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February 27, 2010
LAST CHANCE FOR TRIALISTS
FCD must be roster compliant March 1
By Phil Stephens Dallas Soccer News Editor
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George John has been part of a solid back line this preseason. The second year player is just one reason FCD coach Schellas Hyndman is confident his team will be more successful in containing opposing offenses this season.
Photo by Michael Stephens |
So FC Dallas won’t be playing for the championship of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida Saturday night. That’s to be expected when the team couldn’t make up a 1-0 deficit against Toronto FC, a team playing a man short the entire second half of the tournament semifinal Thursday night. The 1-0 halftime score stood for the rest of the game.
It’s easy to figure the short list of what FCD Head Coach Schellas Hyndman wants from his team Saturday afternoon when it faces Western Conference and state rival the Houston Dynamo for third place in the tournament---goals.
The lack of scoring, even when gifted with man advantage for a half, did not sit well with Hyndman, even if the team was still missing principle striker Jeff Cunningham after his three-week U.S. Men’s National Team stint. Dax McCarty, who was also with Cunningham the U.S. team, played the second half against Toronto, but Cunningham sat out with a groin strain and Hyndman said he won’t be playing Saturday against Houston.
But there are people he still wants to see and Saturday’s game against the Dynamo and frankly, it will the last time many of them have a chance to prove something to the Dallas boss.
“We have to be roster compliant by March 1,” Hyndman said. “It will be another great opportunity Saturday, but it comes down to this final opportunity.”
That was the coach saying there was still time for some of the trialists to make a big enough impression to stick around. But in the next breath, he was more realistic when he said, “But they have had some good opportunities already this spring. The one player I don’t know much about is Jason Yeisley. He twisted his knee on the second day. He has been training the past two or three days, so we have to take a look at him.”
Yeisley, 6-1, 200-pound forward from Penn State could gladden any coach’s heart if he is up to the task. It is unfortunate the Pennsylvania native has not had the minutes for a proper trial, but he will probably get as many minutes as he can handle against Dynamo.
Hyndman said the absence of three starters playing with the U.S. national team the last three weeks has given several trialists and young players a better opportunity for playing time and a chance to be seen. He still likes what he sees from Bryan Leyva, signed by FCD from its own Juniors team and Ruben Luna, also from the U18 FCD Juniors team. Luna has yet to be signed to the seniors, but the North Mesquite High School student has made a very favorable impression on the coach. He really likes what he has seen from first draft choice Zach Loyd, who may be in a competition for a starting spot on the back line, along with Steve Purdy, from last season.
Andrew Wallace has particularly struck a positive chord with Hyndman.
“We brought him into this league when he was 17. After three years, he is playing his best soccer. He can play left midfield for us or a spot on the back. Loyd is a really good player, an intense young man with a lot of athleticism. He said he didn’t realize the play would be this physical. But there is a lot of good upside for him. He and Kyle Davies (second-year player coming off injury from last year) will be competing for playing time. We allowed just two shots on goal to Toronto. I think we are pretty solid defensively, pretty set along that back line.”
Hyndman is taking into account that that Pearce may be missing 3-5 weeks at the World Cup. Some of his younger players have shown enough this preseason that he has pretty much abandoned his one-time plan for Pearce to step into the left midfield flank role. Brek Shea, given tons of playing time so far, has shown he can be a factor there, as well as Marvin Chavez, who is really relishing his opportunity to have a preseason with the team after stepping into the team and the MLS late in the season in 2009.
“Pearce worked so well last season at right back,” Hyndman said. “He will have missed so much of this preseason; it doesn’t make much sense to try to put him into a different role.”
When Pearce may be off to South Africa in the World Cup with the U.S. it will be easy to switch Ugo Ihemelu to right back, his most natural position, or even Loyd. Purdy and Davies could take Ihemelu’s position in the middle, necessary.
It is pretty clear Hyndman is ready to focus inward. Except for a few decisions on people on the bubble, the FCD gaffer wants to get busy refining what the team has. The next game definitely will feature some of the trialists, but that doesn’t mean Hyndman has eased off his competitive edge. That is one reason the 1-0 loss to Toronto just didn’t set well with the coach.
“We are always trying to develop a culture of winning,” he said. “This team still needs it. This is the preseason and it is one last opportunity to see our trialists. They must get on the field to see how they compete. We will not have our best team on the field against Houston, but I am sure they are pretty much in the same category.”
Hyndman has been pretty pleased with his defense, even though it has been missing Heath Pearce, one of its starters, for most of the preseason because of his time with the MNT. Dallas forward Cunningham has been out for the same reason, but the coach admitted his team’s offense has not come along as fast.
“I think it will take a little bit of time to click in the attacking third,” he said. “We have had our moments in offense, but there have been too many what-ifs. But looking at our team today, it is better that it was a year ago.”
Though Hyndman will be closing the book on his trialists by Monday, that doesn’t mean the coach and team are through looking for the extra striker that has been talked about since last season. He just made it clear that any signees the team may bring in after this point will not be on trial basis. He does expect to sign another attacking player, but when the club does, he and the rest of the coaching staff will be sure it will be an impact player—either competing for a starting spot or ready to back up a starter at a moment’s notice.
The negotiations between the league and the players’ union about a Collective Bargaining Agreement have put a chill on finalizing any agreements with new players. Now that the negotiation deadline has passed, FCD is likely to move forward, even though no agreement on a CBA is on the table. An impending strike has not materialized, though the union has made it clear that it could take some sort of action, still yet, to help the owners focus on meeting more of the union’s demands. At this stage, both parties are still edging forward, with no lockout or strike at this time.
In just a few days, fans will have a much clearer picture what the 2010 Red Stripes will look like, not a final picture, but a vision they can latch on to begin to fuel speculation for the new season. But already, the team has much more positive energy than it did at this time last year and fans can hope that last season’s closing run at the playoffs is vision of more to come.
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