who has a right ankle sprain. Robinson was sent off in the last match against FCD.
Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear could also choose to pair Brian Ching up top with De Rosario, who has four career goals against FCD. It's a pairing that the Hoops saw in the 2-2 draw with their in-state rivals on May 28 and one they know well.
"They complement each other really well," midfielder Dax McCarty said. "Ching is a national team-caliber forward and De Rosario is one of the best attacking midfielders/withdrawn forwards this league has seen. It's going to be tough for us. They're a really good combination. De Rosario really likes to make runs in behind and feeds off Ching's flicks and his holding the ball up. We're really starting to come together as a team. We're going to try to limit their effectiveness and hopefully, come away with a result."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
