On paper, this was supposed to be the week that the struggling FC Dallas attack finally scored some goals, facing a Los Angeles Galaxy team that had allowed the most goals in MLS entering the round of games.
Well, the visitors never got the memo, exploding for four goals in the first half and sending a record crowd at Pizza Hut Park away disappointed as they rolled to a 5-1 victory Sunday afternoon.
"It's an embarrassing performance," FCD head coach Steve Morrow said. "We're all very much ashamed of ourselves in the locker room. Ultimately, I'll take responsibility for that as a coach."
The Galaxy's Edson Buddle hit for a hat trick and L.A. also got a goal from Chris Klein and an own goal courtesy of FCD defender Duilio Davino. The Hoops got their lone tally of the match in the 54th minute when Dominic Oduro headed home a great cross from Kenny Cooper.
"We were running too much and playing too little," FCD midfielder Pablo Ricchetti said. "We just need to hold possession but we can't do that right now. We need to get better as a team. We played pretty badly as a team and I think it's the worst I've seen us play since we've been here."
For much of the day, FCD was not good at maintaining possession and for the most part, the ball wasn't moving through the midfield on a consistent basis.
"There was nothing missing (in the midfield)," Morrow said. "We've just got to get back to hard work and we'll do that on the training field. We're confident, believe in ourselves a lot and what we're doing. We're confident that we'll turn it around."
With the loss, the Hoops remain winless in the month of May. And with Real Salt Lake coming to visit on Saturday, who handed FCD a 2-1 loss last weekend at Rice-Eccles Stadium, followed by a visit from Houston the following Wednesday, a side the Hoops have only beaten once at home, prospects for finishing May winless are very real.
"We're going through a rough time at the moment and results aren't going our way," Morrow said. "We'll get back to some hard work. We've got a good group of talented players and a group that has the right attitude who will fight for each other. We'll work hard to put ourselves right and to get a win in the next game."
FC Dallas will go into the RSL game without starting center back Adrian Serioux, after the Canadian international was sent off with a straight red card in the 75th minute after a hard tackle on L.A.'s David Beckham in front of the Hoops bench.
"It's an interpretation of the referee and he went with what he saw," FCD midfielder Pablo Ricchetti said about Serioux's expulsion. "That didn't change the game. It was decided in the first 45 minutes."
After surrendering just five goals in their first five matches of the season, the FCD defense has become a bit porous in the last two weeks, allowing seven goals in losses to RSL and the Galaxy.
"All 11 of us were responsible for the goals," Ricchetti said. "It's not about one player because as a team, we all played badly and didn't reach the level we wanted to."
For FCD, it was the first time they have allowed four or more goals in a game this season, something they did three times last season. The last time the Hoops surrendered five goals in a league match came on Oct. 14, 2006, when they dropped their regular season finale to the Galaxy 5-2 at The Home Depot Center.
Ricchetti reinforced that FCD's current problems aren't because of a rumor pertaining to a lack of harmony in the locker room.
"No, we are good," he said. "The issue for us is that we are playing badly. We are calm but resolve everything internally. The main issue right now is that we're not playing well and that isn't a reflection of anything that's going on inside (the locker room)."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
