After defeating Toronto FC 2-0 on Sunday at BMO Field for their second consecutive win, FC Dallas returned to Frisco on Monday with a shortened work week ahead of them. Since the Hoops don't play again until Aug. 16 at Columbus, head coach Schellas Hyndman went with three days of training this week heading into the open weekend.
FCD trained on Monday, will have a reserve division game against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday morning before finishing the week with a session on Thursday. The Hoops will then have at least three days off before likely returning to practice next Tuesday.
Many might see the short week as a nice reward for two consecutive wins but FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman says otherwise.
"We set this up three weeks ago," he said. "But it turns out to be a nice reward and that's what we tell them. We always had the ability to change it, but since they did well, we kept it."
Hyndman is especially pleased with how several of his young players have performed in FCD's last two victories.
"I've been really happy with the young players," he said. "You look at Eric (Avila), Michael (Dello-Russo), Blake (Wagner) and (Aaron Pitchkolan) -- these are all young players that were pretty much invisible players in the past. They were players people didn't know were on the team and now, they're making differences for us."
He especially wanted to single out Pitchkolan, who has started at center back in the last two games and Wagner, who played well at left back on Sunday.
"I think in the last couple of games, he (Pitchkolan) has been fantastic," Hyndman said. "How do you be critical on a player when you have two shutouts? I think he's done very well and think he has the capability of getting better with more time and more opportunities. He wins the ball in the air for us, plays a simple game, gets the ball and plays it out. I've been really happy with him."
The FCD coach offered a similar endorsement of Wagner's performance on Sunday.
"What we're trying to do is simplify his game a little bit and let him know his role and responsibility," Hyndman said. "He's a defender first but we want him to get forward, distribute the ball and cross the ball. I told him that he can find a home for himself on the team playing as long as he doesn't make silly mistakes that lead to goals because that's been his weakness. He holds the ball a little too long, kicks the ball into another player and it bounces off. (At training), he had a ball taken away from him and he said that he needed to play the ball quicker."
Another thing that Hyndman has noticed is that his players are better grasping his vision of them playing in the 4-4-2.
"They're close (to the level I expected when I got here)," he said. "I think we're starting to get the right personnel, the right pieces. I think what they need to do now is continue to understand what their role and job description is and how their shape matters in the attack and while we're defending."
FCD also has a number of players injured and Hyndman looks to get them all recovered before the Hoops return to the field next weekend.
In goal, backup 'keeper Ray Burse has been bothered by a right ankle injury and hasn't been on the bench since a July 4 draw with Kansas City. But his return is imminent. "Ray (Burse) went to school at Ohio State, so this is a big homecoming for him," Hyndman said. "We've put that down as his return. I think he might be 10 days away."
Center back and captain Duilio Davino suffered a broken toe in training last Thursday and missed Sunday's win. His original prognosis was to miss several weeks but Hyndman feels the Mexican international might return sooner. "Duilio is much better today than he was when we left," he said. "So, I think his prognosis might be down to 10-14 days."
On Sunday, Hyndman had to pull holding midfielder Marcelo Saragosa out after just seven minutes after he suffered a right calf strain and was replaced by Dello-Russo. "Marcelo (Saragosa) had a partial tear in his Achilles tendon," he said. "I'm hoping we'll have a nice recovery with that as well."
The news is not as favorable with veteran defender Bobby Rhine, who has missed the last five games with a left ankle injury. "I think we rushed it a little bit too much the last time and had a relapse," Hyndman said. "We want to back off a little bit and put him on his own timeline. It could be two to four weeks."
Last month, FCD had 15 days between a 1-1 draw with Kansas City on July 4 and their next game on July 19 with Colorado, a game that also finished in a tie. This break will be 13 days and Hyndman would like to see his team benefit from it as much as he feels FCD did from their last break in play.
"That break really helped us recover and focus into a 4-4-2 because we had some down time to work on it," Hyndman said. "Now we've got the distractions out of our way and now I think the players are buying into things. It's not just the 4-4-2, it's the structure. Guys are putting pressure on the ball, trying to make tackles, moving as a team and have pretty good shape. Now I think we've had the training to at least put things a little bit better."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
