March 22nd, 2009 . 6:48 pm . By: Jay Brownlee

It is the oldest cliché in sports that one game does not a season make. In spite of this, Opening Day is almost always dissected and analyzed by fans looking to justify their greatest hopes or deepest fears for a team that binds their heartstrings so tightly. 

So it was with the disappointment of last season still fresh that the Hoops Faithful watched their team take the field against the Chicago Fire. New faces, such as Steve Purdy and Daniel Torres in the back, along with Dave Van Den Berg and David Ferreira in midfield, have made this club much better- on paper.

But a very real flesh-and-blood Chicago Fire made the trip to Dallas for Saturday night’s game in the cozy- and pleasantly full- confines of Pizza Hut Park to renew the Brimstone Cup rivalry. Cuauhtémoc Blanco would start the match on the bench, but would ultimately figure into the final result as he often does.

Despite the new faces, Dallas was missing two players who figure to make a difference for the club on the balance of year. Marcelo Saragosa sat to recover from surgery to repair a torn meniscus and Pablo Ricchetti sat for being a very bad boy in his final performance of last season’s debacle.

Ricchetti’s absence would be felt most on the night. Bruno Guarda performed a yeoman’s task of filling in, but he’s just no Ricchetti. Ricchetti is the man who gets it all started for the Hoops, the guy who always seems to be in the right place at the right time. His positioning and ability to quickly make the right pass will fuel the Dallas counter-attack all season long. It will be his ability to get and keep the ball in the center of the pitch, hooking up with Ferreira, that will create many dangerous opportunities this year.

As such, Dallas got a very different look from the team that took the field in their two matches against Clube Atletico Paranaense. Previously, Dallas worked from the back, Sala rarely punting to midfield, instead quickly out letting the ball in order to build the attack. Consequently, Dallas did not look confident moving forward for much of the first half.

However, against the run of play, Kenny Cooper hit a beautiful 60-yard blast, catching Fire ‘keeper Jon Busch off his line and finding the back of the net at the left post. Meanwhile, the countdown to rumors, innuendo and speculation sending Cooper to Europe in summer will have already begun in earnest. How many “Will Cooper be here to receive his Goal of the Year award” arguments will we have to endure on BigSoccer (and here) this early in the season?

The Fire would not panic and would eventually notch the equalizer from the foot of Justin Mapp at the 38’ mark of the first half. The second half would bring a penalty kick game-winner from Brian McBride in the 61st and an absolutely brilliant 20 yard free-kick from -who else- Blanco to move the Fire past Dallas 3:1 on the night.

Dallas would manage 20 shots on the night. That is not a typo, that is official MLS statistics. Seriously. But that total includes two off the woodwork and countless others just off frame. Clearly, Dallas created the chances; they have 29 more games to get it right.

This was not the start neither the club nor their fans had hoped for. A convincing win would have assuaged some of the fears of an ’09 repeat. But a win of such proportions might also have masked problems this team needs to overcome. One goal from the run of play was not a bad result on the defensive side. Should the offensive chances continue, this team could score goals in bunches. The creativity and skill on the ball is already a vast improvement of the over-the-top-only abilities of last season’s offensive unit. Of course, problems remain. But one game does not a season make, right?

Categories: Match Report.

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