FRISCO, Texas — In this installment of our weekly series featuring Schellas Hyndman, the FC Dallas head coach addresses 11 topics in brief including the win over the Portland Timbers, defending Portland set pieces and getting some offense from the defense.
I. FC Dallas returned to Pizza Hut Park Saturday night and put on an offensive display, defeating the Portland Timbers 4-0.
“An excellent performance by FC Dallas against, I think, a very good team that has two very good strikers and a team that plays a lot off of free kicks and corner kicks.”
II. The Timbers have been a threat on set pieces all season and Hyndman noted the team’s preparation in defending, eventually limiting Portland to a single corner.
“[The Timbers have] scored 18 goals this year — 12 of them on restarts — so it’s something that we had to be careful with.”
III-IV. From the starting XI to the bench players that impacted the game, the fourth-year FCD coach was pleased with what he saw.
“I think our players all stepped up tonight. I think when you look across the field, you can’t really put your finger on anyone that was exceptional, nor can you find anyone that was not very good.”
V-VI. Previous set-piece orchestrator Marvin Chávez was replaced by captain Daniel Hernandez, and the result was two assists from the seasoned veteran.
“The two head balls in the first half off the corner kicks — we made a change on the services — [were from] Daniel Hernandez. A couple of them got away from him because of the wind factor, but again, determination was our key word.”
VII. With Fabián Castillo training with the Colombian Under-20s, Hyndman opted for a 4-5-1 instead of the previously used 4-4-2.
“We went with one striker in Chávez, who just works so hard and makes those runs.”
VIII. In the five-man midfield joining Hernandez and Andrew Jacobson, Eric Alexander made his ninth straight start, Brek Shea scored his seventh goal, and Jackson Gonçalves got his first start in midfield this season.
“Jackson and Brek really had good performances on the flanks, and [in the second half], I thought Eric Alexander really came to life and started making some nice runs and penetrating passes.”
IX. After starting the year as the featured right back, Jackson played on the right side of midfield.
“[Previously], we needed help in the defense. He has kind of been left there due to a number of injuries. And if you remember last year, he was a versatile player. He went to a lot of different places but probably his best position is flank midfield.”
X-XI. Defensively, the back line did its job once again, notching its eighth shutout of the season.
“I thought our defense showed great determination. When you look at the night Kenny [Cooper] had — it was very ineffective. I think everywhere he went there was someone who was determined to stop him from getting a shot off.”
