KANSAS CITY, Kan. – FC Dallas are even further off the Western Conference lead and slumping at both ends of the pitch after Saturday night's 2-0 loss at Sporting Kansas City.
On top of that, they’re facing a short turnaround before Wednesday’s Heineken Rivalry Week match against the Houston Dynamo – one of the four conference teams ahead of the defending Supporters' Shield holders.
Nobody’s using words like “desperate” or “swoon,” but Dallas do appreciate the challenge ahead of them.
“We have a responsibility to get points,” manager Oscar Pareja said after Saturday night’s defeat. “But at the same time we cannot lose our heads. There are a lot of games coming up and there is a lot still to play in front of us.
“Despite the urgency to get points, we have to keep our heads and our balance and see that the points are going to come, especially ones that are at home against our rivals."
The points haven’t been coming lately for Dallas. They have three losses and one draw in their last four matches, and they’ve been outscored 9-1 over that span – after giving up just 19 goals in their first 19 matches.
"I think it’s just been a little bit frustrating,” forward Tesho Akindele said. “I think the latest run has been problems with scoring goals. Our defense has done all right, but we just haven’t been scoring goals and that’s been a strong point for our team. We need to get back to that."
And despite conceding twice on Saturday – including a stoppage-time stunner from Gerso that sealed the deal for Sporting – Dallas defender Walker Zimmerman said his club still believe in their defensive identity.
"We take away that we competed,” Zimmerman said. “We were in the game against a very good opponent in a very tough place to play. We were in it and gave ourselves chances. At the end of the day, we couldn’t get it done but I think it was a gutsy performance to come out here and compete and we are looking forward to getting back on track on Wednesday."
Houston will be hungry for points too, after falling 2-1 at Vancouver on Saturday – a result that dropped them to 1-8-4 on the road. Pareja’s not banking the points just yet, especially after his club’s recent run of frustrating form, but he also believes his club can bounce back against their Texas rivals at midweek.
"This is a long season,” he said. “Sometimes you get in these periods where things don’t go your way, but this group of players know and they have been in this situation before. They know they are going to compete on Wednesday. We’ll do it."
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