ESPN

If FC Dallas loses on Saturday night at Real Salt Lake, this year’s club will accomplish a feat that has only happened twice previous in franchise history, FCD will finish the month of May winless. In both 2000 and 2004, Dallas went 0-4-1 in May but while the ’00 team did make the playoffs with a final regular-season mark of 14-14-4 and 46 points, the 2004 squad did not, ending up 10-14-6 with 36 points. Here’s a breakdown:

2000
May Record: 0-4-1
Record at End of May: 4-7-1, 13 points
Record Rest of Season: 10-7-3, 33 points
Final Record: 14-14-4, 46 points
Playoffs: Eliminated in opening round

2004
May Record: 0-4-1
Record at End of May: 2-4-2, eight points
Record Rest of Season: 8-10-4, 28 points
Final Record: 10-14-6, 36 points
Playoffs: Did not qualify

Analysis

So, as you can see, the 2000 team still managed to make the playoffs despite a winless May, but they were well over .500 the rest of the season. However, the 2004 club didn’t fare so well the balance of the campaign. So, is the 2012 team more like the 2000 team or the 2004 one that didn’t make the playoffs? That’s tough to say, but if FCD can get the likes of David Ferreira, Ricardo Villar and others back from the injured list, then they could make a run the rest of the way. But the burning question is have they already dug too deep of a hole to get out of?

2010 MLS MVP David Ferreira is inching ever so closer to returning to the field. “El Torito” addressed the media Friday and while he says he’d like to return in time for the FCD match at Houston on June 16, it looks like seeing him back around the first part of July would be a bit more realistic.

What is your mental outlook right now?

Ferreira: At the beginning, I was sad I wasn’t on the field. I was not with the team, but I was being strong, trying not to take the negative stuff and just focusing on the comeback because that’s what was best for the team.

How do you feel knowing the fans expect big things from you once you do return?

Ferreira: I’m calm. I know the expectations are big. People have communicated that to me -- that the fans are waiting for me. I have to first take care of what I have to do in my rehab. They’re waiting for me to come back and that’s what I’m working for, David Ferreira to come back and help the team.

How tough has it been for you to watch this team struggle over the last month?

Ferreira: It’s hard. I suffer watching the guys struggle. To overcome that, we need to work, we need to focus to get the results we need to get.

On the day that 2010 MLS MVP David Ferreira addressed the media about how his recovery was progressing, FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman also talked about where he thinks his No. 10 is currently at on the road to recovery.

“Yeah, I think the reality is we’ll have him back in June, doing some training but end of June or early July, he should be back on the field,” Hyndman said

But don’t interpret his guarded statement to mean that he can’t wait to have “El Torito” back on the field. “It would be a good addition for us,” Hyndman said.

After spending several weeks doing rehab out in Los Angeles, 2010 MLS MVP David Ferreira returned to Frisco last week and has been doing rehab at FC Dallas Stadium. The veteran Colombian playmaker has now missed over a year after suffering an ankle injury at Vancouver last April and an Achilles injury late in preseason.

Ferreira underwent surgery in April, which should put his return for somewhere in June. Here’s more on how “El Torito” is progressing from FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman:

“He’s back,” Hyndman said after training Monday. “He came back early last week. He’s been getting his treatment here, his rehab here, so I think we’re getting the things done we need to get done.”

It has been only a few weeks since David Ferreira had foot surgery, which means it is about time for his rehab to begin anew. But instead of the 2010 MLS MVP doing his recovery here in the Metroplex, he will instead be heading to Athletes’ Performance location in Los Angeles in order to work his way back.

“Our mentality right now with David is he just got the OK for rehab. What we’re going to do is send him out to LA and get intensive rehab out there where some of the better athletes like Beckham, Donovan and some of those guys when they’re injured, they get their rehabs. We felt like a change of environment was very important for David. We didn’t want to send him to Brazil, to Colombia or anything like that because we want him to still be a part and focus for this,” FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman said. “But if everything goes the way we think it will go, he could be back in six weeks.”

The Ferreira discussion is a timely one, especially since FCD just played at Vancouver, losing 1-0 at BC Place on Saturday, which is where the injury happened last April, albeit at a completely different venue.

Hyndman was well aware that this was his club’s first trip back to British Columbia since that day, but he also didn’t want to see his team playing with a chip on their shoulder. “We’re only there once and it was the worst injury in FC Dallas history under my leadership. It was interesting because even in the press conference, they were talking about something and I twisted to we like coming here even though it was exactly a year ago that the MVP of the league was taken down here and has yet to return. I thought about it. I didn’t share it with the players because I don’t want players to be playing with anger, but obviously when you look at it in that manner, it’s been a long time,” he said.

Schellas Hyndman - FC Dallas Head Coach

General thoughts on the game:

“A good win for the Whitecaps, they played with a lot of intensity and a good result considering the games that they’ve had a difficult time getting the result. For us, it was a good performance. This is not an easy place to play – especially when you’re playing against a talented team with a strike force that they have. I thought we created some wonderful chances but were unable to finalize them. I can only remember two shots that were dangerous from Vancouver and obviously one Camilo put in. When you look at the game, it was probably more physical than it needed to be, probably double the amount of fouls that we were called on. Really happy with the way that our guys fought for the 90 plus minutes.”

Thoughts on your away form:

“A big part of it is the ball not going in the net as often as it does for them [the opponent].”

Noticeable improvement from the ‘Caps this year:

“Yeah I think they’re a much better team, but I don’t like the way they play. I think they’re still very physical if you remember last year. Almost to the date the MVP of the league was taken out here. He’s still not on the field. Unfortunately for us ‘our keeper came up with back spasms, so we had to make a goaltending change that we weren’t prepared to make. Also we started two guys that basically didn’t start all year. The result is the result, what we’re really pleased with is how much we got out of our guys. I think Vancouver is a much better team than what they showed today.”

Thoughts on Brek Shea:

“I thought he was OK, he had some very good moments . One of the things we talked about pre-game was isolate one versus one on the flanks and run at people. Castillo was doing that, Brek was doing that, we felt with the surface and the slipping and the amount of goals that Vancouver has given up the last couple games that they may be a little suspect or getting beat or given fouls in the box. I thought Brek did that, and Castillo did that, and the shots were there and once again Joe Cannon did a good job.”

FC Dallas midfielder Brek Shea

Thoughts on the match:

“They got an early goal and then I think we turned it on after that and played really well. I think we were the better team, we had more chances, but they did well holding on for the win.”

Thoughts on busy week coming up and rebounding from loss:

“We played well, we competed hard, we just have to learn from it and get a good start right from the very beginning. We just have to learn from it and come out Wednesday.”

Thoughts on Vancouver:

"They have a good team, good players, great stadium, great fans. I think they're better than their record, but I still think that we were the better team tonight."

FC Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz

Thoughts on match:

"I think we did pretty well tonight. We had a lot of chances in the first half and in the end, I think we only allowed them two shots on goal. Defensively I thought we were pretty solid and going forward we definitely created chances."

Thoughts on making first appearance of the season:

"I felt alright. I mean I felt comfortable going in. Obviously you never want to see someone on your team get injured, but I was definitely ready for the opportunity. It's disappointing coming in and losing a game on the road, but at the same time we have to bounce back and we have a game on Wednesday.

Thoughts on the Whitecaps:

"They're good. You look at the guys they have going forward and there's a lot of big names, high profile guys. I think they did well and I think once they got the goal they were content with sitting back a little bit and absorbing some pressure, so I think it was a pretty good game.

Thoughts on next week and rebounding from loss:

"I think we've got to just get back and recover. Get our legs underneath us and we've got a good game Wednesday against a good opponent, so I think it's one of those things where we've got to just keep on grinding and if we doing all the right things we're going to get goals and we're going to get wins."

FC Dallas midfielder Daniel Hernandez:

Thoughts on the match:

“It was a tough loss. I was real proud of the guys, I thought that we came into a really tough environment against a Vancouver team that was really desperate to try and get a win here in their house. It’s a tough place to play, but I thought all-in-all we really dominated the game, I think they had one shot on goal in the first half and one in the second half. Unfortunately we gave up the goal in the first half early, and just couldn’t come back. We had several opportunities to score goals, it just didn’t drop for us. I was real proud of the guys, I thought this was probably one of the best games we played all year, from the beginning whistle to the end, I thought we played really well. Those are games sometimes that you don’t deserve to lose, but you’ve got to find a way to get a result. Respect to Vancouver, they came out and were able to take that away from us.”

Thoughts on busy week coming up and hot to rebound from loss:

"I think not do anything different. Obviously you try to avoid the mistake of letting in the early goal, but at the same time we told the guys at halftime, we’re down a goal but there’s nothing we need to change, we need to keep going at them and playing the style of soccer we know how to play and I thought that we did that in the second half, we’ve just got to continue to play our style of soccer. We’re getting 100% effort from all the guys, and hopefully we get the ball to bounce our way come Wednesday against Salt Lake.”

Thoughts on the Whitecaps:

“Everybody knows they have a great team. They had a great preseason. They struggled the last couple of games, but just like that they’re back in the middle of the pack. They have great players; they have some really key players on their team. They play with a lot of intensity. We knew coming in it was going to be a tough game and we knew that they were a really good team. In MLS this year, every game is a tough match and every team is a competitive team, so same thing about Vancouver, I thought they did a great job. I thought we did what we were supposed to except for put the ball in the back of the net.”

Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie

Thoughts on the result:

“I think first of all pleased to get the win I think it was a hardworking professional performance, and I think that’s what we need to do week in, week out. I felt that against KC we were a bit too naïve in the way we opened up at times, and after we lost a goal we opened up a bit too much. Professional soccer isn’t just about chasing the game and leaving yourself wide open, you have to be solid and we got back to that tonight and I think that was, you know, the big reason behind our win. I thought we were fairly comfortable in the game, had a couple good chances on the break, and that if that final pass had been just a bit better it could’ve helped us. In the end the Sebastien break was a good chance, but just pleased to get the win against a very good team today.”

Changes to the lineups; thoughts about that:

“In midfield we wanted to match up against their midfield, who are set quite deep with a huge gap to the front player, so Davidson shielded the back four really well for us. Koffie and Watson athletically did a great job for us. They won a lot of second balls. Part of our thought there was Omar worked so hard and was deserving of his chance. You could see a little glimmer of hope of him in the future and that’s exciting for everyone at the club. Camilo, now that he’s back healthy, we want to give him as many opportunities for him as possible, so I think most of the things we did today worked out for us. Obviously if you win than it looks like it worked out for you.”

The other coach thought it was too physical; thoughts:

No, I didn’t think that it was too physical. Didn’t think there were many; hardly any hard tackles, so Schellas is a person that I would really disagree with. He’s a fantastic coach and an absolute gentleman, but on this occasion I wouldn’t say it was too physical.”

Thoughts on Martin Bonjour’s performance:

“He did well against Perez – who has had an excellent season, so far being involved in every goal that Dallas has scored. Obviously we scouted that and made sure that Martin was ready for it. You know he didn’t have a great game midweek, he would be the first to admit that, but that’s actually the only game that he hasn’t performed well for us. Nice to see him back to what we’re used to seeing, and hopefully what we’ll be seeing for a long time.”

Vancouver defender Lee Young-Pyo

Thoughts on result:

“The last two games were very disappointing for us, six goals in the last two, but today we came back to our character and we’re very satisfied [for the] three points, a clean sheet.”

I think we have a very good squad now and any player can play any positions. This is one of the strengths for us. And everyone… we try to do our best all the time.”

First assist of the season:

“[laughing] I don’t think it’s my assist. I think Camilo had a great delivery and great finish. It’s all his ability, not from me.”

Thoughts on playing against Brek Shea:

“He’s a very good player, very fast, strong, good dribbling, but we know how to mark good players. Every player is very good, but it doesn’t matter if we play good, we depend on eleven players.”

Vancouver forward Sebastien Le Toux

Thoughts on the match:

“After our loss on Wednesday against Kansas City, we needed to show our character, to our fans and to ourselves too, and make sure we got three points tonight against a team in our same conference. It’s good for the group and we’re going to try and build on that for our next game against Columbus.”

Thoughts on team performance:

“You know I think the most important [thing] is that we got the win. People are criticizing because we aren’t winning and we can’t come back to the basics, but we worked at the beginning of the year to make sure everybody knows where to be defensively and make sure we are strong together collectively as a defence. We have a minimum one chance to score and tonight [this is] what happened with Camilo, [he] scores the goal so one thing we are very happy with that. We all know we can progress [and] continue but you know some legs, from the game on Wednesday, we know we have to stick together and we did. So it’s great for the confidence and to show character to the group and you know [to] build on that is great so we want to take the win tonight and for sure we can progress in every performance each game, defensively [and] offensively.”

On whether he thought there should have been a red card for being taken down on breakaway:

“Yes, I think so. I don’t know, I think he was the last one from far and I was in a full speed to get the ball and he just grabbed my jersey without playing the ball, so I said to the referee [that] he was too nice tonight with maybe [not] showing a red card. It’s done, so we’ve got to win. It’s what matters.”

Thoughts on defending:

“It was a different spot for me tonight. I know it was important to defend well, especially on Brek Shea, who is probably one of their best players. So I try my best to help Y.P. on the side and make sure he doesn’t have lots of room one on one and I think we did a pretty good job, you know he switched...on the other side….so it was good for me to kind of help the team in this way and I can do it physically because I was fresh, I can give a lot on this side. I’m just very happy for the win and I’m sure I’ll play different formations during the year.”

FC DALLAS vs VANCOUVER WHITECAPS
BC PLACE, Vancouver, B.C.
April 21, 2012
9 p.m. CT (tape delay following Texas Rangers on KTXA-21)

FC Dallas' Saturday night road matchup against the Vancouver Whitecaps will kick off at 9 p.m. CT, but the match will air on tape delay due to the postponement of Friday night's Texas Rangers-Detroit Tigers baseball game. The estimated start time of the FC Dallas broadcast is 9:30 p.m. CT on TXA 21.

REFEREE: Edvin Jurisevic.
MLS Career: 41 games; FC/gm: 22.1; Y/gm: 3.7; R: 4; pens: 5
SAR (bench): Darren Clark;
JAR (opposite): Mike Rottersman;
4th: Paul Ward

INJURY REPORT:

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC - OUT: FW Darren Mattocks (R shoulder burn); DF Alain Rochat (L knee sprain); GK Brian Sylvestre (R knee surgery); DOUBTFUL: FW Etienne Barbara (groin strain); MF Michael Nanchoff (L heel contusion)

FC DALLAS - OUT: MF David Ferreira (R foot surgery); MF Ricardo Villar (R foot strain); MF Andrew Wiedeman (sports hernia repair); QUESTIONABLE: MF Andrew Jacobson (R hamstring strain); DF Hernan Pertuz (R foot strain)

Jacobson and Villar did not travel, Pertuz did and should be available.

INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

SUSPENDED: none

WARNINGS:

SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none

SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: VAN: Eric Hassli

HEAD-TO-HEAD

ALL-TIME (2 meetings):
Whitecaps FC 0 wins, 1 goal ...
FC Dallas 2 wins, 4 goals ...
Ties 0

AT VANCOUVER (1 meeting):
Whitecaps FC 0 wins, 1 goal ...
FC Dallas 1 win, 2 goals ...
Ties 0

RETURN MATCHES:
8/15: Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. FC Dallas, 7 p.m. PT;
9/15: FC Dallas vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 7:30 p.m. CT

LAST YEAR (MLS):

4/23: VAN 1, DAL 2 (Rochat 25 - John 53; Avila 83)
10/15: DAL 2, VAN 0 (Chavez 35; Shea 54)

- FC Dallas won both meetings last year in Whitecaps FC's inaugural season, including a 2-1 win April 23 at Empire Field.

Coaches record:
Martin Rennie vs. DAL: first game ...
Schellas Hyndman vs. VAN: P2 W2 L0 D0

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC NEWS

- After starting the season without allowing a goal in 426 minutes, Whitecaps FC have now conceded six goals in the last 114 minutes.

- Both of Sporting's first two goals began with set-piece opportunities. In the three goals allowed to San Jose, one came as a result of a free kick chance.

- Whitecaps FC had a season-high 19 attempts at goal and put seven of those on target, also a season-high. Coming into the match, Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen had been forced into seven saves total in six games.

- Camilo came in off the substitutes' bench for the final half-hour for his longest shift since starting the first three matches of the season as he recovers from a quadriceps injury.

- 2011 No. 1 overall pick Omar Salgado made his first appearance of the season, coming in for the final 11 minutes on the left side of midfield.

FC DALLAS NEWS

- FC Dallas have won two games in a row, both thanks to late game-winners.

- Already missing Ricardo Villar with a foot injury suffered in the New England match, Hyndman was forced into another change at halftime when Andrew Jacobson took a knock.

- That change was further complicated when Hern·n Pertuz was also unable to return after the halftime break.

- The substitutions also brought a tactical change, with Hyndman putting Blas Perez as a lone striker up top and setting out Brek Shea and Fabian Castillo to attack from wide positions.

- For Perez, his goal was his third of the season. He also now has three assists, recording an assist on the Shea's game-winner, his first since getting two in the opening game win vs. New York. "Whenever I score a goal, it benefits the team," Perez said. "I'm doing well so far, but there is still more work that we can do to understand each other better and to have better chemistry."

- On Wednesday, Hyndman confirmed Jacobson and Villar will not make the trip to Vancouver. "You may have players sometime say my leg doesn't feel 100 percent and they're looking not to play. Villar's the opposite. I'm ready to go even if he's 40 percent injured, I can help because he wants to play, because he has such a passion to play," Hyndman to ESPNDallas.com. "So I think on this one, we've got to slow it down a little bit because this could be a serious injury."

Schellas Hyndman has never made any affronts about his strong affinity for the 4-4-2 formation, specifically such a look with a diamond midfield. Of course, with FC Dallas currently lacking in the depth department that just isn’t possible. But when asked for his thoughts on the performance of ex-captain Daniel Hernandez so far this season after a Monday morning recovery session in Frisco, he might have offered a glimpse into his crystal ball.

“When you go with two central midfielders, your hope is that you have one that’s very attacking and one that is very defending. With A.J. and Daniel, they’re basically the same. They’re both holding midfielders, so you need that second striker there that can almost drop back to be of a 4-5-1 formation and we didn’t have that. Blas [Perez] wasn’t that guy and Fabian [Castillo] wasn’t that guy, so A.J. and Daniel had to do a lot of work, a lot of work,” Hyndman said.

He added: “I think players like Daniel play better when you’ve got three central midfielders. Now you can always go in a 4-4-2 with a small diamond, much like what Real Salt Lake does, and we may eventually go in there once David [Ferreira] comes back, Villar’s back and we get all these quality players on our field, Jackson and now you say we can go into a small diamond because we have quality players that are going to keep the ball more.”

Midfielders David Ferreira and Andrew Wiedeman, who had surgery to repair a sports hernia last week, remain on the shelf for at least the next six to seven weeks, but FC Dallas also had several other players pick up injuries last week, so here’s an update from FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman.

M ANDREW JACOBSON (hamstring injury in first half of Saturday’s win over Montreal)

Hyndman: It [his condition] is a big improvement from yesterday but there’s still a little bit of swelling in the back of the leg and we’re going to be very cautious this week and see if we can get him back for this game.

M BRYAN LEYVA (ankle sprain picked up in training last week)

Hyndman: No it wasn’t [in last week’s reserve game that he picked up that injury]. It was out here in training and it was just a couple days ago. He’ll be going for the reserve game today [Monday].

D HERNAN PERTUZ (leg injury in first half of Montreal game)

Hyndman: Much better as well, it happened about the last 10 minutes of the half. He just took a pretty hard hit to the middle of the foot. He’s getting treatment. Today was a recovery day, so neither player was really asked to do anything but I think he’ll be a player that we’ll just continue to watch as well.

M RICARDO VILLAR (foot injury in first half of 1-0 win over New England on April 5

Hyndman: Very good improvement, his toe is probably the area that’s got the greatest concern. The reason for that is it’s an area where you really explode from, that part of your foot. Right now we’re just grading it.

It was a solid win by FC Dallas on Saturday night, beating the expansion Montreal Impact 2-1 at FC Dallas Stadium in a game that was eventful to say the least.

When Dallas gaffer Schellas Hyndman made two changes to start the second half, bringing on Bruno Guarda and Bobby Warshaw for Andrew Jacobson and Hernan Pertuz, respectively, few thought it was anything more than a tactical adjustment. And since those changes signaled a shift from the 4-4-2 formation that FCD had employed in the opening 45 minutes to more of a 4-1-4-1 in the final half of play, no one thought that those two substitutions could be injury-related.

However, injuries are exactly what had happened, something Hyndman discussed after the game.

It turns out Jacobson was having some issues in his back and leg after getting kicked more than a few times by the hard-fouling boys from Montreal. As for Pertuz, he had a foot swell up and was unable to answer the bell for the second half.

“Pertuz got kicked over on the sideline and just wasn’t able to go. He fought his way through the first half but we knew something was wrong,” Hyndman said. “When we brought him up here [to the locker room at halftime], the foot was swollen and he just couldn’t go. AJ took a few hits, more of the back and leg that was bothering him.”

Obviously, if these injuries keep one or both of these guys off the field for any significant period of time they are big negatives for Dallas. No matter whether it’s been at left back or at right back, where he has started each of the last two weeks in Hyndman’s 4-4-2, the Colombian defender Pertuz has been a rock-solid addition to the FCD backline.

Some might have questioned why Jair Benitez, who normally starts at left back for Dallas, wasn’t back in the first 11 for the Montreal game, but the answer is simple. If Hyndman is anything, he’s consistent, especially when it comes to winning. When a formation and a lineup works, if all of those same 11 players are available the following week, it’s a safe bet he’ll employ the same look barring something unforeseen.

That’s why Pertuz was in the starting lineup against the Impact and Benitez was on the pine. Pertuz has earned his playing time and will be until he slips up or Jair plays his way back into the first 11 through a string of strong performances in training... pending injury of course. Pertuz might be relatively new to MLS and to this club, but he’s already more than shown his value and if he’s not available for a while, it would definitely be a big loss.

Ditto for Jacobson, who after a rough start to the season, seems to have found himself and is no longer trying to do too much in the middle of the field. Some feel he might best serve this team as the holding mid with Warshaw possibly starting in the linking role but that’s a whole other discussion. The fact of the matter is that he and Daniel Hernandez form a steady if not a bit nard-nosed tandem in the middle of the yard and if A.J. is out for a while, that too would be a big loss.

Of course, the Dallas midfield is already a bit thin with David Ferreira out for about the next two months, as is Andrew Wiedeman, after both of them underwent recent surgeries. Ricardo Villar is week to week. Help is on the way as Jackson is thought to be arriving this week but it’s unknown what his current fitness level is, but if he’s ready to roll, he can definitely provide help in very short order.

We’ll find out more about the condition of Jacobson and Pertuz on Monday. Hopefully the news is good.

By his nature, Schellas Hyndman is a glass half-full kind of guy. So even as his FC Dallas team is currently rocked by injuries to guys like 2010 MLS MVP David Ferreira and Ricardo Villar, who has been filling in for Ferreira at the No. 10 spot, as well as several other, instead of lamenting his team’s current lack of depth, Hyndman looks at it a bit differently.

For example, were it not for Villar’s injury in Thursday’s 1-0 win over New England, then right back Zach Loyd likely wouldn’t have been able to step up in the 95^th minute to take the free kick that captain Ugo Ihemelu got on the end of for the game-winner. But Loyd isn’t the only FCD player to embrace such an unexpected opportunity. In fact, a majority of Dallas players have done so thus far in the season and that’s music to the ears of their head coach.

“I think what ends up happening is it’s not just [Loyd on free kicks] but having Villar out, you’ve got Fabian [Castillo] now taking corner kicks. There’s a lot of good things,” Hyndman said. “The nice thing with this team is when the opportunity comes for players to step up, majority of the time they do. That’s what’s going to make us a successful team."

Even with Ricardo Villar out for this Saturday’s game with Montreal, FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman has options when it comes to who could fill in for him at the No. 10 role. Of course, he could plug homegrown player Bryan Leyva in there, even Bruno Guarda or Bobby Warshaw would be a possibility. We’ll just have to wait and see which option he chooses come Saturday.

“Yeah, Bruno’s a possibility. Warshaw’s a possibility but we’re also getting Daniel [Hernandez] back. If we stay in the 4-4-2, it could be Daniel and AJ side-to-side holding midfielders and then we’ll add on another striker, which now gives us what we’ve had before as that attacking midfielder,” Hyndman said. “So we’ll just have to wait and see. Right now with the reserve game, you’ve seen the last few practices we’re lower numbers. Today the boys really got a good workout in, a good hour-45 minutes of good work and I was really pleased with that.”

FRISCO, Texas -- Skipper Ugo Ihemelu's header five minutes into stoppage time lifted FC Dallas to a 1-0 win over New England on Thursday night.

It was about time. FCD was agressive the whole match, but missed on several close opportunities. Ihemelu's header saved them from the heartbreak of a draw.

"We would've been disappointed if we didn't get the win," Ihemelu said. "We knew we put in the work, and it was worth the payoff. That's all we can ask for."

Like all the missed chances, this one nearly didn't happen, too. Head coach Schellas Hyndman almost took Ihemelu out of the game due to cramping.

"I knew if I had to come out last-minute, I would take myself out," Ihemelu said. "Once [the trainer] started working on it, it calmed down quite a bit. Fortunately, I was in the right place at the right time for that goal."

For Hyndman, he said he didn't think Ihemelu could have been more captain-like.

"What a great example for a captain, to stay in there and want to play until the end," Hyndman said.

Ihemelu got the goal, but Hyndman was particularly impressed with the return of striker Fabián Castillo. With David Ferreira out another 6-8 weeks, his speed and aggressiveness adds depth to a team that has had trouble penetrating early in the year.

"I thought he was extremely dangerous, especially earlier in the game when he had his legs under him," Hyndman said.

After tonight, FCD fans could see more of Castillo with Blas Perez instead of a lone-striker formation.

Castillo said he was frustrated that he couldn't put one in the net, but he'll take the win.

"When you create so many opportunities and don't finish them, there's always a chance the opposition is going to finish one of their own," Castillo said through an interpreter. "With the team that we had, we were confident we could get the result, and thankfully [Ihemelu] was able to convert for us and get the three points."

The win snaps a two-game losing skid for FC Dallas, who takes on lowly Montreal on April 14.

New England takes a big step back with the loss after beating Los Angeles 3-1 last week.

Notes:

Shots (on goal): FC Dallas 13 (4) – New England 12 (5)

Fouls: FC Dallas 12 – New England 4

Possession: FC Dallas 42% – New England 58%

Yellow cards: FC Dallas 0 – New England 2 (Shalrie Joseph, 62; Chris Tierney, 80)

Red cards: FC Dallas 0 – New England 0

Injuries: Ricardo Villar left the game with an ankle injury. George John left the game with a concussion.

FRISCO, Texas -- FC Dallas was aggressive on its counters early, but failed to put one between the posts as it heads into the locker room tied 0-0 against New England on Thursday.

Fabian Castillo was very active, with FCD's best opportunity coming in the 29th minute when his strike from a few yards landed just left of the goal after a breakaway.

The Toros had a few other opportunities early in the game. In the 19th minute, a Castillo through pass landed in front of Blas Perez, whose strike from 12 feet sailed just high.

Just two minutes later, Ricardo Villar's chip shot went left of the goal from just inside the box.

In the 33rd minute, Brek Shea's left footed shot from the left side of the box was saved by New England keeper Matt Reis.

New England had a few chances in the first half, but never really threatened outside of a slow roller saved by keeper Kevin Hartman in the 44th minute.

Possession has been even so far, but FCD has come out swinging after a distracting week in which the club parted ways with striker Luis Perea and lost David Ferreira for another 6-8 weeks.

FC Dallas closed their Wednesday training session on the stadium field to the media, which has many speculating on what sort of lineup Schellas Hyndman will run out on Thursday night against the New England Revolution.

Here’s one such theory and an idea that seems to have some legs to it.

FCD Rolls Out in a 4-4-2

Blas Perez		Fabian Castillo
Carlos Rodriguez	Andrew Jacobson	Ricardo Villar	Brek Shea
Hernan Pertuz	Ugo Ihemelu	George John	Zach Loyd
Kevin Hartman

Analysis:

This 4-4-2 would feature Blas Perez and the now healthy Fabian Castillo up top. Shea would play to the right flank with basically left side only Carlos Rodriguez where he could better handle things. Jacobson would slide from linking to holding mid with ex-captain Daniel Hernandez serving a suspension for getting a pair of yellows in last Friday’s 4-1 loss at D.C. United. Ricardo Villar would of course occupy the No. 10 spot.

In the back, Hernan Pertuz would slide over from center back to fill in for Jair Benitez, who is also suspended, at left back while George John returns to a starting role alongside current captain Ugo Ihemelu with Zach Loyd in his normal spot on the right side. Of course, Hartman would return to his usual place between the posts for FCD.

Pros

Pairing Perez and Castillo together up top could wreak considerable havoc on the Revs back line, especially with Castillo’s pace and Perez’s precision in and around the net. Shea can handle the right, and actually really likes it there cause he can cut inside easier, while putting Rodriguez on the left will make him the most comfortable.

As for the defense, Pertuz wasn’t a bad fill in at left back at Kansas City when Benitez moved to left mid and is a serviceable solution there at least for now. However, it’s most likely he only starts there for one game because that job looks to be Benitez’s to lose and recent lack of emotional intelligence aside, he still sits in good stead with Hyndman.

Getting the John and Ihemelu tandem back together in the middle can never be a bad thing, especially considering the strong chemistry they have displayed during their time playing together with FCD over the last few years. Maybe having that dependable duo in the middle could also help Loyd out a bit, who comes into Thursday’s game after one of the tougher performances of his short MLS career.

Cons

The biggest con with this potential formation switch could center around Jacobson. It’s no big secret that he’s been an absolute turnover machine in the middle of the park for FCD early in the season and that he hasn’t been anywhere near the player he was for much of last year, even while he was battling his way through a knee issue.

But if that good Jacobson can return to the pitch for Dallas, then this 4-4-2 has a legitimate chance of working. If the evil goateed A.J. that has been the norm so far this year is again in the building, this switch may just be doomed from the start. Jacobson can handle the responsibilities associated with being the defensive mid, but his distribution obviously has to be much better in the 4-4-2 because there will be no safety valve in Hernandez behind him should he make a bad pass in the middle third of the pitch.

Maybe one theory in play with Jacobson this year, and it might not be one Hyndman or FCD fans want to hear, is maybe A.J. is a one year player. Look at his career to date. He spent one season in D.C. and another in Philadelphia before they decided to let him go. United left him exposed in the 2009 Expansion Draft and the Union didn’t seem all to broken up to ship him off to FCD last preseason. Maybe these are both cases of mere coincidence, but then again it happening two times makes it anything but a fluke. I'm just speculating but perhaps it’s something to consider.

While one hates to put so much pressure on one player, there’s no doubt that tomorrow night’s game should FCD roll out in the 4-4-2 could very well hinge on the central midfield and how well Jacobson plays. If he and Villar can work well together, then it could be a great night for Dallas supporters. But if not, it will be another result to file in the ever-growing file of games to forget about in very short order.