Tag Archives: Orr Barouch

July 17, 2011 · 10:44 pm

Home defeat to Portland sums up the Fire’s biggest problem this season

Toyota Park: Hardly a fortress for the Chicago Fire this season

Following a US Open Cup quarter-final win, the announcements of the signing of Sebastian Grazzini and an upcoming friendly with Chivas Guadalajara, the Chicago Fire were on the brink of a highly successful week. Unfortunately, Saturday night spoiled any chances of it being a truly memorable week as the Fire suffered a gut-wrenching 1-0 defeat to the Portland Timbers at Toyota Park.

The boo’s heard after the final whistle told the whole story. Being swept by an expansion team is embarrassing in itself, but losing to a club who had yet to register an away win is as exasperating as it gets.

So where did they go wrong? Take it for what it is, but Elias Bazakos added his name to a long list of MLS referees guilty of making dreadful, game-changing decisions. In the latest edition of bad refereeing in the MLS, Bazakos pointed to the spot after Gonzalo Segares had been adjudged to have unjustly brought down Jorge Perlaza. Outside of the penalty area, it’s a good call. But giving a penalty for so little contact in which the offensive player went down far too easily is an extremely questionable decision, to put it nicely. Sean Johnson had no chance with Jack Jewsbury’s penalty kick. The decision to send off Yamith Cuesta was also a dreadful mistake, as one, if not both, of the yellow cards were debatable.

In fairness, the man in the middle wasn’t the only one to blame for the defeat. Someone may need to check the goal measurements at Toyota Park, because the Fire have a habit of hitting the woodwork this season. Cory Gibbs struck the post with a fine header in the first half before substitute Orr Barouch smashed a shot off the crossbar after the interval, and not for the first time this season. Gibbs was simply with his header, but with the goal gaping, Barouch should’ve had more composure to stick the ball in the back of the net.

Seeing the Fire come so close to scoring time and time again beckons the question, where is the finishing? Grazzini will make a huge impact in linking the midfield and the offense, but what good will that be if the Fire can’t finish their chances. Saturday night wasn’t necessarily a case of the Fire forwards demonstrating a poor finish, but the season as a whole has proved that this is a major area of concern.

Johnson did well for the Fire to keep the score at 1-0, but Troy Perkins did better. The former D.C. United ‘keeper was on the top of his game on Saturday night, pulling off a string of fine saves to deny Marco Pappa an equalizer. His best save of the bunch arrived in stoppage time as he instinctively stuck out a leg to prevent Pappa’s long-distance shot through traffic from finding the back of the net.

With the loss to Portland, the Fire haven’t won at home in the league since March 26th – 18 matches and 113 days ago. When you look at it that way, you have to wonder if those boo’s were warranted. And no matter how you look at things, it’s impossible to dismiss the fact that the Fire have been absolutely dreadful at home. With what many consider to be the most passionate supporters in the league, the fans who make the trip to Toyota Park for every home match deserve better.

The players themselves deserve better. They’ve been unlucky at times, but all things considered, they just haven’t done enough. The Fire’s home record currently stands at one win, two losses, and six draws. The two home defeats (LA, Portland), were certainly disappointing, but it is those six draws that really have me lamenting the club’s home form this season.

Several of those draws could’ve, and truthfully, should’ve been wins. It’s one thing to have poor away form, but being unable to register more than one win more than halfway through the season is an alarming fact. If the club wants to turn things around, improving on its home form is vital. And so is avoiding those crossbars.

The Chicago Fire take a break from league play this weekend when they play Manchester United in a highly anticipated friendly at Soldier Field. The Fire will resume MLS duty when they host the Philadelphia Union on August 3rd, meaning there’s plenty of time for the Fire to work on finding a solution to its disappointing home form.

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July 12, 2011 · 6:59 pm

Chicago teaches NYRB a lesson, both on and off the field in US Open Cup win

In Tuesday night’s US Open Cup quarter-final at Toyota Park, the Chicago Fire proved why they are the kings of the cup while the New York Red Bulls proved, well, quite frankly, why they aren’t. The men in red strolled to a comfortable 4-0 win to book their place in the semi-finals of the oldest club soccer competition in America.

As for the Red Bulls, they’ll be asking questions of manager Hans Backe for fielding a predominantly reserve team despite the team not scheduled to play again until a late Saturday kick-off against Chivas USA. If the Red Bulls’ team sheet wasn’t a big enough indication of the visitor’s lack of desire to advance in this tournament, then the fact that only three players were on the substitution bench summed it all up for New York.

Frank Klopas demonstrated the Fire’s intentions to win the US Open Cup by making only one change to the side that lost 2-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy during the weekend. Josip Mikulic filled in for Cory Gibbs, who was reported to have been suffering from a stomach virus.

They say soccer isn’t played on paper but in this match, it might as well have been. The Fire started strongly and within seven minutes Dominic Oduro fired the home team into a 1-0 lead. Despite dominating the remainder of the first half, the Fire failed to double their advantage going into the break.

That would all change just minutes into the second half when Yamith Cuesta scored a wonderful header to put Chicago on the brink of a semi-final berth. And as if there was ever any doubt, Orr Barouch stepped off the bench to grab a brace and give the Fire a deserved, as well as expected, 4-0 win.

The match may be remembered for New York’s decision to field such a weakened team, but credit should be given to the Fire for making a statement of intent in this competition by playing a full strength team and demonstrating the importance of the US Open Cup. The New York Red Bulls’ players will have learned a thing or two on the pitch today, but ultimately it is their management who really need to learn something from this US Open Cup quarter-final.

The Chicago Fire will now play the winner of Sporting Kansas City vs. Richmond Kickers on August 30th.

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June 21, 2011 · 9:20 pm

Chicago Fire vs. Real Salt Lake: Five things to watch for

Another match and another rival. That seems to be the case lately for the Chicago Fire, who picked up five points from a possible nine during a three match road trip that included matches against rivals Columbus and New England. The Fire finally return to Toyota Park on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. and will welcome back former Fire captain and current Real Salt Lake assistant coach C.J. Brown and his new team. Both sides are coming off 1-1 draws as Real Salt Lake picked up a point at home against D.C. United and the Fire earned a point on the road in New England. RSL currently sits in 4th place in the Western Conference with 22 points from 13 matches, while the Chicago Fire have moved up to sixth in the East 15 points from 15 matches. RSL won both meetings last year by a 1-0 scoreline, but the Fire will be hoping to avenge those losses and pick up its third win of the season.

Form guide:

Chicago: D-D-D-W-D

Real Salt Lake: L-W-L-D-D

Five things to watch for:

Danger man – With four goals in nine starts this season, Fabian Espindola is RSL’s leading scorer and earns a spot in my list of five things to watch for on Wednesday. The Argentinean is also RSL’s most threatening offensive player with 22 shots on goal this season, only five short of what he managed the entire season last year. The Fire defense will have their work cut out for them when it comes to containing Espindola and will certainly need to keep an eye on him throughout the match if they want to get a win.

Don’t be shy – In the aftermath of their 1-1 draw with D.C. United, RSL could be forgiven for feeling hard done by the referee for awarding Charlie Davies with a late penalty for what was a clear dive. But anyone who watched the match will know that it was D.C. United who should have been feeling frustrated with just a point at the final whistle. Ben Olsen’s side dominated most of the game and certainly created the better chances. Chris Pontius even hit the crossbar twice with shots from the edge of the area, which seemed to be a big weakness for RSL. Central defenders Jamison Olave and Nat Borchers were too slow to close down D.C.’s midfield around the edge of the box and they nearly paid the price. The Fire could benefit from that type of defending on Wednesday, as several players for Chicago are capable of hitting the back of the net from outside the box. I can already see Paladini, Oduro and Nyarko lining up to hit one.

Ghanaian connection – With Nyarko returning from injury and Marco Pappa on duty for Guatemala in the Gold Cup, Nyarko and the in-form Oduro have occupied both of the wings in the last few matches. As a result, the Fire have reaped the benefits and enjoyed success on both wings, with Nyarko most recently teeing up Oduro for his first half goal against the Revolution last weekend. The main question now is whether Frank Klopas continues with both Ghanaians on the wing or if he gives Pappa an immediate return to the starting eleven. Regardless of what combination Klopas opts for, the Fire are in good shape on the wings. Look for Oduro and Nyarko to start on Wednesday and for Pappa to make a late second half appearance off the bench.

Due some luck – I’m going to go out on a limb and going to say that Orr Barouch will score on Wednesday night. Incredibly, the Israeli forward has amassed 13 appearances this season but is still yet to earn a start. I don’t see that changing against RSL, but I do think we’ll see a change in fortune in front of goal for Barouch. After all, he’s been extremely unlucky lately. He hit the crossbar late on against Sporting Kansas City and Columbus and was only denied a winner on Saturday against the Revolution by a goal line clearance. I think it’s safe to say a goal is on the way! With Gaston Puerari being transferred last week and Christian Nazarith suspended for the Fire’s next two matches, the Fire could use a goal from Barouch.

Honoring a legend – The Chicago Fire have announced they will honor C.J. Brown at the end of the match. After retiring at the end of last season, Brown took up an assistant coaching role with RSL and will make his first visit to Toyota Park in different colors than the red and white he proudly wore for 12 seasons. In fact, Chicago Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas even played with C.J. for several seasons in a Fire uniform. You can expect a tremendous reception for C.J. when he steps out on the field on Wednesday night and when he is deservedly honored after the match.

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June 20, 2011 · 10:54 pm

How Unlucky Can Orr Barouch Get?

Three matches ago against Sporting Kansas City the Chicago Fire were on a 10-match winless streak and desperate to turn their fortunes around with a win in the newly constructed LIVESTRONG Park. With the score deadlocked at 0-0, a familiar score line during that winless run for the Fire, Frank Klopas sent on Barouch for Christian Nazarith in the 76th minute. Minutes later, Erik Kronberg spilled a powerful Daniel Paladini shot from distance, allowing the ball to fall kindly into the path of Barouch. It had to be a goal for Barouch and it surely had to be a much needed three points for the Chicago Fire? Not to be. Barouch’s effort ricocheted off the crossbar and that winless streak continued.

Three days later in Columbus, Barouch was sent on for the recently departed Gaston Puerari in the 67th minute in order to help turn the Fire’s dominance into a goal. Just 10 minutes later and Barouch nearly scored an absolute screamer with a shot from just outside the left side of the Crew penalty box, only to see his shot cannon off the crossbar and be cleared to safety. He would, however, play a huge role in that crucial match winner from Nazarith.

Saturday night in New England saw Barouch’s bad luck in front of goal continue as his header off Baggio Husidic’s corner in the second half was destined for the back of the net only for the ball to be cleared off the line by Ryan Guy. It would have most likely been the match winner for the Fire and a well deserved goal for Barouch, who after so much misfortune of late, deserves a goal as much as anyone.

And as if Barouch hasn’t already been unfortunate enough in front of goal, he’s also been extremely unlucky not to have received his first start of the season after some impressive performances off the bench during the past few weeks. The Israeli forward has now made 13 appearances for the Fire this season with every one of them coming from off the bench. Has he done enough to warrant a start? It’s debatable, but I would say yes. And has he done enough to deserve a goal? Well there’s simply no doubting that.

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