Officially, FC Dallas has already scored six goals off set pieces this season-three off corner kicks and the other three coming off free kicks. But if one were to count the own goal by Vancouver in the 2-2 draw at BC Place on April 27, then that total would balloon to seven.
Schellas Hyndman is of course no different than any other soccer coach no matter the level of competition in that he wants to see his club be quite formidable in set-piece situations, something FCD has already accomplished even in the early stages of the 2013 MLS season.
But even the veteran gaffer admits he’s a bit surprised at the level of success Dallas has had thus far, something he credits greatly to the man delivering the service on many of these set pieces, newcomer Michel.
“We work on so many other things early in the year like shape and identifying players that we don’t get a chance to spend as much time on the set pieces as you do later in the year. But yeah, I’m a little surprised, again pleasantly surprised,” Hyndman said.
Of course, he realizes that FCD has all the components to experience this success, maybe even possessing their own Brad Davis-type of server in Michel.
“For you to be successful on set pieces, the first thing you’ve got to have is you’ve got to have the people that can serve the ball. You look at Houston, well Brad Davis, pretty good server of the ball. So, you say OK that’s one issue. The other issue is you’ve got to have targets and the targets are not just on size, which we’re fortunate to have some tall, athletic players. But we also see sometimes you have to have strong, athletic players,” Hyndman said. “It’s a good server, having the size to dominate the air and also the courage to get your head someplace where a lot of people won’t. So, pleasantly surprised [with how we’ve done] but presently happy.”