If last Sunday's 2-1 loss to the LA Galaxy at The Home Depot Center drove home one point more emphatically than any other, it's that FC Dallas is just not having a good September.
With that setback, the Hoops have won just once this month, and taken just five of a possible 15 points -- with a home date with in-state rival and reigning MLS Cup champ Houston looming on Sunday.
The month started on Sept. 1 with D.C. United beating the Hoops 4-0 in Frisco. One week later, FCD delivered a 2-0 win against Toronto FC, but their only two goals came off penalty kicks.
On Sept. 13, they headed to New England and surrendered four goals for the second time in three games, falling to the Revs 4-2. Just five days later, in an MLS Primetime Thursday home matchup with Chicago, FCD escaped with a point thanks to a late goal by Carlos Ruiz.
Then came Sunday, when all was well for the Hoops after Dax McCarty netted his first MLS goal in the 11th minute, the first time the Hoops have scored in the opening 15 minutes this season. But then, disaster struck as left back Chris Gbandi was shown two yellow cards in three minutes -- the second resulting in a penalty kick that tied the game, before a late game-winner sealed matters.
FCD head coach Steve Morrow chalks his side's September struggles up to a number of factors.
"It's a mixture of things," he said. "We haven't had a settled lineup. People have been in and out of the team and I don't think that's helped. Some of the games we have played well in and should have gotten better results. We had a man sent off in one of the games as well."
But Morrow emphasizes that he and his team don't want to dwell on the past, they want to instead focus on the present and future, which means preparing to face Houston on Sunday.
"We don't want to look back, we just want to look forward at what we need to do to get it right and to get back on track," Morrow said. "That becomes our most important thing right now. The team's mentality is still strong and we believe in what we're trying to do. When you go through a bad run, it's important how you react and that you come out stronger on the other end."
Morrow might not be frustrated with how things have transpired this month but several of his players are.
"There's no question, we're frustrated about the results," said McCarty. "But if we keep dwelling on them, things are going to stay like that. We're not playing badly and the effort is there. You could see that against LA.
"We're by no means disappointed with the effort or how we're playing. We just need to get a lucky bounce here or there but things just haven't gone our way. We just need to take it one game at a time and go from there."
Center back Clarence Goodson feels that there is no time like the present to right the ship and that means beating Houston on Sunday for the first time this year.
"Any time the results aren't going your way, there's going to be a little frustration," Goodson said. "But I think it's important to keep things positive because we're in a really important part of the season. We're also playing in a (U.S. Open) Cup final on Wednesday and that's huge for us. There are only two teams that can say that and that's a huge positive."
Coming into the start of September, FC Dallas was just two points behind Dynamo in the Western Conference race. Over the month, both Dynamo and Chivas USA have put some distance between them and the Hoops, now five and seven points respectively in front. While they haven't yet secured a place in the MLS Cup Playoffs, it's all but assured, but FCD still wants to get things going in the right direction.
"We have a big match this weekend against Houston and it's important that we get back on track," he said. "We know we're going to get into the playoffs, now it's just a matter of where we're going to be in the table. As far as results go, it's been tough but I don't want to put a lot into it. But we do want to get back on track.
"We don't want to be a team that limps into the playoffs but we're in a good position. We haven't been playing badly but just need to do the little things. We need to put the ball in the back of the net and get into a little bit better shape. We need to create luck for ourselves and turn things around. I think if we win a cup final, things will really change around."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
