FRISCO, Texas – FC Dallas’ depth – an aspect of the team lauded early this season, especially in the attack – has been put to the ultimate test.
Over the last three weeks, Dallas have twice played three games in an eight-day window, which ends in their Saturday home match against the New England Revolution (9 pm ET; MLS LIVE).
“It’s a tough schedule, I have to say that,” head coach Oscar Pareja said. “But I don’t want it to sound like it’s an excuse for us.”
It’s something Pareja has consistently preached, citing the length of the season as reason to utilize his team’s full roster – especially when managing injured or injury-prone players.
In two midweek US Open Cup matches, he elected to rest key contributors Mauro Diaz, who has been under close watch by Dallas due to his injury history, and goalkeeper Dan Kennedy, who is one of the oldest members on the club and battled a back injury at the start of the season.
That strategy worked against the USL’s Oklahoma City Energy in FCD’s first USOC match this season, with the reserves able to cause havoc in a 4-1 win. But they weren’t so luck in a round-of-16 matchup Wednesday with Sporting Kansas City, ending in a 6-2 defeat.
“We’ve had different guys in different spots that aren’t usually there,” midfielder Ryan Hollingshead told MLSSoccer.com “Some of that is to monitor people’s health and make sure players are OK, but we still put people in a spot and position to do well. We just could have done better. There’s no excuses.”
Pareja’s conservative approach extended even to midfielder Fabian Castillo, who sat out the SKC match after exiting FCD’s 2-0 win over the Houston Dynamo on June 26 after taking a shot to the leg in the 76th minute. His absence, along with forwards Blas Perez and Tesho Akindele away on international duty, forced Pareja into a 4-4-2 formation, straying away from the 4-2-3-1 that has been the go-to for most of the season.
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“It’s not something that’s normal, but every professional in the world has a job to do,” said Hollingshead said, started at a defensive midfield spot on Wednesday and has been a utility man for FCD this season. “We’re good enough to do that. I don’t think they’re asking too much of us to have a schedule like that"
Fortunately for Dallas, they only have one more midweek game this season, which occurs in early October. Now that FCD are eliminated from Open Cup play, Pareja can return to a more normal preparation.
“It has been tough,” Pareja said. “That’s the way it is, and we will prepare for New England now.”
