What was supposed to be a smooth run into the MLS Cup Playoffs has been anything but for FC Dallas. The Hoops have failed to seal their place in the postseason for three games in a row and saw a miserable September come to an end with a 3-0 loss to Houston Dynamo on Sunday afternoon at Pizza Hut Park.
"I'm very, very disappointed by our lack of commitment and effort in the second half," Hoops head coach Steve Morrow said. "I think the goal 30 seconds before halftime completely changed the course of the game. Our second half performance was pathetic."
FCD lost three of their six games in the month, conceding 11 goals in those three losses, winning just one game. Sunday, FCD mustered just one shot in the opening half and headed to the break trailing 1-0, courtesy of a Dwayne De Rosario goal in first-half stoppage time.
Houston's Eddie Robinson made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute and Stuart Holden scored Dynamo's final tally in the 84th. Clearly, it was a forgettable day for the home side.
"It wasn't fun," FCD center back Clarence Goodson said. "We lost. I hate losing to those guys and that's about it. We're going to file it. I'm already over it. Now, I'm going to go win the Open Cup on Wednesday and that will be fantastic."
Midfielder Dax McCarty agreed. "There's not much to say," he said. "We started the game fine and I thought for the first half, we were the better team. They really had nothing other than a few set pieces, they had no chances. I thought we were knocking it fine and defending as a team."
However, De Rosario's goal changed the complexion of the entire game.
"But then, one lapse in concentration and that's it," McCarty said. "They hit us for a goal before halftime. Any time you give up a goal like that, it's going to kill your confidence. We should've reacted better to it in the second half. But right now, it's just not good enough for us. We're in a little unlucky patch and we have to find a way out."
Sunday's match ended on a down note when, in the final minute, FCD captain Carlos Ruiz and Houston's Ricardo Clark were involved in a scrap near the Dynamo goal that ended with both players being sent off.
Ruiz had earlier received a yellow card in the first half that put him over the limit and that infraction, coupled with the red, will keep him on the sidelines for FCD's next two games.
"It (Clark's red) was very much deserved," Morrow said. "Retaliation like that is obviously not the right thing. It was very violent conduct and I think the league will take a close look at it. I've looked at it again and Carlos (Ruiz) did nothing."
Earlier in the week, Morrow said that he expected more from Denilson, FCD's designated player, but when the World Cup-winning midfielder didn't deliver that effort on Sunday, the FCD boss pulled him in the 64th minute.
"The substitution was very simple," Morrow said. "He (Denilson) wasn't giving as much as he should have. I didn't think he was contributing enough to the game. He's the same as every player. If you don't do that, then someone else should have a go. That was the simple reason."
FC Dallas must rebound quickly as on Wednesday they play host to the New England Revolution in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final. Morrow hopes his players weren't caught looking ahead to the final past their in-state rival.
"I don't know if some of the players' minds were on that in the second half," Morrow said. "We say we want to take one game at a time but if some of the players' minds were on that, then that is very disappointing. We clearly have to get ourselves back together very quickly. It's an important game and one we want to win."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
