Match Day #1 Rewind

Match Day #1 Rewind and Other Random Notes

As many of you had witnessed earlier today, the Fire took on the Montreal Impact in Montreal in front of a crowd close to 59 thousand strong. Taking all 3 points would have been a tall order and I thought they were going to do it. Well the Fire came away with a point to show for the trip up north. First of all I would like to say that the Impact are going to have a strong following based on the crowd that was there to witness their first home game. I know they will not be playing in the Olympic Stadium all the time and not have that big crowds every game but they will have a loyal fan base.

I would have liked to see the Fire take the game to the Impact and take the crowd out of the game. Well that didn’t happen. Instead the Fire looked shaky from the beginning and could not get a solid attack going. Throughout the first half the midfield looked nervous, bunched and a little lazy at times. Montreal on the other hand looked comfortable on the field but at times they also looked a little nervous. It was nice to Nyarko take a chance at goal in the first couple minutes of the game. That was one element that was missing from his game in previous seasons. But that was one of two clear chances the Fire had all during the first half. Montreal pressed during the first having Tornaghi make a couple good saves and having to be active on corners and crosses. The only other clear chance for either team was the disallowed goal that Braun scored after a shot by former Fire player Justin Mapp. Braun was clearly behind the defense when Mapp took the shot in the 35^th minute.

In the second half the Impact started to attack at the Fire again, forcing Klopas to make the adjustment of pulling Nyarko back into the midfield leaving Oduro all alone up top. This move hurt the Fire and they paid for it. In the 56^th minute Nyassi came down the right side and crossed the ball into the box to find the head of Arnaud. The defense of the Fire seemed to be out of place with marking the Impact players and the placement of the header was good enough where Tornaghi could not do anything about it. After the goal the Fire still looked lifeless in attack until Klopas brought in Puppo for Pappa. This actually added some life to the attack because it restored 2 forwards up top instead of one. This actually almost paid dividends right off the bat when Puppo fought his way into the box to try to create an opportunity. In the 68^th minute Segares went off with an injury, which could be significant because he normally does not go off with injuries in the past. But the Fire’s persistence paid off in the 71^st minute when Grazzini received the ball just outside the box and chipped the ball past the defense where Oduro tapped it underneath a charging Ricketts to tie the game at one. Other than that, there were only a couple other chances for each team including a rocket of a shot from Gardner that beat Tornaghi but could not beat the post.

Player Ratings

v Tornaghi(8.5)-Has to be the man of the match. He came up big when it counted and looked comfortable in net after the first few minutes. I believe the Fire have now found a legitimate #2.

v Gargan(6)-A beast as always. Forced the attack on the right side and was rarely beaten. But he did turnover the ball that lead to Montreal’s goal.

v Anibaba(5)-Solid in the center, broke up a couple attacks and had a good work rate.

v Gibbs(5)-Same as Anibaba and I give them both 5 because I didn’t know who was supposed to be on Arnaud when he scored.

v Segares(5)-Was just okay. I don’t know what else to say about his play.

v Pardo(5)-Was just okay also. Broke up plays and had a tireless work rate as always.

v Pause(5)-Not much to say here also. Had some good plays and some not so good plays.

v Pappa(3)-Did he even show up today? Lazy when had possession and was stripped from behind on numerous occasions. Looked very apprehensive and uncomfortable while playing next to Grazzini.

v Grazzini(6.5)-Beautiful assist to Oduro. Was not getting any calls all game and seemed to be uncomfortable when they moved Nyarko back to mid leaving one striker up top and a 5 man mid.

v Nyarko(6)-Good work rate, liked how he actually took a few shots and played some good defense when needed. Looked much better out on the wing than up on top.

v Oduro(6.5)-Scored the only goal, tried using his speed against Montreal but was a little ineffective.

v Puppo(5.5)-Added some life up top for the final 28 minutes. Created a couple chances.

v Hunter Jumper(5)-Filled in well for the injured Segares for the final 22 minutes. No major mistakes just a slipped that let Nyassi walk in and have an open chance that Tornaghi dealt with.

v Paladini(5)-Came on for Grazzini for the final 11 minutes and added energy and a possible assist for Puppo in the waning moments.

Final Thoughts

            The Fire really need to look more relaxed out there but also need to be more aggressive at the same time. They cannot be playing from behind again this season. Last season we were fighting just to tie games and not playing to finish games. Pappa like I said wasn’t really out there. He looked lazy and very uncomfortable especially when he floated into the middle next to Grazzini. I think that Klopas has to figure out a way where Pappa and Grazzini can be out there at the same time. Would anybody be upset if they used him as trade bait? I know I wouldn’t.  Another thing that hurt this team was when they went with a single striker up top. It doesn’t work for this team because the midfield ends up dropping back to help on defense and that left Oduro out on top versus 2 sometimes 3 defenders. I know that this was game 1 of 34 and there is time for all of this to get worked out but I hope the Fire will have a better showing next week at the home opener.

One Other Non Fire Related Thought

I hope for the best for Fabrice Muamba who collapsed on the pitch during Bolton’s FA Cup match against Tottenham. He was last reported to be stable but still in the ICU at a hospital in London. This is never good to hear especially when it happens to a young player like that.