FRISCO, Texas - You’ll have to forgive FC Dallas for feeling a bit of déjà vu.
For the first time in the regular season since 2009, Schellas Hyndman’s men have spent this week preparing for the exact same opponent as their previous game. After facing Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Frisco on Saturday night, FCD must now travel up to the Pacific Northwest to face the Canadian side for the second-straight weekend.
“Right now, you can look at it that we’re halfway because we’re going to have to go up there, go through that travel, and be in an uncomfortable environment with their fans and the artificial surface,” said Hyndman. “At the same time what we hoped to get done [in the first game], and I think we did, was to plant a little seed in their head that we’re a very good team.”
That seed Hyndman refers to was Dallas’ comprehensive 2-0 win over Whitecaps FC on Saturday night, and while FCD wasn’t terribly troubled by their opposition in the first leg of their home and home series, they know the road tussle could be much more difficult.
“It’s a game where we’re fresh off playing them so we’ve got an idea of what’s going to happen and who’s going to be on the field,” said defender Matt Hedges. “Their stadium presents some unique challenges. Their turf isn’t the best in the league, but the last time we went up there we got a win.”
Having fielded an unchanged lineup for the last three weeks, it’s unlikely FCD will make any changes on Saturday, which can be both a positive and a negative.
“It’s hard. You kind of show your hand,” Andrew Jacobson said about facing Vancouver two weeks in a row. “But nothing really is going to change for us. We’re going to play our game and look for three points.”
Thoughts on whether Saturday’s result has any affect on this weekend’s game differ depending on who you talk to, but Jacobson put it best.
“It can go either way. They can see it as revenge or see it as doubt. That’s for them,” said the midfielder. “I think they have an idea that we’re going to be a tough team to play against and if you’re going to beat us you’re going to have to play really well. What they do with that is up to them.”
