Toronto FC’s Interim Head Coach Nick Dasovic wasn’t surprised by FC Dallas’ win over Los Angeles on Sunday night and believes they are now the slight favourites to win the MLS Cup at BMO Field (Sunday at 8:30 p.m. live on TSN 2).
Dallas won 3-0 at The Home Depot Center to book their place in Sunday’s final in Toronto against the Colorado Rapids.
[inline_node:5250]“Dallas won 6-3 there last year so they knew LA quite well and they were prepared very well heading in there,” said Dasovic at BMO Field on Monday. “I’ve had a lot of good things to say about LA’s young defenders Omar Gonzalez and A.J. DeLaGarza, but I think maybe the Galaxy ended up getting a little bit too young very quickly with the injuries they sustained to players like Todd Dunivant and Greg Berhalter.”
“Dallas used their pace. They have a quick young side and they also have David Ferreira who I think will be league MVP. We always talk about a number 10 being a game changer and Ferreira has done that this year for Dallas. He is a player they can count on. He holds onto the ball and then makes things happen, but he is also feisty and gets stuck in. He’s a really good team player.”
Dallas started the process two or three years ago and they are there now with a good team. Schellas Hyndman has got a great record in the college system, and if you look at successful coaches in MLS a lot of them have worked in college. Knowing the NCAA helps them. He has gone on to win coach of the year, rightfully so, and it will be great for him to bring Dallas to their first MLS Cup Final.
Dallas will face Colorado Rapids at BMO Field on Sunday night. The Rapids reached their first MLS Cup since 1997 thanks to Kosuke Kimura’s goal in a 1-0 win at home to San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.
“They’ve got a hard working team and Gary Smith has got them really well organized,” said Dasovic. “They’ve had the time there to revamp the team and bring in the right pieces. I think he has brought in some good additions this year. Brian Mullan has helped them and they have Marvell Wynne who went there from here. Gary saw something in Marvell to pull him into the centre of defence and that allows him to have Kimura on the right. They’ve got a good balance and they have lots of pace which is a big thing in MLS.”
“They’ve got a good mix of players there. Conor Casey has scored lots of goals and has the height, and next to him they have the pace of Omar Cummings so it’s a great combination. Any time you have pace to get in behind the defence it causes the opposition problems and that is something we need to bring in here in Toronto as well.
So who will win? Dasovic is leaning towards Dallas, but thinks it will be an open game that could go either way. “Dallas had a better record in the regular season but Colorado have got a lot of experience,” he explained. “Pablo Mastroeni has been to a World Cup, Casey has international experience, Marvell Wynne played at the Olympics, so they have a lot to draw from. Dallas are still quite young, but I think the youth factor helps them a lot because they can get around the pitch a lot. I’m looking towards Dallas to win it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Colorado manage to cause an upset either.”
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