Speed Bump
September 2nd, 2008 . By: John Carlton
At the beginning of August, which seems like a lifetime ago, a new hope and vigor infused the clubhouse at FC Dallas. New signings and a bit of a win streak seemed to give the team the lift it needed heading into the home stretch of regular season play. But when the epitaph is written for this season’s campaign, it may tell the sad story of two August matches against the Columbus Crew. Following the crushing defeat two weeks ago at Crew Stadium, a match which Dallas led for half an hour, it was the Hoops’ turn to host the surging Crew, and the results were unfortunately the same. In the 35th minute, FC Dallas got another goal from recent acquisition Jeff Cunningham to put the Hoops out in front. The lead was all too brief, howeve, and poor marking was to blame. The equalizer was a thing of beauty, with league-leading assist man Guillermo Barros Schelotto kicking a towering corner to the back of the area where Chad Marshall headed the ball onto the head of Alejandro Moreno who finished easily past Dario Sala. Schelotto created the go-ahead goal a short time later in the 40th minute. Juking Drew Moor on the left side of the box, Schelotto crossed a perfect ball to the far post which found an unbelievably wide open Eddie Gaven, who headed the ball into the back of the net. Adrian Serioux appeared to have let Gaven run in toward goal unabated on the play. Even with better possession and two shots that hit the woodwork, Dallas went into the break down a goal. Frustration and bad luck plagued the Red Stripes in the second stanza. A free kick from Dax McCarty in the 54th minute was looping in nicely for any eager Dallas attacker to pounce on, but the chance went begging. Kenny Cooper re-directed a pass from McCarty in the 58th minute, but Crew ‘keeper Will Hesmer blocked it with his fingertips, then reeled it into his body to prevent the stalking Jeff Cunningham’s sure tap-in from occurring. Five minutes of stoppage time didn’t prove enough of a lifeline for Big D to turn the result into something resembling a positive against top-of-the-table Crew, and the players were left scratching their heads at another lead given up, and another poor outing for the backline. What is certain is that the return of Duilio Davino from injury cannot come quickly enough for this unit. And despite the fine display of possession and attacking focus that Dallas has adopted under Schellas Hyndman, if the season is to be salvaged it will only come from better defensive football. Columbus Crew (12-6-4) vs. FC Dallas (6-8-8)August 30, 2008 — Pizza Hut Park Scoring Summary: Columbus Crew — William Hesmer, Frankie Hejduk, Andy Iro, Chad Marshall, Gino Padula, Eddie Gaven (Pat Noonan 74), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Stefani Miglioranzi 94+), Brian Carroll, Brad Evans, Robbie Rogers (Jed Zayner 89), Alejandro Moreno, Substitutes Not Used: Jason Garey, Andy Gruenebaum, Steven Lenhart, Duncan Oughton FC Dallas — Dario Sala, Adrian Serioux (Eric Avila 75), Drew Moor, Aaron Pitchkolan, Blake Wagner, Andre Rocha (Michael Dello-Russo 80), Bruno Guarda, Marcelo Saragosa, Dax McCarty (Dominic Oduro 66), Jeff Cunningham, Kenny Cooper, Substitutes Not Used: Ray Burse, Abe Thompson, Anthony Wallace, Jamie Watson
Misconduct Summary: referee: Ramon Hernandez 1 Comment(s) Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I know I’m a glass-half-full type of guy, but I don’t see FCD as one of the worst in the league. They are one of only 6 teams with a positive goal differential, and are still one win away from the playoffs. If they could get one star midfielder and one (true) star defender, they could shoot to tops in the league next year. Columbus illustrates that. Put Schelloto and Hejduk on Dallas and FCD is stronger than the Crew.
For now, being just good in a parity league can be annoying.