FC Dallas Weekly 2nd edition

Record: 3-0-1 (10 points) 1^st in Western Conference

Last Week: W 2-1 vs. Portland

            FC Dallas matched its best start in franchise history with a 2-1 win at home over the Portland Timbers. The team also started 3-0-1 in 2006. The main story of this game was the dismissal of FC Dallas’ Je-Vaughn Watson and Seattle’s Michael Harrington in the 39^th minute. Both players were shown red cards after pushing and shoving one another. The decision by the referee was somewhat controversial given the pushing and shoving wasn’t very excessive. Usually you would see both players get yellows for a little scrum like that. After this point, FC Dallas basically took full control of the game with Blas Perez opening the scoring in stoppage time of the first half. Portland equalized in the 66^th minute after Matt Hedges deflected a pass into his own net. However, Mauro Diaz had the last word as he hit a very good shot from the top right side of the box into the lower left corner in the 84^th minute while being closely defended. Diaz is in very good form early in the season; he has two goals so far and was very good distributing the ball over the last two weeks. The win keeps FC Dallas on top of the Western Conference standings.

Mauro Diaz celebrates scoring the game winning goal for FC Dallas, the midfielder's play is a big reason why FC Dallas are undefeated.

            It’s a dream start for first year coach Oscar Pareja as no one saw this coming from a team that is missing key players in defense. The defense will be a talking point all season long, but FC Dallas were really unlucky not to have kept a clean sheet in this game. Matt Hedges was actually in perfect position when a Portland pass came his way in the 66^th minute. The defender had the ball bounce off the wrong part of his foot leaving goalkeeper Chris Seitz with no chance. One way of dealing with defensive problems is to keep the ball away from your opponent. FC Dallas are doing just that, after recording 60% possession last week they kept the ball 57% of the time in this week’s game. An impressive feat considering Portland led the league in possession coming into this game. FC Dallas were in control for most of the second half and fully deserved the three points.

            It’s important the note the significance of a red card. It may not seem like a big difference when you have eleven men on the field, but playing man down is extremely difficult in soccer. Because these are professional players, they know exactly how to exploit a team that is missing one player, and usually the team with 10 has to sit back and hope to score on a counter attack. This week’s game was a unique situation where each team played with 10 men for more than half of the game. What this does is open up a lot of space and allows for better passing opportunities for both teams. It’s no surprise that all three goals came after the red cards were handed out

            Next up for FC Dallas is the annual Texas derby game against the Houston Dynamo. The winner not only gets bragging rights but also El Capitan, a cannon trophy. Houston leads the all-time series 5-3-1 but FC Dallas won last year’s match-up 3-2. The Dynamo have won both home games this year while FC Dallas’ only road game ended in a draw. However, this is a derby game which means you can basically throw out any statistics or trends because the rivalry is greater than the numbers. It should be a good test for FC Dallas on the road and a draw would be a respectable result.

Green Machine Musings- The Plot Thickens

 

 

           What exactly do the Dallas Stars need to do to end their run of five playoff-less seasons? Your guess is as good as mine.  The fight for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference is ultra-tight and could very well go down to the last game of the regular season on April 13th between the Stars and Coyotes.  Last night certainly did not help the cause of those wearing victory green.  How could any of us have predicted Phoenix going into Pittsburgh and winning AFTER having lost Mike Smith to what could be a very serious injury on Monday night in New York?  And to make matters worse, the Stars’ poor execution in the offensive end doomed them to a 4-2 loss at the Madhouse on Madison against the Blackhawks.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that they skated well and competed hard all the way to the end, but moral victories just will not cut it this time of year.

 

 

 

            Here’s what the playoff picture in the Western Conference looks like after Wednesday’s contests.  Vancouver’s surprise win in Minnesota puts them just a point behind the Stars, but the Canucks have two fewer games left to play.

 

These teams are in (listed by total points and games remaining):

 

Central                       

                        GR      PTS

St. Louis          10       105*

Chicago            9          99

Colorado          10        96

 

Pacific

                        GR      PTS

San Jose            8        103*

Anaheim          10       101*

Los Angeles      9         90

 

 *Clinched Playoff Spot

 

            All of these clubs except for Los Angeles (and likely Colorado) have a legitimate shot at securing the top seed in the conference.  Remember, under the new playoff format, the division champion with the best record will face the #2 wild card team while the second-best division champion will face the #1 wild card team.

 

Without further ado, here’s the wild card situation and the remaining schedules of the four main competitors:

 

                               GR      PTS     ROW* (first tiebreaker)

7.) Minnesota          9         85         30

8.) Phoenix              9         82         30

9.) Dallas                10        79         31

10.) Vancouver        8         78         29

 

11-14.) Nashville (73 PTS), Winnipeg (73 PTS), Calgary (67 PTS), Edmonton (59 PTS)

 

*Regulation or Overtime Wins refers to any victory not involving a shootout

 

 

               Minnesota (85 Points)                              Phoenix (82 Points)

                  3/27 - @ St. Louis                                3/27 - @ New Jersey

                  3/29 - @ Phoenix                                 3/29 - vs. Minnesota

                  3/31 - @ Los Angeles                            4/1 - vs. Winnipeg

                    4/3 - @ Chicago                                   4/2 - @ Los Angeles

                    4/5 - vs. Pittsburgh                               4/4 - vs. Edmonton

                    4/7 - @ Winnipeg                                 4/8 - @ Columbus

                    4/8 - vs. Boston                                   4/10 - @ Nashville

                  4/10 - vs. St. Louis                                4/12 - vs. San Jose

                  4/13 - vs. Nashville                               4/13 - vs. Dallas

 

                   Dallas (79 Points)                               Vancouver (78 Points)

                3/28 - vs. Nashville                                 3/27 - @ Colorado

                3/29 - @ St. Louis                                   3/29 - vs. Anaheim

                  4/1 - @ Washington                                4/1 - vs. NY Rangers

                  4/3 - @ Carolina                                      4/5 - vs. Los Angeles

                  4/5 - @ Tampa Bay                                 4/7 - vs. Anaheim

                  4/6 - @ Florida                                      4/10 - vs. Colorado

                  4/8 - vs. Nashville                                 4/12 - @ Edmonton

                  4/9 - vs. Columbus*                              4/13 - vs. Calgary

                4/11 - vs. St. Louis

                4/13 - @ Phoenix

 

*The rescheduled game between Dallas and Columbus on April 9th will start with the Blue Jackets ahead 1-0, as that was the score at the moment when Rich Peverley collapsed on the Dallas bench in the original game on March 10th.

 

 

My Conclusion: The Stars have a moderately tough schedule to finish the season, as they will have a five-game road trip with four contests against the Eastern Conference, which they have struggled against more so than just about any other Western Conference team.  However, Minnesota and Vancouver's schedules to close the season are much worse, with the former's being absolutely brutal.  The Wild have not been a great road team, and now, after tonight's loss to Vancouver, they will have a four game road swing against some of the best in the West. And, as if to add insult to injury, when Minnesota comes home, they will face Pittsburgh, Boston, and St. Louis: the two best teams in the East and the best team in the West.  I certainly do not envy the men from St. Paul.  Vancouver's schedule is not quite as bad, but multiple games against Anaheim and Colorado could easily be their undoing.  The one silver lining for John Tortorella's men is the fact that six of their last eight games will be played at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

 

            All things considered, it will still be up to the Stars to take care of their own business before they can even start to concern themselves with the results of their counterparts in this race.  There will certainly be no "backing into the playoffs" (as Ralph Strangis put it) this year in the Western Conference.  Whether your team makes the postseason or comes up short, one thing is for certain: this year's stretch run in the NHL's Western Conference is sure to be wildly exciting. And for those of us here in Dallas, we need to keep the faith that the Green Machine will, at long last, answer the bell and end the infamous streak at five seasons.

Across the Pond - Your Weekly European Soccer Update

     A very entertaining weekend of soccer in Europe was highlighted by El Clasico, which is the name given to a match between Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona. A Lionel Messi hat trick saw Barcelona come from behind to win in Madrid 4-3. The win puts Barcelona right back in the title race. Real Madrid and crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid both have 70 points and Barcelona are just a point back with nine games left in the season. The win also ends a 31 match unbeaten streak in all competitions for Real Madrid. The two teams will next play each other in the Copa del Rey (Spanish League Cup) semi-finals in April.

Lionel Messi celebrates scoring during his club’s 4-3 win over Real Madrid and a dejected Cristiano Ronaldo. 

           In England, Chelsea spoiled Arsene Wenger’s 1000^th match in charge by thrashing Arsenal 6-0. The result gives Chelsea a 4 point lead at the top of the table and leaves Arsenal in 4^th place, 7 points off the lead. Second place Liverpool kept up the pace with a 6-3 win in Wales against Cardiff City. Luis Suarez scored a hat trick and tied the club record for goals in a single season with 28. The achievement is even more impressive given there are still 8 games left and Suarez was suspended for the first six. Liverpool are the biggest surprise of this Premier League season, and they are very legitimate title contenders. All season long critics have been saying there’s no way Liverpool can mount a title challenge, but their offensive brand of soccer is shredding Premier League defenses. Part of Liverpool’s success is playing fewer games. Liverpool is the only team in the top 4 that wasn’t playing in any European cups, meaning their players are less fatigued. Regardless, it’s a great story for a team that has been struggling for the last 5 seasons. 

Messi wasn’t the only one who was celebrating; Luis Suarez netted a hat trick for Liverpool to keep them in the Premier League title chase.

            Elsewhere in Europe, Bayern Munich continues its tear in Germany. The Bavarian club hasn’t lost a league game since October of 2012, a stretch of 51 games. With a win next weekend, Bayern will clinch the Bundesliga title with 7 games remaining in the season, which would be yet another record. Oh, and the club is still in the league cup and Champions League competitions. If Bayern wins all three competitions (known as winning the treble) they will be the first team in Europe to achieve the feat in back to back seasons. This streak that Bayern built is something you would expect to see in a video game. There are no words to describe it, but it is amazing to watch a team play so well so consistently. My advice: if you’ve never watched soccer and want to give it a chance, watch Bayern Munich play, they may just change your mind.

Bastian Schweinsteiger of Bayern Munich scores the first goal in his team’s 2-0 defeat of Mainz. The club is unbeaten in 51 straight league games.