Match Day #4 Rewind, Match Day #5 Preview, and Some Random Thoughts
Match Day #4 Rewind
Well, on a night that the Fire needed to get 3 points to show that they can run with the better teams in the Eastern Conference; mother nature had other plans. Houston were missing 3 starters for the game and the Fire were looking to take advantage of that. The game started out evenly matched until the 13th minute when lightning forced the referee to call the players off the field for about an hour until it was deemed safe to resume. After the game had resumed, the match was going back and forth and was pretty evenly matched. That was until, the way I see it, a miscommunication in the back which allowed Will Bruin to streak in past the defense and slot the ball into the net past Sean Johnson. After the goal the Fire started playing with more urgency and in the 27th minute Nyarko earned a free kick outside of Houston’s box, which Pardo took and it took a lucky deflection off of Pause’s back and into the net. If the ball had not hit Pause in the back I have a hard time believing that Pardo’s free kick would have gone in. Since the goal, the Fire seemed to take control of the game and had solid possession with very few giveaways but also very few chances. The second halftime came and went and then in the 66th minute the weather forced the game to be called and each team taking a point. Now for the player ratings:
Johnson-(5) Really wasn’t tested and was beaten on Houston’s only shot on goal.
Segares-(5) Did his job no mistakes and didn’t stand out much either.
Anibaba and Friedrich- (5) Held well except for the miscommunication that led to the goal.
Gargan- (5) Good to have back in the lineup, was very active joining the attack, much more effective than Pause being right back.
Pardo- (6) Took control of the middle and took the free kick that led to the only goal for the Fire.
Pause- (6) Scored the goal, albeit the easiest goal he’ll ever score. Worked well with Pardo handling the Houston attack.
Grazzini- (6) Created a few chances, took control of the attack at times and looked good considering he had space at times to work. I liked how he combines well with Nyarko.
Pappa- (5) Really didn’t have much of an affect on the game, he still has the tendency to float into Grazzini’s space. This has got to stop and he should play the wing.
Nyarko- (6) Created the chance that led to the goal and was very active at attacking Houston’s right side.
Oduro- (5) Made a few runs but overall ineffective. I think that teams around the league are starting to realize how to defend Oduro and make his speed ineffective.
Overall the Fire played well but still was not deadly on the attack. It seems that the Fire are becoming too one dimensional in the attack. By that I mean that they have been stuck trying to attack through the same avenues. Whether it is long balls over the top to Oduro, Pappa taking on 2 or 3 defenders with step overs, everything going through Grazzini, or Nyarko taking defenders on out wide. That seems to be the only ways that the Fire know how to attack and if they don’t find a solution to their attacking strategy it will be a long season.
Match Day #5 Preview
With the weather shortened game out of the way, Chicago goes into the weekend travelling to Toronto to face the only team in the league without a win and without a point. They have started this season just like every other season, pretty bad and a mess. Their coach, Aron Winter, cannot settle on a line up after looking promising in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals against the LA Galaxy. Since then they have looked like a last place team. Which in my mind, they do have some talent on the team but they really seem to be unable to play well together. Toronto doesn’t have major injuries to worry about(except for Frings who is probable which means he will more than likely play) so they should be playing their strongest line up against the Fire. On the other hand the Fire come in to the game with no fresh injury concerns and even the addition of Chris Rolfe to roster, which I will talk about in my random thoughts section. Here is how I think the Fire should lineup against Toronto:
Johnson
Gargan-Friedrich-Anibaba-Segares
Pause-Pardo
Pappa-Grazzini-Nyarko
Oduro
It seems as though Klopas will be set on starting Johnson again after his first start back in net on Sunday. I move Nyarko back to midfield because of the fact that every single game this season he starts up top with Oduro and then eventually falls back to take a spot in midfield. I can see Rolfe, Paladini, and Robayo all coming in at some point as subs. If Sunday’s game was a must win game, this game against Toronto is one the Fire cannot lose. If the Fire fail to win this game it could be a precursor of what to expect all season and even put Klopas on the hot seat in my opinion. I don’t think that will happen though as Chicago will come out winners 3-0, with goals coming from Nyarko, Grazzini, and my long shot goal scorer of Friedrich.
Random Thoughts
· The Fire reserves won against the Dynamo reserves on Monday by a score line of 1-0 with the only goal coming from Puppo.
· The biggest news of the week though is the return of Chris Rolfe to the Fire. The Fire were able to resign the forward/midfielder before the transfer window shut. He comes back after spending the past 2 years playing for Aalborg in Denmark. This is welcome addition and could not go wrong bringing back a fan favorite. The only problem is where does he fit in when he becomes start ready? I would like to see him take Pappa’s spot in the starting lineup and play more of a right winger but more up top. I have a strange feeling that this will not happen and Klopas will elect to keep Pappa in the starting 11 and possibly remove Nyarko for Rolfe to play up top with Oduro. I hope the Fire are still looking for that proven target forward though.
No comments:
Post a Comment