FRISCO, Texas — Finally, after a frustrating month of shutout losses, FC Dallas can kiss goodbye to September.
The month saw the team lose its grip on second place in the Western Conference, fail to score a goal in each of its three league matches, and go winless for an entire month for only the second time in Schellas Hyndman’s tenure as Dallas head coach.
Hello, October.
The first day of October will see Dallas travel to the defending champions, the Colorado Rapids, where they hope to straighten their path (9 pm ET; watch LIVE online).
After a month of shortcomings, a match against the Rapids – whom FCD defeated 3-0 earlier this year at Pizza Hut Park following a losing streak – might be just the right remedy.
“The last time we won I think was Aug. 27 against [Sporting] Kansas City, so we’ve not had a good month,” Hyndman said. “September’s been a kind of non-normal month for us, but it is what it is. We’ve got to get a little better here for October.”
It's no that the team played particularly poorly in September, it's just that the team couldn't score goals.
The current scoring drought sits at 270 minutes, and while the team can’t reach the club scoreless record of 364 minutes this weekend, there's an opportunity to right the ship for the remainder of the regular season.
“It’s another key game like all of the rest of the games, and we cannot take it lightly,” said forward Jackson, who created numerous scoring opportunities against the Houston Dynamo last Saturday. “We got to take it like a final and try to put ourselves in the best position possible.”
The Rapids also enter Saturday’s fixture in a slump, having not won in their past five games.
“This is going to be a big game for them – a home game – and they’ve played one more game than us,” he said. "I would imagine a great crowd, very intense. [It's] a very meaningful game, and for us it’s the same.”
Dallas can clinch a playoff berth this weekend with a win combined with losses from any two of the New York Red Bulls, Portland Timbers or Houston Dynamo.
“I think if it was Colorado or any other team, it doesn’t matter,” said midfielder Ricardo Villar, who revealed he’s been nursing a right hamstring injury for several weeks. “We've got to go back to getting points, and we've got to approach this game with 100 percent concentration and discipline and get the result — and not take it lightly by any means.”
Robert Casner covers FC Dallas for MLSsoccer.com
