Guest columnist Drew Epperley is the founder and editor of WVHooligan.com. His blog covers everything MLS and U.S. Soccer. You can follow him on Twitter @WVHooligan.
FC Dallas (3-2-1, 10 points) hits the road for one of their longest road trips of the season this week. Schellas Hyndman and company will visit the Vancouver Whitecaps (2-2-2, 8 points) on Saturday night.
Vancouver is currently on a two-game losing streak following a strong start to the season that saw them not concede a goal in the first four games. In two losses to the San Jose Earthquakes and Sporting Kansas City, the Whitecaps have given up six goals.
Dallas won both meeting with the Whitecaps a season ago, beating them 2-1 at Empire Field and 2-0 in Frisco.
First-year head coach Martin Rennie has made plenty of alterations to his club this season – including bringing in a slew of offensive players – but so far the attack hasn’t found its groove.
Big names in the attack
Any time you can throw out a starting forward duo like Sebastien Le Toux and Designated Player Eric Hassli, people are going to take notice.
Le Toux has made the most of his move to the Pacific Northwest by scoring three goals this season, including one against Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday.
Hassli on the other hand has been kept quiet despite the fact that he leads the club in shots with 12 this season. The Frenchman also leads the club in two other categories this season – assists (two) and yellow cards (three).
Behind those two in the attack are other big names like Brazilian international Camilio, Swiss international Davide Chiumiento and former FC Dallas winger Atiba Harris.
Camilo scored 12 goals in 2011 and already has one to his name this season. The Brazilian is skilled on the ball and does an excellent job at taking on defenders in a one-on-one situation. Camilo will also be the dead ball specialist for Vancouver, which he can be deadly from a free kick spot.
Rennie also has plenty of names on the bench to go to. The first overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft Omar Salgado had contributed solid minutes. Rookie forward Darren Mattocks is also another star in the making but he will be unavailable for this match due to injury
In the Whitecaps’ midfield, Rennie has other options in guys like Gershon Koffie and John Thorrington and newcomers Jun Marques Davidson and Matt Watson. These players all provide solid cover for the attack and also provide a good shield for the defense behind them.
Improvement in defense
In 2011, the Whitecaps defense gave up 55 goals – third worst in Major League Soccer.
This year’s group got a little better with a healthy Jay DeMerit returning, followed by the addition of another Designated Player, Y.P. Lee.
Lee brings a wealth of experience to this defense at the right back spot. The South Korean has made stops in Germany with Borussia Dortmund, in England with Tottenham Hotspur and in Holland with PSV Eindoven. The 34-year old hasn’t lost a step in his game either and has transitioned well into the MLS style of play.
Rennie has been consistent with the back four this season, starting DeMerit in the middle of the defense with Martin Bonjour while Lee and Jordan Harvey are on the outside.
Alain Rochat has also seen plenty of minutes at full back this season as well but has missed some time this season with an injury.
In goal is veteran net-minder Joe Cannon, who is tied for second in the league with three shutouts this season.
Keys to gaining three points
Rennie likes to use a traditional 4-4-2 setup – though at times it looks more like a 4-3-3 formation – with Hassli split between Le Toux on the right and Camilo on the left.
Their defense plays physical in the middle with DeMerit and Bonjour. Both are physical in the air, smart on the ball, and like to play tight against their opposing strikers.
Dallas will do well if they spread out the Whitecaps in the midfield with Brek Shea on the left and either Fabian Castillo or Carlos Rodriguez on the right. The speed on the wings and overlapping runs could go a long way in putting pressure on a defense that hasn’t handled speed in their last two games.
Winning midfield battles will help control the tempo of the game.
Dallas will need to ride this current wave of momentum on this road trip. If they do, fans will likely see three more points in the standings come Saturday night.