Monday, July 28, 2008

FC Dallas 4, L.A. Galaxy 0

By Erin Rice

Based on prior performances between these two teams, Sunday evening's FC Dallas v. L.A. Galaxy result may have come as a surprise. L.A. Galaxy sat in second place in the Western Conference, with a 5-1 win over the Hoops in May, and a 0-0 tie in March. Meanwhile, FC Dallas has struggled to find a win since Schellas Hyndman took the head coaching reigns. A slew of ties later, FC Dallas sat in sixth place in an albeit tight conference.

All these factors in play, one would have thought Sunday's game would yield no points for the Dallas team. But we were all wrong. Not only did Dallas pick up three points and their head coach's first MLS win, they got back a lot of respect from their loyal fans and those who just showed up to see Beckham.

For the first 14 minutes or so, the teams seemed fairly evenly matched. While L.A. Galaxy didn't put much pressure on Dallas' goal, and Dallas took a couple shots lacking promise, both teams were passing well and moving the ball around the field with few unnecessary turnovers. While taking the notes to make this observation, that segment of the game ended and the ass-whoopin' began.

In the 15th minute Kenny Cooper received the ball 30 yards from goal towards the right half of the field. Beating his defender with an old school stepover, he took a second long touch towards center and ripped a shot across his body, slipping a low skipping shot inside the right post from 25 yards out.

If you've ever been to a youth soccer game and heard the coach yell "five minutes" after a team scores, what he's saying to his players is that the next five minutes or so are the best time to get the second goal, or the answer. Immediately after a goal both teams are now mentally changing their game plan or are still thinking about the last goal, often creating a bit of chaos on the field. Chaos leads to goals. With all the chaos created after Cooper's goal, Dallas didn't need the entire five minutes.

Celia Palmer

Dominic Oduro's extra effort and passing made much of the difference in the FC Dallas front half on Sunday.

As fans were still standing and high-fiving, FCD managed to regain control of the ball and headed back to give another headache to L.A. keeper Steve Cronin. Early in the 17th minute, Cooper, again on the right side, one-touch passed the ball to Dominic Oduro and made a run left into space. Oduro touched towards net, beating one defender. With a second defender blocking half of the goal, Oduro, in rather un-Oduro fashion, made a short pass left to Cooper who slotted another grass-cutter inside the left post. Despite Cronin's outstretched lower hand, the ball was out of reach. In the span of a minute and a half, FC Dallas went up 2-0 over the second place team.

The remainder of the first half would see FC Dallas continue their relentless pressure on net. L.A., perhaps feeling the pressure to equalize, managed to break into Dallas' third a few times, but most shots sailed far over the frame or were handled by FCD keeper Dario Sala. Then, in the 36th minute, Dallas would seal the deal with a third goal. From the right, Cooper touched the ball to Arturo Alvarez on his left. Alvarez then slotted a diagonal pass to Oduro on his right, who forged into the penalty area beating Cronin by tapping the ball past him. Though the touch was a tad long, Oduro managed to catch up to it in time to sneak a shot inside the right post.

Into the second half, the imbalance between the two teams continued, as FCD players were finding each other with passes while the Galaxy could not seem to find one another even by accident. L.A. relies pretty heavily on the interaction between David Beckham and forward Landon Donovan. When Beckham is able to find Landon on the wing or over the defense, this duo is nearly impossible to stop, but there was a disconnect between the two on Sunday. Chris Klein and Edson Buddle, despite their best efforts to take shots whenever possible, just couldn't keep the ball on target. L.A. was incredibly out of sync the entire game and it was glaringly obvious against an FC Dallas team that played possibly its best game all season.

From the 71st to 73rd minutes, it appeared that L.A. might have their chance. A string of three corner kicks (which should probably have been four were it not for referee fatigue) gave FCD some problems, as L.A. won the first two, getting chances on net. Finally, by the third kick, Cooper was able to head the ball out, awkwardly setting up an L.A. shot that missed wide.

Celia Palmer

Abe Thompson's goal in the 89th minute is up for Sierra Mist Goal of the Week Honors along with Kenny Cooper's first goal.

The Galaxy's best chance of the night may very well have been in the 81st minute when Donovan, near the upper left corner of the 18, ripped a shot that pegged Sala right in the hands before it was cleared out.

As the match clock approached 90, FCD kept pushing forward. Hyndman substituted three players in the second half, two of whom, Michael Dello-Russo and Chase Wileman, saw the field for the their first time this season. Another eager player, Abe Thompson, replaced a spent Oduro up top and showed the crowd why he's such a great asset off the bench. In the 89th minute, Wileman set up Thompson near the upper left corner of the penalty area. After touching the ball inside with his right, Thompson curled a shot around Cronin just inside the right upper 90. The game concluded at 4-0.

Several factors played out on Sunday that lead to FCD's impressive win.

• For one of the first times this season, FC Dallas players were finding one another with simple, crisp passes out of danger and into space. One of the biggest complaints this writer has had of the team thus far this year has been their inability to keep the ball and to create plays away from the opposition. This writer can finally die in peace (someday way in the future, right).
• Attitudes and fatigue didn't show up. FCD has entered several games this year looking either lazy or worn out. On Sunday they looked like neither, as players were not only making runs and getting wide, but were chasing back and making the extra effort to prevent shots. The entrance of new players, either through substitution, or in the case of Eric Avila, in getting his first MLS start, gave the team some fresh energy and may also have put the fear of god into some of the regular starters, who know that under Hyndman they'll have to earn their starting position each week.
• The forwards were connecting and working together. While credit should go around the entire team, Cooper and Oduro, with help from Alvarez and Ricchetti in the midfield, put pressure on L.A.'s goal the entire game. Though Cooper has been a key player all season, he hasn't been as effective in creating plays as he has been in finishing them. But perhaps his vigor on field was renewed with all the international interest being paid to him as the transfer season opens. Oduro, too, put in a performance unlike previous ones. Usually counted on for his speed, his passing skills and ability to work the ball down the field have left much to be desired. But on Sunday Oduro played unselfishly, setting up teammates a number of times. Laying the ball off to others may have helped him take a break from running, as he looked far less tired in the second half than he usually does when he is in the starting eleven.
• L.A. didn't show up. Not to take anything away from FCD's effort, but this was not the L.A. team we've seen in the last few months. As mentioned earlier, Beckham and Donovan weren't connecting, and the efforts of other players were consistently off target. They appeared lethargic at times and low on heart.
• At the same time, the FCD defense had one of their better games, rarely getting beat overhead and cutting off the slotted ball. Davino held a strong back line while Adrian Serioux stepped up when extra effort was needed to prevent a cross or shot.

The win moved FC Dallas up two spots into fourth place, while the Galaxy fell into third (tied for second with Houston on points alone, their goal differential is -1 compared to Houston's even differential). FCD is two points away from Real Salt Lake in first.

Related stories

• Pegasus News Week in View: The Hits Keep Coming (July 31, 2008)
• FC Dallas forward Kenny Cooper will stay in Dallas, for now (July 29, 2008)

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• Soccer > MLS > FC Dallas