FC Dallas Begins Life Without Ferreira
FRISCO (Sports Network) - FC Dallas will begin life without 2010 Major League Soccer MVP David Ferreira on Sunday at Pizza Hut Park when the club hosts the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Ferreira, who scored three goals and assisted on another in six games to start the season, suffered a broken ankle in his team's 2-1 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC last time out, an injury that will sideline him for several months.
The Colombian has been an extremely influential player for the Hoops, and coach Schellas Hyndman knows that he leaves big shoes to be filled.
"How do the players respond once this all kind of hits them - that David is not going to be a part of this team for a minimum of three months? It's going to take a lot of work on the coaches' part and the players' part to overcome that."
Ferreira's loss will be huge, meaning that other players will have to step up in his absence, and one such player could be Eric Avila, who replaced Ferreira and scored the winning goal in the 83rd minute against the Whitecaps.
"It's bad for the team when a good player goes down. Coming in, I had a responsibility to keep the game going. I just tried to do as much as possible," Avila said after the match.
FCD enters Sunday's game having won two of its last three contests, but they will be up against a Galaxy side that is riding a five-game unbeaten streak, including a 3-0 win over the Portland Timbers last time out.
Landon Donovan returned to the lineup for L.A. after battling a knee injury, and he scored twice and assisted on another goal in the win over Portland, which gives the Galaxy five goals in two games after scoring five in the first five matches of the season.
Both Donovan and Chad Barrett have scored two goals apiece in the last two games, and coach Bruce Arena believes his team just needed some time to find its form in front of goal.
"We have a lot of new players in the attack... so it takes a little bit of time," Arena said. "The lack of playing time they've had together doesn't make them yet a cohesive group on the field."
