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FC Dallas Rain Goals On Fire, Win Brimstone
With nothing to lose, FC Dallas threw all they had at the Chicago Fire Sunday afternoon. It worked as the Hoops handed the only undefeated team in MLS their first loss of 2009, winning the rivalry between the squads with a 3-0 victory.
Jun 1, 2009 12:28:20 AM
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – FC Dallas had nothing to lose Sunday when facing the Chicago Fire. They were riding a two-game unbeaten streak. And while they hadn’t won a game since April 19th, they hadn’t lost since May 9th. So they came to Chicago hungry for a win, or at least to cause the only unbeaten team in MLS a bit of trouble. They accomplished their mission with a 3-0 win.
“Knowing they were unbeaten was definitely motivation for our team,” FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman said. “It was a very good performance on our part. We knew Chicago was going to be tired and we took advantage of that. We knew they weren’t at their best. They have a very good team.”
FC Dallas dominated play for the majority of the match. They never flinched. And sure Chicago had a rough road trip – three games in 12 days, traveling from Chicago to Toronto to New York to Los Angeles and home again. The Fire also played a grueling game on Thursday, earning a hard-fought 3-2 win over Chivas USA in injury time.
So were they tired? Definitely. Were they weak? Potentially. Chicago was without star midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco who was with the Mexican National Team.
The Fire also rested defenders Wilman Conde and Gonzalo Segares for the whole match and Marco Pappa for the first half. So it wasn’t a typical lineup.
"We just weren't sharp, and is that a result of us playing three games? I don't know,” Fire head coach Denis Hamlett said. “But giving up the early mistakes we did, it's especially tough to come back from that given what we've been through."
The bottom line – FC Dallas was a bit more rested. They hadn’t played for eight days since a 1-1 draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy. And honestly, they were a bit hungrier. They needed a win and who better to get a win against than the league-scoring leaders (20 goals) and only undefeated team.
“We’ve been waiting for a game like this,” FC Dallas defender Drew Moor said. “It was past due. We knew they were going to have tired legs. We came out here and threw everything we had at them. It gives us some belief. We’re now unbeaten in three games. We have a young team, but a talented team. Slowly we’re starting to turn this thing around.”
The win still puts FC Dallas (2-6-3, 9 points) toward the bottom of the standings. But they’re not in last place. The win tied them with New York (2-7-3, 9 points) for the second to last in the league. In the West, the win gave them a one-point advantage over the San Jose Earthquakes (2-7-2, 8 points).
Perhaps the best part of the win for FC Dallas was beating an undefeated team. Chicago hadn’t lost a game all season. Not only that, but they hadn’t been shutout at all.
“It was a great win for us,” FC Dallas forward Kenny Cooper, who leads the team with five goals, said. “Defensively the team played great. We had three goals and a shutout against a great team. We can walk out of here with a win, and head back to Dallas with a lot of confidence.”
For Hyndman and company they plan on looking toward the future and not dwelling on the past mistakes.
“Our first 10 games we started out 1-6-3,” Hyndman said. “This is the start of our next 10 games. Now we put those first 10 games behind us and use this to move forward.”
FC Dallas returns to action Sunday, June 7th hosting the San Jose Earthquakes at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Kathryn L. Knapp, Goal.com
Go to Goal.com's MLS section for all the latest on the U.S. game.
“Knowing they were unbeaten was definitely motivation for our team,” FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman said. “It was a very good performance on our part. We knew Chicago was going to be tired and we took advantage of that. We knew they weren’t at their best. They have a very good team.”
FC Dallas dominated play for the majority of the match. They never flinched. And sure Chicago had a rough road trip – three games in 12 days, traveling from Chicago to Toronto to New York to Los Angeles and home again. The Fire also played a grueling game on Thursday, earning a hard-fought 3-2 win over Chivas USA in injury time.
So were they tired? Definitely. Were they weak? Potentially. Chicago was without star midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco who was with the Mexican National Team.
The Fire also rested defenders Wilman Conde and Gonzalo Segares for the whole match and Marco Pappa for the first half. So it wasn’t a typical lineup.
"We just weren't sharp, and is that a result of us playing three games? I don't know,” Fire head coach Denis Hamlett said. “But giving up the early mistakes we did, it's especially tough to come back from that given what we've been through."
The bottom line – FC Dallas was a bit more rested. They hadn’t played for eight days since a 1-1 draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy. And honestly, they were a bit hungrier. They needed a win and who better to get a win against than the league-scoring leaders (20 goals) and only undefeated team.
“We’ve been waiting for a game like this,” FC Dallas defender Drew Moor said. “It was past due. We knew they were going to have tired legs. We came out here and threw everything we had at them. It gives us some belief. We’re now unbeaten in three games. We have a young team, but a talented team. Slowly we’re starting to turn this thing around.”
The win still puts FC Dallas (2-6-3, 9 points) toward the bottom of the standings. But they’re not in last place. The win tied them with New York (2-7-3, 9 points) for the second to last in the league. In the West, the win gave them a one-point advantage over the San Jose Earthquakes (2-7-2, 8 points).
Perhaps the best part of the win for FC Dallas was beating an undefeated team. Chicago hadn’t lost a game all season. Not only that, but they hadn’t been shutout at all.
“It was a great win for us,” FC Dallas forward Kenny Cooper, who leads the team with five goals, said. “Defensively the team played great. We had three goals and a shutout against a great team. We can walk out of here with a win, and head back to Dallas with a lot of confidence.”
For Hyndman and company they plan on looking toward the future and not dwelling on the past mistakes.
“Our first 10 games we started out 1-6-3,” Hyndman said. “This is the start of our next 10 games. Now we put those first 10 games behind us and use this to move forward.”
FC Dallas returns to action Sunday, June 7th hosting the San Jose Earthquakes at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Kathryn L. Knapp, Goal.com
Go to Goal.com's MLS section for all the latest on the U.S. game.
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