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Played
October 30, 2010 5:00 PM EDT
FC Dallas Stadium — Frisco, Texas
Referee: K. Stott
Attendance: 11003
October 30, 2010 5:00 PM EDT
FC Dallas Stadium — Frisco, Texas
Referee: K. Stott
Attendance: 11003
MLS Playoffs Preview: FC Dallas - Real Salt Lake
Pizza Hut Park hosts FCD and RSL.
By Jeremy Horton
Momentum
On the surface, it would appear that all the momentum for this first-round series is on the side of Real Salt Lake. After all, RSL have only been defeated once since late April and have a more-than-respectable nine points in their last five matches, three of which were on the road and four of which were against playoff teams. Meanwhile, Dallas capped off a league-record 19-match unbeaten streak with two straight losses to close out the year. It seems logical to think that Salt Lake continue to play as they have most of the year while Dallas has taken a turn for the worse.
Not so fast. Dallas' two losses came at Real and at LA, the two top teams in the league in terms of points. It's hard to find fault with the Hoops for that - almost every team in the league would have gone 0-2 if their schedules had played out the way it did for Big D. And remember that lone loss that RSL have suffered since April? You guessed it: it was Dallas who handed them that loss by a final count of 2-0 at Pizza Hut Park, the same arena that will host the first match of this series. Combine that with the fact that Salt Lake have never taken a single point in Dallas since they began play in 2005 and suddenly you might think that the team with the "momentum" may be satisfied with limiting their losses in Frisco and relying on their massive home-field advantage to win the series.
Tactics
If it seems like these teams know each other well, it's because they train against each other every day. Not literally, of course. But these squads play so similar that nothing that one does will surprise the other. For both teams, it starts with defense, particularly the philosophy that everyone plays defense. Both teams are built around stalwart center backs. Both have midfielders who aren't afraid to hustle back and mix it up. Dax McCarty and Kyle Beckerman are two of the best defensive mids in the business. On the other side of the ball, the success of these two squads hinge largely on their playmaking attacking mids - David Ferreira for FC Dallas and Javier Morales for Real Salt Lake. As they go, their respective teams tend to go as well.
The Ferreira/Morales matchup is the one that everyone wants to talk about, but the key to the series may be how McCarty and Beckerman perform. It will be their responsibility to shut down the opposing team's attacking mid, or at least force them to play the ball in less-than-optimal positions on the pitch. If either Morales or Ferreira are able to impose their will on the match, look out - it could get ugly for the other team.
Turning points
In a series that's expected to be extremely tight, this one might come down to players responding to injuries. Dallas will likely welcome back starting goalkeeper Kevin Hartman from injury, and it couldn't come at a better time. Backup Dario Sala has been suspect during Hartman's absence, and he was out of position when RSL scored the game-winning goal last time these teams got together. It will certainly be uplifting to the Hoops to have their regular starter manning the nets, but how will Hartman respond? This is certainly not the ideal situation to come back and shake the rust off. With so little room for error, how will Hartman deal with the pressure?
On the Real side, midfield freak-of-nature Will Johnson strained his hamstring in training this week and is listed as day-to-day. Johnson doesn't have a flashy game and doesn't get tons of press, but he's as key to the Salt Lake midfield as Beckerman or Morales. Johnson is a tireless worker and does a lot of the little things that somebody needs to do in order to make the team successful - make tackles, keep possession, get into passing lanes, etc. If he is unable to go, Andy Williams will likely get the start in his place. Williams brings a different look to the RSL midfield, especially on the attack, but they will miss the edgy play of Johnson .
Another potential x-factor for Salt Lake is Robbie Findley. His scoring slump this year is well-documented, and as a result he is not drawing as much attention from opposing defenses as he did when he tore up the league last year. But make no mistake: Findley is more than capable of exploding back onto the scene. He tends to score his goals in clumps, so if he gets one against Dallas, his odds of getting another are good. A goal would do wonders for his confidence at that point, and Findley is a player who can do just about anything when he's feeling confident.
Question Marks
The injury situation is detailed above, but the other big question mark in this series could come down to discipline. These teams have a lot of ties to each other, and there are a few players on both sides who are eager to prove a point. The two matches between RSL and Dallas in the regular season were chippy contests, and Morales and Ferreira were the two most fouled players in MLS this season. Both teams are dangerous on the set piece (both crossing the ball and going direct to goal), so guys will have to be careful about where and when they foul. And with the series expected to be a tight one, if anyone from either team picks up a red card, it will make it much more likely that his team will lose the series.
Up Next
After Salt Lake and the Hoops meet in Frisco, the series will head to Sandy for the final act. Real will hope to show well enough in Dallas that they can win the series outright in the cold, thin air at Rio Tinto. For their part, Dallas probably realizes that their odds of winning outright in Utah are not great, so they will seek to build an insurmountable lead at home. If they can force RSL to come back from a multi-goal deficit, they would hold the upper hand and could even extend their aggregate lead by counterattacking a Satlt Lake side that would have to take a lot of risks going forward. But if the 180 minutes end up drawn, you have to like RSL's chances at home in overtime or a shootout.
It's a shame that these two teams are meeting so early in the playoffs, as both have the talent to go far. The winner will continue the murderer's row through the playoffs, taking on the winner of the LA Galaxy/Seattle Sounders series.
Keep updated with Major League Soccer throughout the playoffs by visiting Goal.com's MLS page and joining Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
On the surface, it would appear that all the momentum for this first-round series is on the side of Real Salt Lake. After all, RSL have only been defeated once since late April and have a more-than-respectable nine points in their last five matches, three of which were on the road and four of which were against playoff teams. Meanwhile, Dallas capped off a league-record 19-match unbeaten streak with two straight losses to close out the year. It seems logical to think that Salt Lake continue to play as they have most of the year while Dallas has taken a turn for the worse.
Not so fast. Dallas' two losses came at Real and at LA, the two top teams in the league in terms of points. It's hard to find fault with the Hoops for that - almost every team in the league would have gone 0-2 if their schedules had played out the way it did for Big D. And remember that lone loss that RSL have suffered since April? You guessed it: it was Dallas who handed them that loss by a final count of 2-0 at Pizza Hut Park, the same arena that will host the first match of this series. Combine that with the fact that Salt Lake have never taken a single point in Dallas since they began play in 2005 and suddenly you might think that the team with the "momentum" may be satisfied with limiting their losses in Frisco and relying on their massive home-field advantage to win the series.
Tactics
If it seems like these teams know each other well, it's because they train against each other every day. Not literally, of course. But these squads play so similar that nothing that one does will surprise the other. For both teams, it starts with defense, particularly the philosophy that everyone plays defense. Both teams are built around stalwart center backs. Both have midfielders who aren't afraid to hustle back and mix it up. Dax McCarty and Kyle Beckerman are two of the best defensive mids in the business. On the other side of the ball, the success of these two squads hinge largely on their playmaking attacking mids - David Ferreira for FC Dallas and Javier Morales for Real Salt Lake. As they go, their respective teams tend to go as well.
The Ferreira/Morales matchup is the one that everyone wants to talk about, but the key to the series may be how McCarty and Beckerman perform. It will be their responsibility to shut down the opposing team's attacking mid, or at least force them to play the ball in less-than-optimal positions on the pitch. If either Morales or Ferreira are able to impose their will on the match, look out - it could get ugly for the other team.
Turning points
In a series that's expected to be extremely tight, this one might come down to players responding to injuries. Dallas will likely welcome back starting goalkeeper Kevin Hartman from injury, and it couldn't come at a better time. Backup Dario Sala has been suspect during Hartman's absence, and he was out of position when RSL scored the game-winning goal last time these teams got together. It will certainly be uplifting to the Hoops to have their regular starter manning the nets, but how will Hartman respond? This is certainly not the ideal situation to come back and shake the rust off. With so little room for error, how will Hartman deal with the pressure?
On the Real side, midfield freak-of-nature Will Johnson strained his hamstring in training this week and is listed as day-to-day. Johnson doesn't have a flashy game and doesn't get tons of press, but he's as key to the Salt Lake midfield as Beckerman or Morales. Johnson is a tireless worker and does a lot of the little things that somebody needs to do in order to make the team successful - make tackles, keep possession, get into passing lanes, etc. If he is unable to go, Andy Williams will likely get the start in his place. Williams brings a different look to the RSL midfield, especially on the attack, but they will miss the edgy play of Johnson .
Another potential x-factor for Salt Lake is Robbie Findley. His scoring slump this year is well-documented, and as a result he is not drawing as much attention from opposing defenses as he did when he tore up the league last year. But make no mistake: Findley is more than capable of exploding back onto the scene. He tends to score his goals in clumps, so if he gets one against Dallas, his odds of getting another are good. A goal would do wonders for his confidence at that point, and Findley is a player who can do just about anything when he's feeling confident.
Question Marks
The injury situation is detailed above, but the other big question mark in this series could come down to discipline. These teams have a lot of ties to each other, and there are a few players on both sides who are eager to prove a point. The two matches between RSL and Dallas in the regular season were chippy contests, and Morales and Ferreira were the two most fouled players in MLS this season. Both teams are dangerous on the set piece (both crossing the ball and going direct to goal), so guys will have to be careful about where and when they foul. And with the series expected to be a tight one, if anyone from either team picks up a red card, it will make it much more likely that his team will lose the series.
Up Next
After Salt Lake and the Hoops meet in Frisco, the series will head to Sandy for the final act. Real will hope to show well enough in Dallas that they can win the series outright in the cold, thin air at Rio Tinto. For their part, Dallas probably realizes that their odds of winning outright in Utah are not great, so they will seek to build an insurmountable lead at home. If they can force RSL to come back from a multi-goal deficit, they would hold the upper hand and could even extend their aggregate lead by counterattacking a Satlt Lake side that would have to take a lot of risks going forward. But if the 180 minutes end up drawn, you have to like RSL's chances at home in overtime or a shootout.
It's a shame that these two teams are meeting so early in the playoffs, as both have the talent to go far. The winner will continue the murderer's row through the playoffs, taking on the winner of the LA Galaxy/Seattle Sounders series.
Keep updated with Major League Soccer throughout the playoffs by visiting Goal.com's MLS page and joining Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
-
FC Dallas 1-2 Real Salt Lake
- 21.74 %
-
FC Dallas 0-2 Real Salt Lake
- 21.74 %
-
FC Dallas 2-0 Real Salt Lake
- 13.04 %
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | May 26, 2012 | Real Salt Lake 3 - FC Dallas 2 |
|
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | Apr 25, 2012 | FC Dallas 1 - Real Salt Lake 1 |
|
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | Jul 9, 2011 | Real Salt Lake 2 - FC Dallas 0 |
|
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | May 22, 2011 | FC Dallas 0 - Real Salt Lake 0 |
|
| USA - Major League Soccer (MLS) | Nov 6, 2010 | Real Salt Lake 1 - FC Dallas 1 |
|
FC Dallas
   |
||
| May 26, 2012 | Real Salt Lake 3 - FC Dallas 2 | MLS |
| May 23, 2012 | Chicago Fire 2 - FC Dallas 1 | MLS |
| May 19, 2012 | FC Dallas 1 - Philadelphia Union 1 | MLS |
| May 12, 2012 | Columbus Crew 2 - FC Dallas 1 | MLS |
| May 9, 2012 | FC Dallas 0 - Seattle Sounders FC 2 | MLS |
Real Salt Lake
  |
||
| May 26, 2012 | Real Salt Lake 3 - FC Dallas 2 | MLS |
| May 12, 2012 | Seattle Sounders FC 0 - Real Salt Lake 1 | MLS |
| May 9, 2012 | Chicago Fire 0 - Real Salt Lake 0 | MLS |
| May 5, 2012 | Real Salt Lake 2 - New England Revolution 1 | MLS |
| Apr 28, 2012 | Real Salt Lake 3 - Toronto FC 2 | MLS |
| 1 | Kevin Hartman | Goalkeeper |
| 5 | Jair Benítez | Defender |
| 19 | Zach Loyd | Defender |
| 3 | Ugo Ihemelu | Goalkeeper |
| 6 | Jackson | Defender |
| - | Marvin Chávez | Midfielder |
| 2 | Daniel Hernández | Defender |
| 11 | Dax McCarty | Midfielder |
| 9 | Atiba Harris | Striker |
| 10 | David Arturo Ferreira | Midfielder |
| - | M. Rodríguez | Striker |
| - | Dario Sala | Goalkeeper |
| 14 | George John | Defender |
| 24 | Eric Alexander | Midfielder |
| 34 | Ruben Luna | Striker |
| - | Jeff Cunningham | Striker |
| 20 | Brek Shea | Defender |
| 8 | Eric Avila | Midfielder |
| 18 | Nick Rimando | Goalkeeper |
| 17 | Chris Wingert | Defender |
| 6 | Nat Borchers | Defender |
| 4 | Jamison Olave | Defender |
| 3 | Robbie Russell | Defender |
| 20 | Ned Grabavoy | Midfielder |
| 5 | Kyle Beckerman | Midfielder |
| 11 | Javier Morales | Midfielder |
| 77 | Andy Williams | Midfielder |
| 15 | Álvaro Saborío | Striker |
| 16 | Fabian Espindola | Striker |
| 24 | Kyle Reynish | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Tony Beltran | Defender |
| 18 | Collen Warner | Midfielder |
| 19 | Pablo Campos | Striker |
| 8 | Will Johnson | Striker |
| 10 | Robbie Findley | Striker |
| - | Jean Alexandre | Midfielder |
| David Arturo Ferreira | |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Squad Number: | 10 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Beckerman | |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Squad Number: | 5 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
1 
5 
19 
3 
6 
0 
2 
11 
9 
10 
0 
18 
17 
6 
4 
3 
20 
5 
11 
77 
15 
16
Results
Times In EST
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Kenny Cooper
Striker NY Red Bulls |
11 | 2 |
|
Chris Wondolowski
Striker San Jose Earthquakes |
11 | 1 |
|
Thierry Henry
Striker NY Red Bulls |
9 | 0 |
|
Saer Sene
Striker New England |
7 | 1 |
|
Maicon Santos
Striker D.C. United |
7 | 0 |