FRISCO, Texas – With Daniel Hernandez coming back from suspension, Ricardo Villar missing Saturday’s game against Montreal wasn’t supposed to be a big deal.
But after Andrew Jacobson got dinged up in the first half, Hyndman had to turn to Bruno Guarda, a seldom-used midfielder, who made his first appearance of the season. Hyndman said he was happy with the way Guarda performed but added that the Brazilian is “no Villar.”
“We picked up two injuries in the first half with Andrew Jacobson and Hernan Pertuz. It forced us to make some changes,” Hyndman said. “As it turned out, Bobby Warshaw came in and Bruno Guarda came in. Pertuz got kicked on the sideline and was unable to go. When we brought him up there, the foot was swollen. He couldn’t go. Andrew took a few hits, and the back of his leg was bothering him.”
Villar should once again be questionable this week, but avoiding a midweek fixture should give the whole team plenty of time to recover from nicks and bruises.
“For us being banged up, I’m glad that we don’t have a weekday game,” Hyndman said.
Formation Change
WATCH: Shea goal caps comeback
FC Dallas’ 2-1 comeback victory against Montreal was sparked by a second half formation change from a 4-4-2 to a 4-1-4-1. The switch allowed Brek Shea and Fabian Castillo to wreck havoc from the wings and Blas Perez to play as the lone striker up top.
“The game changed for us in positive ways because we started controlling the midfield a little bit better,” Hyndman said. “Again, excellent goals. When you put balls in the box, good things happen. George [John] had a great header that gave us a chance to get the rebound, which Blas did to make it 1-1.
“And then you think do we keep pushing? Do you sit back and say, hey, we’re happy to have the one point? Well these guys want to push, so we kept going and created more opportunities. Fabian [Castillo] had a great chance. He missed it, but what a wonderful ball he wound up giving to Brek [Shea] for the game-winner.”
Super Raton
Speaking of Perez, he is has certainly exceeded expectations so far this season and leads the team in both goals and assists.
“You can imagine what it would have been like for us to have had him on the team last year. We worked awfully hard trying to get him,” Hyndman said. “Finally, it worked out and he just got his third goal. What you see is a really talented player getting good balls. He gave that ball for Castillo to go through, the one that he missed. He holds the ball very well.
“Usually when you’re the lone striker, you’ve got two people on top of you. He’s strong in the air. He has an unbelievable work ethic. You put all of these qualities together. He’s a pretty special player. “
Loyd aces fitness test
According to Hyndman, the team participated in the Yo-Yo Level 2 Endurance Test a few days ago and defender Zach Loyd left everyone’s jaw hanging with his astonishing results.
“We did the Yo-Yo 2 test the other day, and Zach Loyd finished incredibly high with a 31. I think the league’s average is 22 and the Premier League’s is 23,” Hyndman said. “[To score] 31 is unbelievable.”
