FRISCO, Texas – Bad news turned even more sour for FC Dallas in this past Saturday’s loss to Colorado when midfielder Andrew Jacobson fell to the pitch on the Rapids’ game-winning header.
Jacobson had risen to clear the ball, but an elbow to the head from Colorado goal scorer Drew Moor floored the FCD man. Jacobson left the match with concussion-like symptoms and doesn’t recall what happened on the play.
“I just remember going up for [the header] – I thought I was going to win it – and just like a cartoon, ‘POW!’' recalled Jacobson after watching his teammates train from the sidelines on Tuesday morning. “I don’t really remember much. I had one [concussion] in college, but it’s not like a big ongoing thing or anything like that.”
FC Dallas trainers cleaned up the cut after Jacobson’s collision and glued it together rather than stitching it. Three days after the team’s fourth straight 1-0 loss, Jacobson feels significantly better.
“Each day has gotten a lot better and I have some testing today and if I pass it, I can start getting back out there,” he said.
Head coach Schellas Hyndman noted that the upcoming four-day break during the international FIFA date couldn’t come at a better time.
“This is great timing because he has a week to get ready for a game,” Hyndman said in anticipation of the Oct. 12 match at the Chicago Fire.
Practice, time to rest
On Monday, for the first time in what feels like ages, FC Dallas returned to the training pitch not for a recovery session or a game preview, but to work on their style of play.
According to Hyndman, among those benefitting from the practice time – which featured working the ball around the opponent’s 18-yard box – was forward Maicon Santos.
“I think [since] we got Maicon, this is really one of the only days we’ve ever worked with him because I think we’ve only had three days of training in three months,” Hyndman said. “So it’s been hard for him to understand.”
The veteran Brazilian has had many scoring opportunities during FCD’s four-game losing streak and was excited to work with his team away from league matches.
“To have a full training like that with the team is cool,” Santos said. “It’s good for me, it’s good for the team too, but we’ve been working a lot to get the results back, so it’s good to have a day like that of practice.”
Combine Monday and Tuesday’s practice with the four-day weekend FC Dallas will enjoy from Thursday through Sunday and Hyndman expressed excitement on behalf of his players.
“This is the first break since February,” he added. “It’s our first weekend off and we’re really excited about it and it came really at a good time. The balls haven’t been bouncing right, but at the same time, you sometimes make the ball bounce right, so I think it’s been a combination of a few things and we are very excited to have some time off.”
Robert Casner covers FC Dallas for MLSsoccer.com.
