FC Dallas head coach Luchi Gonzalez can still feel the sting of the heartbreaking loss against the Seattle Sounders in Round One of Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs.
“We won't forget that feeling. We won't forget that disappointment. It hurt to watch Seattle lift that Cup last year because we felt we could have got something more out of that game in Seattle. And it came down to that extra time,” Gonzalez told members of the media on a Zoom call on Wednesday.
And they were disappointed again going into Decision Day presented by AT&T. With the opportunity to secure home-field advantage for Round One of the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs, a 3-0 loss to Minnesota United knocked Dallas out of 4th place and into 6th place in the Western Conference.
“It’s day two or three now so getting over the loss in Minnesota is not easy, because we had the opportunity, but credit to Minnesota. They put away their chances and we couldn't our own, but you know, I take full responsibility as the head coach. That didn't happen our way that day. But moving forward, I have to lead and I have to model bouncing back and being ready for the next moment and being excited for the opportunity next and learning from the past,” Gonzalez said.
Instead of playing in front of their fans at Toyota Stadium, Dallas are heading West to take on the Portland Timbers (Nov. 22, 10 pm ET | TV & streaming info).
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“We're not happy with the last game we played, so we want to respond better in our next opportunity. We're excited to go and play a team that we haven't played this whole season, so it’s a good stimulus for us to do that. Anything can happen in soccer, anything can happen in those 90 minutes on the given day. We want to do the best we can to prepare to make things happen our way in that opportunity next week.”
While Gonzalez knows playing the Timbers will be a big challenge, he believes in his squad.
“If we can pull off a win in Portland, maybe if LAFC beat Seattle, we could end up still playing at home, which I didn't think could be the case. So I think there's some hidden motivation there, but we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We're excited to play Portland. We haven't played them this season,” he said.
And if Seattle beat LAFC? Dallas would get the opportunity for payback.
“This is the point of the season we ended our season last year against Seattle,” he said. “We won't forget that feeling. We won't forget that disappointment. It hurt to watch Seattle lift that Cup last year because we felt we could have got something more out of that game in Seattle. And it came down to that extra time. So we have this opportunity now that we have in Portland again, we don't want to let it go.”
