It's a rare occasion when an 0-3 team comes to town and it's actually the home team who feels they are under more pressure to perform. But that seems to be the case when Toronto FC plays host to FC Dallas on Saturday at BMO Field. The Reds will be looking for atonement after suffering a lopsided 2-0 defeat in their home opener last weekend against Seattle Sounders FC.
"It should be a good match," said defender Adrian Serioux. "[FC Dallas] are going to come here after having a couple of losses, and we're out to win it as well since we came off a loss on Saturday that was kind of disgraceful, in my opinion. So we have something to prove to ourselves, our coaching staff and to the fans."
The Seattle game was a rude awakening to a TFC side that was coming home with momentum after picking up four points in its first two matches on the road. But as disappointing as last Saturday's match was, the Reds have already taken their lessons from it and shifted the focus to the upcoming weekend.
"We're looking forward to redeeming ourselves after this past match," said defender Marvell Wynne. "No matter if you play a great match or a terrible match, you've got to put it in the past. You've got to prepare for each match as if it's a brand new day. You think about the match directly after it, but come Monday, you're preparing for the game ahead."
This preparation got off to an unusual start this past week, firstly with the absence of head coach John Carver, who was in (ironically) Dallas watching the TFC Academy's senior team compete in the Dallas Cup youth soccer tournament. With Carver in Dallas until Thursday, assistant coach Chris Cummins oversaw the Reds' training sessions on Monday and Tuesday, and his first practice with the team was held at BMO Field amidst snow flurries and below-freezing temperatures.
In more temperate conditions on Tuesday indoors at the Oakville Soccer Club, Cummins said that the players' work ethic wasn't being affected by either the Seattle loss or the weather.
"As you've seen in training today [on Tuesday], the boys have been straight at it," Cummins said. "We trained [Monday] when it was freezing cold, snowing, raining, and the boys got on with it. We had another bright football session and they got the weekend out of their system. What you can't do it take it into the next game."
The temperature for Saturday is expected to reach a high of just 43 degrees, not counting the wind chill, so TFC hopes the weather will bring a bit of extra home-field edge against their Texan opponents. FCD was one of just two league opponents to win at BMO Field last season, so while the Texas side has yet to record a point this season, Cummins said his team knows how dangerous the Dallas side can be.
"We don't think anybody is a walkover for us," Cummins said. "It's going to be a tough game. We're going to have to be at the top of our game to get a result."
The key for Toronto will be to control FCD's star striker Kenny Cooper. The U.S. international scored all four of Dallas' goals against TFC in their two meetings last season, the 2-0 win at BMO Field on Aug. 3 and a 2-2 draw at Pizza Hut Park on October 11. Cooper has again been the catalyst for the Hoops in 2009, scoring both of the team's goals thus far in the season, most notably a phenomenal strike from past midfield in FCD's season-opening 3-1 defeat to Chicago on March 21.
Few defenders know Cooper better than Serioux, who faced the striker on a daily basis in training for the last two years as a member of FC Dallas. Serioux believes his familiarity with Cooper's abilities will help Toronto against his old club.
"Playing with a guy for two years, you get to know his style. So myself or whoever is playing alongside him, we'll definitely have our work cut out for us," Serioux said. "But at the same time, I know what he's capable of doing. If we can shut him down early and keep him from having those opportunities ... he's a great finisher, so if we can get in his way, they'll have some problems."
As impressive as Cooper's credentials are, however, Cummins is more focused on making sure that TFC, unlike last Saturday, plays up to their abilities.
"Kenny's a great player, he's got a good goal-scoring record, but we're not worried about one player," Cummins said. "We'll concentrate on our game. We'll obviously have a look at him and we'll have a game plan in regards to him, but we're more worried about our players and making sure we defend and attack properly.
"I don't think that was the real TFC team out there [against Seattle], to be honest with you. We've got a lot of quality on the team, there's a lot of passion and fire within the team and the staff and I think it'll be there this weekend."
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
