Red Bulls, Dallas believe in come-from-behind wins in conference final 2nd leg

The New York Red Bulls and FC Dallas were both handily beaten in the first leg of the MLS Cup Playoffs Conference Championship, with the Columbus Crew and Portland Timbers defeating their respective opposition at home without too much worry.

Bearing bruised egos, New York and Dallas - winners of the East and West in the regular season - know it'll take a come-from-behind effort to advance to the MLS Cup final. Dallas lost its match 3-1, while New York succumbed to a 2-0 loss, leaving both teams looking to close a two-goal margin.

Dallas has the added advantage of an away goal, which should help in its objective.

"Fortunately, we scored a goal which leaves the series open. We'll take the game to Frisco where we've done it before," Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja told reporters. "I believe in this group. I know this group can do it. We have the talent, energy and character to do it.

"Sometimes we put ourselves in spots that aren't necessary, but that's the game and once again this is the team that I trust. We'll do it in Frisco."

The second leg of the Western battle will take place at Toyota Stadium, and over in the East, the Red Bulls will take on a Columbus Crew team that, as captain Dax McCarty put it, capitalized on his team's "embarrassing defending."

Conceding a goal in the first nine seconds of the first-leg match didn't help the Red Bulls, and now the Crew have a two-goal cushion and the threat of an away goal in the reverse fixture.

"The crazy thing is if we don't concede that (potential away) goal and we only lose this game 1-0, we're pretty confident going back to Red Bull Arena that it's a result that we can live with," McCarty said after the match. "We put ourselves in a hole. We've dealt with tough circumstances all year, and I think we'll be able to regroup. We'll give it everything we have. We're not going to give up.

"Columbus celebrated like they won MLS Cup tonight. They certainly should be proud of the result. It's a great result for them, credit to them. We're going to try to flip it back around and give it a go and flip the series back in our favor at Red Bull Arena."

Still, both losing parties are confident their losses can be overturned. Dallas goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez said his team can bounce back, while Red Bulls 'keeper Luis Robles believes the same for his side.

"We understand what's in front of us," Robles said. "We're going to throw everything at them - the kitchen sink - while knowing we can't concede. They won the first half. They should absolutely expect us to bring it in the second half."