3rd Degree

October 11th, 2008 . By: Jay Brownlee

Well, here we go again, another huge home game with major playoff implications.  Another home game on the same day as another major sporting event in town, this time the Red River Shootout down in the Cotton Bowl.

That Dallas is still firmly in the hunt for post-season can be attributed more to the soft underbelly that is the MLS table than to a late season stretch of excellence.  Last week saw the Hoops escape with a tie at home against expansion San Jose, only referee Abiodun Okulaja’s utter ineptitude accounting for the PK equalizer from Kenny Cooper to salvage a point.  Good thing Abby’s eyes were bad at both ends of the pitch; out-of-form Duilio Davino looked like a volleyball player on a ball sent near the top of the box that should have resulted in an early shower rather than a set piece.

So, basically, without giving you all the boring stats that I have come to live by from SportsClubStats.com, I’ll wrangle them all together and make this bold prediction: Dallas must win at least two of their final three matches to make the playoffs.  They really cannot afford to lose any more games, so I say anything less than a 2-0-1 record over this final stretch and chances are the next meaningful FC Dallas discussion will be whether Ze’ Roberto is really coming here or not.

The first hurdle that must be cleared is woeful Toronto FC, coached by “Give me a DP or I am so outta here it ain’t funny” John Carver, hardly a DP coach, if you get my drift.  Be sure to yell words of sincere appreciation to Mr. Carver at the game, however, for it was his own stupidity that landed Jeff Cunningham in Dallas for the MLS equivalent of a ham sandwich.  You guys want to question John Ellinger’s intellect? Ellinger looks like a freakin’ genius right now. And I told him so before the San Jose game.

All this brings us to this week’s match. Toronto FC sits in last place in the East on 31 points. The team that will start in Dallas will be severely impacted by five international absences: Amado Guevara, Tyrone Marshall, Kevin Harmse, Carlos Ruiz, and Carl Robinson. I don’t really know how much it matters for John Carver, however, he can’t win with these guys, there’s not much to say he can win without them.

However, Jim Brennan and Marvel Wynne stayed home to provide width in the attack from their fullback positions. Greg Sutton will play ‘keeper with centerbacks Marco Velez and Allen, Texas native Hunter Freeman.  Expect Danny Dichio and red-hot Chad Barrett to provide targets up front for a midfield of Rohan Rickets, Ricky Titus, Tyler Roselund and Tim Regan.  Ok, the midfield is a complete guess, but it’s about all I could do this week.  To reiterate: Toronto is basically playing all backups in the midfield for this match. Not a great sign.

Dallas must dominate the midfield and keep Wynne and Brennan back on their heels and out of the attack.  Toronto’s defense has played well of late, but they cannot afford to play Dallas’ high energy attacking game without laying back and waiting for a counter.  However, with a lack of quality in midfield, expect FC Dallas to dominate there. Scoring goals should just be a matter of time. Jeff Cunningham has to be licking his chops.

Dallas should start a slightly different line-up from last week, with Dax McCarty starting on the left of midfield in place of injured Marcelo Saragosa. Hopefully, Adrian Serioux is well enough from his illness to start at RB. He should be joined by Davino, Moor and Blake Wagner.  The rest of midfield should be Pablo Ricchetti at defensive mid, Bruno Guarda at attacking mid and Andre Rocha on the right. Of course, Cunningham and Kenny Cooper will play the forward positions. 

Dallas must believe this is a winnable match, no ties allowed. It will be interesting to see McCarty on the left because since his last start there, Hyndman has pulled in the wings more centrally, a position much better suited to the skill-set of the crafty, but not so fleet-footed McCarty.  And between Rocha and McCarty, practically every set-piece for Dallas becomes a danger-zone for the opponents. I like Dax McCarty on the field, what can I say? 

This might not be the Red River Shootout, but for the teams involved, it could have that feel.

Categories: Match Preview .

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