By AVI CREDITOR
The New York Red Bulls have seen what their low-seeded predecessors have accomplished, and despite falling short of regular-season expectations, the club is hoping to continue the MLS trend of recent years.
"I was thinking a little about that record," Red Bulls manager Hans Backe said. "Even our players have noted that the teams qualifying as No. 8 has won the cup. When you go into the playoffs it's totally open. It's like going into the World Cup -- you just have to have the perfect preparations for your games."
The preparations are just about complete for both New York and FC Dallas, who kick off the 2011 MLS postseason Wednesday night with a wildcard elimination match at Pizza Hut Park (9 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel).
FCD was on the wrong side of history in last season's MLS Cup final and to make a return appearance to the final it will look to avoid dropping out of the playoffs in a one-off round to a lower-seeded team for the second straight year. New York, meanwhile, will look to be inspired by the accomplishments of Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids, who set the bar for low-seeded teams to win MLS Cup the last two seasons.
With a wildcard-round win, the 10th-seeded Red Bulls would be sent to the Western Conference bracket to face the Los Angeles Galaxy in a potential conference semifinal series that most picked to be the MLS Cup final prior to the season. A Dallas victory would shift the club to the Eastern Conference bracket and a date with Sporting Kansas City, leaving the Colorado-Columbus winner for the Galaxy.
Dallas victories have been few and far in between lately, but despite slumping into the postseason after going 2-5 in league play over the final two months of the season, Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman has the experience of last year's run to the MLS Cup final to draw on for motivation going forward.
"Last year our last two games of the season we didn't win," Hyndman said. "We were at our best when we got into the playoffs. For us right now we're trying to use that same mentality. I know we're a good team. We wouldn't have 52 points if we weren't."
Injuries, suspensions and CONCACAF Champions League schedule congestion have all taken their toll on Dallas, but the club should have the services of a rested attacking trio comprised of Brek Shea, Marvin Chavez and Jackson. All three sat out the regular season finale against San Jose.
"The threat is to close down the three pacey guys (Shea, Chavez, Jackson) up front," said Backe, whose team went 1-0-1 against FCD this season. "We have to stop the distribution to these three guys."
Shea and Chavez missed the last meeting between the two, a 1-0 New York victory at Pizza Hut Park back on Sept. 17. Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez and Jan Gunnar Solli were unavailable for the Red Bulls in that meeting as well, and the lone goal scorer, Luke Rodgers, won't be available Wednesday night (knee injury), so looking back to that matchup as a reference point is a bit of a lost exercise.
Even so, it was an important victory for the Red Bulls, who jumped back into postseason contention with those three points.
"We had a great opportunity to win that game," Hyndman said. "It was probably the turning point for New York, coming here and beating us, and they got into a situation where they got themselves into the playoffs."
Now Hyndman hopes that won't come back to haunt his side. Having a rested Shea certainly boosts Dallas' prospects. His effectiveness in MLS over the last couple of months was limited, as the wear and tear of a busy non-MLS summer schedule took its toll.
"It has been an extremely busy year for Brek," Hyndman said. "While some of us have been getting time off, he's been called into national team duty. I think we're going to see a rebound. His attitude is very strong. He's committed to the team, he wants to excel. Mentally, he's better than where he's been for the last two months."
Shea's matchup with Solli on the flank is one of the key battles that will determine which team moves on and which one goes home.
Another side plot to the match is that it pits Red Bulls midfielder Dax McCarty against his former club. McCarty was left unprotected in last year's expansion draft by FC Dallas and was taken by Portland before being traded to D.C. and again to New York in the Dwayne De Rosario blockbuster.
With Dane Richards potentially shifting up top to pair with Henry in place of Rodgers, Backe hinted that McCarty could reprise his role as a right-sided midfielder.
"His runs and when to tuck in has been very well-timed," Backe said. "Technically he has looked very composed. He's a guy that has stepped up the last games, and his work rate, he can run all day long. I'm quite pleased with him the last two, three games."
When the season began, both FC Dallas and New York figured to both be serious contenders to make deep playoff runs. While their seeds might dictate that neither had the season necessarily worthy of a champion, the MLS playoffs give new life to those that put it all together at the right time, which is something both squads are capable of doing starting Wednesday.
"I don't think we've been that dominating and controlling the game the way we did at the beginning of the season," Backe said. "We're still good enough to surprise teams I think."
