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US: MLS Preview- FC Dallas v Los Angeles [Wed Sep 21st, 2005]
FC Dallas ( 11-9-6, 39 pts) v Los Angeles Galaxy (11-11-6, 39 pts)
When: 8:30 pm ET, Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Where: Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, Texas
Bruce Springsteen has a lyric for seasons like the one FC Dallas is having: One step up and two steps back.
The Hoops finally got their first win at the Deep Dish on Sunday, but they will be without leading scorers Carlos Ruiz and Eddie Johnson through injury.
FCD are now equal second on points with the LA Galaxy, who clinched a playoff spot with a well-earned draw at Kansas City.
For FCD, it’s a good thing rookies Roberto Mina and Ramon Nunez have suddenly started playing out of their heads. Mina, big and strong, got two goals on the weekend and will be a handful for the rather messy Galaxy defence to handle.
Nunez will be the creative lynchpin for the Hoops, capable of dazzling dribbling forays and deft through passes, but he must get rid of the ball early and find Ronnie O’Brien on the right side if Dallas has any hope.
Also, defender Bobby Rhine must be strong in the middle to contain LA’s Landon Donovan, who remains equal third on the MLS scoring ladder with 11, even though he hasn’t scored since August 23.
As LD goes, LA goes. Even though he’s not scoring, Landon Donovan is still the key to LA’s success. Now that his busy summer of international commitments is over, he is ready to start playing well for his club again.
He had a good game in Kansas City and will be expected to attack the sorry, disorganised FCD backline. The match will hinge, however, on Herculez Gomez, who is scoring goals as easily as ordering a latte at Starbucks.
The striker has scored in three games in a row, and is especially dangerous receiving a through ball on the run and driving at the defence. If Donovan, holding midfiedler Peter Vagenas, and winger Pando Ramirez can find Gomez in the box with space, this game will be a cinch.
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