The Revs snapped a 10-match winless streak against the Fire | Photo credit: yahoo! sports
An already disappointing week was made that much worse Saturday night as the Fire stumbled to a disheartening 2-0 defeat to rivals New England at Gillette Stadium. Kelyn Rowe and Benny Feilhaber both scored goals within five minutes of each other in the second half, condemning the Fire to a third defeat in the span of just seven days. Continue reading
Filed under Chicago Fire, Match Analysis
Chicago welcomes its “rivals” to Toyota Park on Saturday. | Photo credit: http://www.isiphotos.net
Match Preview: Chicago vs. Kansas City
Toyota Park, May 12
So far May has been kind to the Fire, undefeated with four points over two games. But things are getting progressively more difficult. The defeat of Chivas in LA came at the last seconds and this last Wednesday’s draw against Real Salt Lake though steady was uninspiring. Chicago’s midweek match was a midfield grind which in a way revealed the true character of the Fire. MLS is midfield-centric league, and Chicago toes the line.
On Wednesday, we saw Marco Pappa put in a third straight excellent performance. Part of this is due to the growing understanding between Pappa and playmaker Seba Grazzini, but part of this is also due to the fact that Pappa has embraced playing the left wing role. Manager Frank Klopas has said that Chicago “are not a team that is going to rely too much on service,” so I suppose I’m going to have to resign myself to the fact that Pappa and Patrick Nyarko will never be played as out-and-out wingers. Yet it can’t be ignored that when Pappa and Nyarko provide service, the Chicago attack lights up. Continue reading
Filed under Chicago Fire, Match Previews
The return of a legend and the Fire's new #18.
As if a 2009 Eastern Conference final loss to Real Salt Lake at Toyota Park wasn’t hard enough to swallow, the departure of Chris Rolfe – a true Fire original – two months earlier was also a major low point of the 2009 campaign. Rolfe took up the opportunity in September that year to prove himself in Europe with Aalborg BK in the Danish Superliga and the move was understandable.
It’s quite common for American players to grasp the first chance to play in Europe that comes their way, but it was still disappointing to lose a player who established himself as an integral member of the club during his five seasons from 2005-2009, as well as with the Chicago Fire Premier in the Premier Development League. Continue reading
Filed under Chicago Fire, News, Player feature
Dominic Oduro:
“Our confidence is really high. I’m very proud of the team; I thought we stuck to our guns throughout the game and fought really hard. The most important thing is that at the end of the day we got three points. I thought we played really well and I’m looking forward to the next game.
“We’ve been working on crossing and finishing during training, hoping it was something we would see in the game, (Marco) Pappa delivered a great ball and I was in the right spot to put it in. I’m pretty much right where I left off last season. I want to keep it going with my teammates behind me, stay positive and work hard.”
“As a forward, it’s my job to score wherever the ball is, in the air or on the ground, I need to get to it. Pappa made a great delivery and I was right there to put it in. As to whether I’m working on headers or not, once the ball gets there I’ll use any part of my body, besides my hands, to score.”
Cory Gibbs:
“I couldn’t be more proud of the backline, especially the goalie. Paolo (Tornaghi) has had a rough road coming from overseas, regardless of the position he was in he stepped right in and played a spectacular game. The backline kept it strong and we got the shutout. “
“We have a lot more organization this season. Like any team that takes time, we’re a year plus into this with all of us together and the understanding has been great. We work on it every day and it’s improving every day. “
“That was his first game last week in Montreal, and the more we train together the better it’s getting. He had to make some big save today, but outside of that we’re trying to make his job as easy as possible and fit him into the team. He’s a great shot stopper and his composure is spectacular for his age, which comes from him playing for a big club in Europe. We could ask for more from him – his composure everyday in training is so laid back, he’s not nervous and that’s huge for us.”
Read immediate match analysis from the Fire’s opening night victory against the Philadelphia Union here. Be sure to follow @ChicagoFireBlog on Twitter for more updates.
Filed under Chicago Fire, Video
Following its season opening 1-1 draw against the Montreal Impact last weekend, the Chicago Fire are set for opening night at Toyota Park on Saturday night (7:30 kick-off) when they take on the Philadelphia Union. The Men in Red are in search of its first win of the season against a Philadelphia side also in search of its first points of the new campaign. The Union fell to Portland during First Kick and then saw its home opener spoiled by Colorado last weekend, leaving them in seventh place in the Eastern Conference table and one of six teams in the East yet to record a win. Meanwhile, the Fire are in third after just one match played.
There’s a good chance of that changing this weekend. Despite being outplayed for much of last weekend’s draw, the Fire appear to have the advantage against the Union following its early struggles on the pitch this season and should be able to walk away from Saturday’s match with three points in the bag.
Here’s three things to watch for against the Union: Continue reading
Filed under Chicago Fire, Match Previews
