FC Dallas Faces Tough Task Against San Jose
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (Sports Network) - FC Dallas snapped a 13-game winless drought Saturday, but now the San Jose Earthquakes await the struggling club.
Dallas downed another struggling side, the Colorado Rapids, 2-1, for its first win since April 14, but a visit to Buck Shaw Stadium to face the best squad in MLS could bring the club back to reality.
Coach Schellas Hyndman is still dealing with injuries to a number of players, and 2010 league MVP David Ferreira is still regaining fitness following a long injury absence.
"It doesn't seem like we've gotten very many breaks in terms of injuries. Someone will get healthy, and then someone will go down," Dallas goalie Kevin Hartman said.
"Unfortunately when you're missing the amount of talent that we are missing from injuries, it becomes more difficult to compete."
FC Dallas (4-9-7) was excited to end its skid as Hartman admitted "it has been disappointing to put together a winless streak as long as it was," but there was a subdued reaction after the victory.
Tied for the fewest points in the Western Conference with the Portland Timbers - and just three points ahead of Toronto FC for the worst record in the league - Dallas will celebrate should it beat San Jose..
"At this point," said Dallas forward Fabian Castillo, who scored the winner in Colorado, "there was no reason to celebrate because we haven't accomplished anything."
San Jose (12-4-4) solidified its place as the best in MLS with a 5-0 win over Real Salt Lake last week. Chris Wondolowski scored a hat trick and already has 17 goals, which is one shy of a career high.
"He's been in really good form and you saw that again," San Jose manager Frank Yallop said.
San Jose has been impressive at home, going 6-1-2 overall, and 6-0-2 at Buck Shaw (it lost to the Houston Dynamo at AT&T Park in March), and will be a huge task for injury-plagued Dallas.
"It's a different team this year. We have guys on this roster that fight and do not take any game for granted. We have been like this since the start of the season and we are seeing the results at home," Earthquakes defender Jason Hernandez said.
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