PORTLAND, Ore. – On Wednesday afternoon, FC Dallas put in a full training session for the first time since Sunday’s 3-2 loss at expansion-side Portland. After going through a light regeneration session on Monday, the team took Tuesday off with the majority of the squad spending a few hours at adidas’ U.S. headquarters here in Portland. On Wednesday, it was back to business in preparation for Saturday’s contest at Vancouver.
The Dallas side stayed in Portland following Sunday’s game to avoid traveling across the country twice in one week. Thursday morning, the team travels to Vancouver where they will train Thursday and Friday before facing the Whitecaps on Saturday.
“I think it’s fantastic for us to be able to stay in the Northwest this week because it’s a very long flight. I think it was a total of four and a half hours for us to get here,” said head coach Schellas Hyndman. “We would have gotten back on Monday, not trained on Tuesday, and then before you know it, we’re flying back out on Thursday. The only advantage in that scenario is you get more airline miles.”
Hyndman likened his team’s extended stay in the Pacific Northwest to a second preseason, with a full week on the road giving the team a chance to bond. In their downtime, players and coaches have explored the city, tried new restaurants, shopped and taken in a movie or two.
Wednesday, however, was all business as Hyndman and his staff spent an hour breaking down video during a team meeting at the hotel before heading to JELD-WEN Field for a full training session. Hyndman and players alike were pleased with the session and with the opportunity to train on field turf, which the team will see again in Vancouver.
“Our biggest concern right now is making sure we have a positive attitude,” Hyndman said. “Things haven’t gone the way we expected them to go, with the injuries and the cards. But, we’re sitting exactly where we were last year at this time.”
Five games into the 2010 season, the eventual Western Conference Champions were 0-1-4 (4 points); five games into the 2011 season, the squad is currently 1-3-1 (4 points). Hyndman isn’t hitting the panic button over his squad’s slow start, but he also made it clear on Wednesday that he expects more, expressing concern over the team’s defensive woes.
“I’m concerned that we’re giving up early goals and we tried to address that today in our meetings,” Hyndman said. “We’re trying to recognize that our strength is our defense, but in five games we’ve given up eight goals, which is a little bit embarrassing if that’s our strength.”
Stay tuned to FCDallas.com for a final training report on Friday before the team takes on the Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday at 6 pm CT. The game will be aired on Fox Sports Southwest Plus.
