The dog days of summer continue for FC Dallas. And they continue to hinder the side's ability to break out of a slump.
The Hoops battled to their fourth scoreless match in a row in a 0-0 draw against the Montreal Impact on Saturday night in Quebec. It was their eighth straight game without a win.
Chances were few and far between for Dallas on the night as the Impact outshot Dallas 15-6.
Afterward, Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman rued several missing players.
“I think not having Blas (Perez) here has really hurt us more than we thought,” said Hyndman, referring to the club's current leading scorer, who is with Panama at the Gold Cup. “I think we need to control the center of the midfield, that was something that showed today as we struggled to support the attack.
“It was a difficult game for us, not having Jackson or (Fabian) Castillo here with their speed hurt us but on the defensive side of things our guys battled hard and showed a lot of character.”
Still, there were positives to the result. The defense, led by a particularly strong performance from Zach Loyd and the return from injury of center back George John, earned its sixth shutout of the season. Goalkeeper Raul Fernandez, who was recently named to the MLS All-Star team, posted four saves.
But Hyndman looked beyond his goalkeeper and the backline for the strong defensive effort.
“Our defense and goalkeeper did well,” said Hyndman. “But it was also the entire team that worked hard to get the result. So for us to be here, having to leave five players at home and come away with a point, I think that is really positive for us.”
