FC Dallas needs comfort of home one more time

FRISCO — FC Dallas promises postgame fireworks and free rally towels for its Major League Soccer regular-season home finale tonight.

What the club can’t promise is a victory when it desperately needs one.

FC Dallas (8-9-10, 34 points) has three regular-season games remaining, but is in a position where a tiebreaker would leave it out of a playoff spot.

A look at the three most significant story lines for tonight’s game against Toronto FC:

1. Home cooking

In 2006, FC Dallas finished first in the Western Conference, mostly because of its 12-3-1 home record.

This season, with the playoffs in the balance, FC Dallas has managed a little above average with a home mark of 5-4-5.

"The last home game, hopefully we’ll get a nice crowd," FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman said. "The spirits should be high for us. It’s also a chase for the playoffs and we need to get a win."

2. Cooper’s last time?

Kenny Cooper unwillingly provided midseason drama when European clubs began bidding to purchase his rights.

FC Dallas rejected the sale of Cooper to Rosenborg (Norway) and Cardiff City (Wales).

However, a new transfer window will open in January, which is during the MLS off-season but midseason in most European leagues.

Cooper’s 16 goals, his size (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) and his work ethic assure he’ll be a target again.

"I don’t think of it as possibly being my last game [at home with FC Dallas]," Cooper said. "I’m so focused on being with FC Dallas and trying to help my team make the playoffs. This is the exciting time of the season. We’ve put in a lot of work all season and I’m really focused on that."

3. Oh, Canada

FC Dallas catches a huge break as World Cup qualifying has decimated Toronto FC’s roster. The Canadian club will miss five starters for tonight’s match because of international call-ups by their respective nations.

FC Dallas isn’t missing anyone. Defender Adrian Serioux is a starter for Canada’s national team, but can’t play in tonight’s qualifier because he accumulated too many yellow cards.

Hyndman said Toronto FC could compensate for the missing players by playing a more direct style.

"The fact that they are losing players helps us," Hyndman said. " ... The thing that I’ve found, though, about losing players is that sometimes the player who replaces that player has the game of his life. They absolutely play well because they feel like they’ve been given a chance."