Under the harshest of circumstances FCD had a good road point snatched away at the death by a Nat Borchers shot in added time Saturday evening. Under much auspicious circumstances.
Seven winless games preceded Saturday’s match; the loss in Salt Lake makes it eight. Results are hard to come by for Dallas at the moment, who is still beleaguered and destitute from suspensions and injuries amongst key starters such as Brek Shea, and the team’s DP David Ferreira. This is a storyline that hasn’t really changed since week one of the season, save Brek Shea’s suspension.
To dismiss Dallas’ 2012 campaign and boil everything down to injury is foolhardy; let’s not tease the thought. Injuries and suspensions are two major factors that have dictated style of play, due to personnel available, and prevented Dallas from playing its best soccer. However, the team has dropped fifteen points (yes, fifteen) from winning positions this season. Given the depleted squad even half of those points would be valuable in keeping FCD’s playoff hopes afloat. As much as injuries and suspension could tell a good tale about the first half of 2012 for FCD those fifteen points could tell quite the same.
But the loss at Salt Lake stung for several reasons. First of all, the team did play well, especially the first forty-five minutes. George John easily had the standout performance in both halves for Dallas. Matt Hedges definitely earns an honorable mention for his second goal of the season and overall performance. His goal in the 75th minute was a result of decent pressure applied by Dallas from the start of the second half. The roller-coaster ride fans and teammates were sent on from that moment on was a microcosm of the 2012 campaign for FCD. Blas Perez’s strike that later drew Dallas level with Salt Lake seemed like enough, and the team would emerge with a positive result in a hostile environment.
Borcher’s goal in added time seemed almost inevitable. At least it does in retrospect. It was yet another moment that left the FC Dallas supporter and casual fan alike thinking, “Really?” To many it was par for the course in 2012.
Commiserating doesn’t serve FCD well, though; it’s even easier given the US Open Cup loss to the Carolina Railhawks, a third division side, Wednesday night in Frisco. Prior to the game optimism existed: maybe we could pull off a nice cup run in the midst of the crisis. If nothing else, watching some of our reserves boss the pitch might do the organization good after all it’s been through in 2012. Alas, none of this happened, and Carolina only added to the misery. Again, commiserating at this point does not serve the team well. The FCD front office definitely understands the circumstances restricting the team at the moment, the least of those being suspensions, but the most being injuries. It’s a saga that hasn’t left whatsoever, and has no true end in sight (or maybe it seems that way).
However, there is a building clamor for some type of regime change in Dallas. In his defense, Hyndman has many problems that are out of his hands, the most of these ailments being injuries. The suspensions, however, are something that definitely fall within his realm, and reveal more team mentality than anything else. How exactly that is addressed is certainly up to Hyndman and his staff. From the outside it’s easy for Dallas’ lack of mental discipline on the field to be self-perpetuating: losses followed by frustration, and then suspensions ultimately lead to a change in personnel on the pitch, which lead to a dip in form, which then frustrated the side into a state of disarray. It’s a scary cycle to jump on; fortunately FCD has shown at least in the past two matches it has the mental wherewithal to put forth a prolonged fight deep into the match instead of the instant gratification provided by a harsh challenge or dissent to the officials. Hyndman certainly must have addressed this, as the team’s mental form has done nothing but improve since.
Ultimately the team is still at a crossroads and desperately needs results if they’re to salvage anything from this season. Legitimately, if TFC were to put together two wins they would be on-par with FCD in the victory column. That’s a sight we all certainly thought we wouldn’t and couldn’t see, but it will be a discussion topic if wins do not become an actuality. It is not time to clear house in Frisco and rebuild; let’s be certain. But it is time to embrace the small break the team has and charge into the coming summer months with a full head of steam. A healthy Brek Shea and Fabian Castillo can certainly help that. The return of David Ferreira may be nigh! Results will begin to change once the right personnel is back on the pitch.
(image courtesy of fcdallas.com)
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