FRISCO, Texas -- After just five minutes Saturday, FC Dallas found themselves down 1-0 to Colorado. But the Hoops responded with a pair of unanswered goals in the second half to take a 2-1 edge, after Kenny Cooper converted a penalty kick and fellow MLS all-star Juan Toja scored his first goal since March 30.
But in the end, it wasn't enough as Colorado's Conor Casey tied it at 2-2 just three minutes after Toja's goal before the teams settled for the draw. FCD now has not won a league game under Schellas Hyndman, who was hired as head coach on June 17. The Hoops' last league victory came on June 15 when FCD beat Chicago 1-0 in what proved to be interim boss Marco Ferruzzi's final game at the helm.
After the draw at Pizza Hut Park, Hyndman was clearly less than pleased.
"The teaser is taking the lead 2-1 and then scoring within four or five minutes to make it an even game," he said. "They came into our field and got a point, which is disappointing for all of us. I think it showed a lot of character on our part to play with a lot of enthusiasm, to get crosses off and to have more people in the attack. I saw that we're making some progress but we have to eliminate that big boo-boo."
FCD outshot the Rapids 15-10 on the evening and Hyndman was pleased with the play of leading scorer Cooper, who assisted on Toja's goal.
"I wanted Kenny (Cooper) to get more touches, not so much run out wide and make the crosses but to be a target player," he said. "I thought today he was very dangerous, especially in transition. He was able to get behind them. One of the things we look for from our strikers is that we all want them to score but we also want them to hold the ball, create opportunities and make assists."
Even though FCD got a point for a third consecutive week and extended their home unbeaten streak against Colorado to 14 games, Hyndman's players were less than pleased with the end result.
"I thought we fought back, did well and were in the lead but we've just got to do the little things right," FCD forward Dominic Oduro said. "We're not too excited about it. It's a very bad result for us even though it's a tie because we wanted three points out of it. But it's over, what else can we do but try and improve in the next game?"
Oduro sees a clear trend that has reared its head in each of FCD's last three matches that definitely needs reversing.
"In all three games, we have been scored on early," he said. "We have to avoid that and all those little mistakes that have cost us. We need to try and score early goals. We also need to try and keep the ball and stay focused for the whole game."
One positive for the host side was the return of third-year midfielder Dax McCarty to the starting 11 for the first time since April 24 against New England.
"I feel good," McCarty said. "It's been a while since I've gotten a start and it felt good to walk out the tunnel with the guys. I had a little bit of nerves at first but once I got my first touch, I settled down pretty well and felt nice, loose and warm."
He added: "I felt like I combined well with the guys and that we created a lot of chances. Unfortunately, we didn't finish enough of them. Ultimately, we came away with a decent result but at home, you always want to get the win, so it's a little frustrating."
McCarty had only played five times since his last start after having sports hernia surgery in late May but the youngster admitted he felt pretty good.
"I felt surprisingly up to par in terms of my fitness," he said. "Maybe my groin started tightening up toward the end and I felt a little less mobile. I felt pretty good in terms of fitness and think a few more games like that, I will be able to get over that hump of the tightness in my groin totally being eliminated."
But what was most impressive about his performance is that it came just two days after McCarty learned he would not be on the U.S. Olympic team after being one of the top players during qualifying back in March.
"You have to move on and life goes on," McCarty said. "It obviously wasn't what I wanted and that's pretty disappointing but you've got to move on. Maybe it's a blessing because I can come and maybe help FC Dallas qualify for the playoffs and make a run. There's not much I can do. I'm just going to take it day-by-day and get 100 percent fit because I'm really close so that I can help FC Dallas."
FCD will have Monday off before returning to the practice field on Tuesday. Both Cooper and Toja will depart on Tuesday morning for the MLS All-Star Game. The Hoops' next action will be on Sunday, July 27 against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
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