FC Dallas has now had almost a week to forget last Saturday night's debacle at Pizza Hut Park -- a 4-0 loss to D.C. United. The Hoops went a ways in putting that behind on Tuesday when they advanced to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final with a 2-1 overtime win against Seattle. And Saturday, FCD plays host Toronto FC -- which handed the Hoops a 4-0 loss at BMO Field on June 17.
In that loss, FCD was playing its third game in eight days and looked tired. They had just played three days earlier at Real Salt Lake and left the Wasatch Front with a 1-0 win but looked listless in Toronto. The Reds had a 2-0 lead by the 25th minute but the good news for FCD is that two of the players who scored that day -- Jeff Cunningham and Danny Dichio, will not play on Saturday because of injury.
But the contest at Pizza Hut Park shapes up as a battle of two teams in a bit of a rut. FCD's loss to United was their second in a row in league play. It came after the Hoops had a 13-day layoff following a 1-0 loss at Houston on August 19.
And the Reds are in the midst of a league-record scoreless streak that currently sits at 642 minutes and counting. TFC's last goal came on July 7 at Chicago when Maurice Edu scored in the 78th minute of a 1-1 draw. They have lost three consecutive games and haven't won since July 4, a 2-1 victory at Real Salt Lake.
FCD head coach Steve Morrow knows that TFC has currently hit a rough patch but that doesn't make them any less of a formidable foe for his side.
"Toronto is going through a difficult stage," he said. "They've got a few injuries and aren't scoring as many goals as they would like right now. They can sometimes be a dangerous team to play against because they're going to come out and fight very hard to try and turn things around for their team."
Even though the Hoops come in riding high after their Open Cup win in Seattle on Tuesday, the FCD boss knows that his squad must put that triumph behind them and focus on Saturday.
"We have to be mentally ready for that and not let our level drop at all," Morrow said. "I think it's going to be a game that we have to approach with the right mental attitude and be ready to go. We must make sure that Tuesday is out of our heads and that we're ready to play on Saturday."
The home side is also in the midst of a scoring drought, albeit a minor one when compared to that of their next opponent. FCD's last goal came more than 180 minutes ago when Clarence Goodson scored the game-winner in the second minute of second-half stoppage time in a 3-2 win against Columbus on August 11, also the Hoops' last victory.
TFC's injuries are well-documented as Cunningham and former FCD all-star midfielder Ronnie O'Brien are both out for the season. And leading scorer Dichio will miss 2-4 weeks after colliding with a teammate during training on Tuesday.
"They've had an up and down year, but being an expansion team, that's kind of expected," FCD defender Aaron Pitchkolan said. "In this league, anyone can beat anyone else on any given day. We've been on a bit of a slide lately. So hopefully, we can get three points."
But the Hoops also come in with one injury. Center back Clarence Goodson suffered a concussion in Tuesday's win in Seattle and was replaced in the lineup by Adrian Serioux to start the second half. Goodson trained on Thursday and felt fine but was unable to practice on Friday, making him a gametime decision on Saturday. Morrow did term him as questionable.
In Goodson's place, Morrow could plug in Pitchkolan, who has performed well at center back in spot duty this year. Serioux, a Canadian international who was picked by the Reds in last year's expansion draft before subsequently being traded to FCD, could man the other center back spot.
"I guess with everything that happened in the offseason with the whole trade, it is somewhat important to play them," Serioux said. "I missed the majority of their first season and couldn't go back there and play against them (in June). There was more hype at the beginning of the season than now because they're not doing too well. Hopefully, we can pull out a victory and take it from there."
On Tuesday, Morrow also replaced normal starting left back Chris Gbandi, who hasn't had a good run of form lately with David Wagenfuhr, who could also start on Saturday.
"I just felt it was time for a change and Chris (Gbandi) agreed with that and didn't argue with it," Morrow said. "He knows he's got to work hard to fight for his place back again."
Saturday's match will also mark the first home start of FCD's designated player, World Cup-winning forward Denilson. The Brazilian got his first start against Seattle, played very well and emerged as a crucial part of the Hoops attack.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
