NEW YORK – FC Dallas’ comprehensive 3-0 Western Conference Championship victory over the LA Galaxy surprised most, not least because LA were responsible for two of FCD’s four losses during the regular season.
But as Bruce Arena said after the game, it was the visitors that “out-played” the Supporters’ Shield winners.
“As coaches, you always want that perfect game, and for many of us we never get it,” FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman said on Monday during a media conference call. “I thought [Sunday] was that perfect game.”
The score line would certainly indicate that it was. The Galaxy peppered FCD ‘keeper Kevin Hartman, taking 18 shots over the course of the game. All six that were on target were stopped by the veteran of 14 MLS seasons.
With the win, FC Dallas secured the club’s first trip to MLS Cup where they will face the Eastern Conference champion Colorado Rapids.
“It’s very, very hard to replicate that [kind of performance],” Hyndman said of next Sunday's championship match.
Colorado and FCD played to two draws in the 2010 regular season, but the Rapids lead the all-time postseason series 5-2-2 and have never been eliminated by the club.
But FCD have advanced this far in the playoffs by beating 2009 MLS Cup champions Real Salt Lake and knocking off the Supporters’ Shield-winning Galaxy.
“The good thing is, I think we’re playing very well right now,” Hyndman said. “I think our players really believe in themselves. Our players will be there, and they will be at their best. Whether the game goes the way we hope it will go, or it doesn’t go the way we want it to go, I think the one thing we can say is that we will be at our best.”
