Tag Archives: Sporting Kansas FC

June 10, 2011 · 8:29 pm

Sporting Kansas City vs. Chicago Fire Post Match Analysis

All of the talk prior to Thursday’s match centered around Sporting Kansas City’s new stadium, but after 90 frustrating minutes the only thing on the Fire’s minds was yet another match without a win. It’s been 75 days and 11 matches since the Fire finished a match on top. Despite coming close to breaking that streak on several occasions the Fire never really looked like earning all three points at LIVESTRONG Park.

Talking points:

Offensive inefficiencies – It’s not the first time this season the Fire have failed to find their offensive rhythm and at it won’t be the last. Christian Nazarit tested KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen with a fine header in the first half, but otherwise saw very little of the ball and looked more and more tired as the match progressed. Gaston Puerari worked his socks off once again but was ultimately inefficient on the attacking side of things while Diego Chaves, who had been dropped to bench for a well earned rest, entered the fray in the second half but never looked like getting anything going. Dominic Oduro was the most threatening for the Fire, using his speed to create several opportunities while forcing Nielsen into several saves before the Danish ‘keeper received his marching orders for handling outside the penalty box.

Sega – One major bright side from the Fire’s past two draws is the form of Gonzalo Segares. Apart from an early misjudged header in his own box early in the first half, the Fire’s first choice left-back was in fine form and proved difficult for KC to get past. Yamith Cuesta and Cory Gibbs also looked solid on Thursday. Note: Segares wore a black armband to honor the death of his girlfriend’s mother.

PaldadiniXI – After all the calls for Daniel Paladini to start for the Fire, the former NASL midfielder has started and impressed in back-to-back matches. He looks intent to shoot from outside whenever he can and who can blame him. His powerful drive in the first half looked goal bound only for a vital deflection to interfere while his long range effort in the second half was spilled by Eric Kronberg, allowing substitute Orr Barouch to come inches away from giving the Fire the lead.

Penalty drama – Following Barouch’s effort that cannoned off the cross bar, Omar Bravo found himself with possession in the Fire penalty box only for Bratislav Ristic to interfere with a stalwart challenge that grounded the former Mexican forward. The disapproval of LIVESTRONG Park was clearly evident as referee Michael Kennedy opted against giving KC what initially appeared like a clear penalty. Upon review, however, it appears Kennedy was spot on (no pun intended) in his decision not to award the home side a penalty kick. His decision is still up for debate, but Ristic looks to have just gotten enough of the ball to fairly thwart Bravo.

What rivalry? – A lot of the talk heard from Kansas City this season has not been about their new stadium, but instead about this new rivalry with the Chicago Fire. As for the Fire, the club has never considered KC to be a rival and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Rivalries aren’t made overnight, they are built over time and Thursday’s match did little in devel

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June 8, 2011 · 9:11 pm

Sporting Kansas City vs. Chicago Fire: Five things to watch for

LIVESTRONG Sporting Park

For the second time this season the Chicago Fire will take part in the curtain rise of the league’s newest stadium: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. The Fire opened JELD-WEN Field against the Portland Timbers in April and now make the trip to Sporting Kansas City for the Kansas club’s first home match of the season. The Fire will be hoping for a better result than the one in Portland, however, where they suffered a disappointing 4-2 loss. And on the back of a 10 match winless streak, the Fire desperately need a win. The team’s sole victory of the season arrived all the way back on March 26th, against none other than Sporting Kansas.

Form guide:

Chicago Fire: D-D-L-D-D

Sporting Kansas: L-L-L-T-T

Five things to watch for:

1)    Confidence at a low: With just six points from 10 matches this season, Sporting Kansas City have the worst record in the league and consequently sit in 9th place in the Eastern Conference. The Fire aren’t too much better off. One win from 12 has the Fire sitting in eighth place, just four points ahead of Sporting. A win for either side could inspire a good run of results, but a loss could see either club’s downward spiral worsen.

2)     Home Fortress? – as the Fire learned in Portland, visiting a club for its first home match in a new stadium can be intimidating. Granted the Timbers were playing their first ever MLS home match, the supporters tend to be aroused for these type of matches and Sporting Kansas fans shouldn’t be any different. After all, two and a half months into the season and they have yet to seen their team play at home. Will the Fire be able to cope with a fervent atmosphere this time?

3)    Sean Johnson – Back in the starting line-up and back to his best. Johnson has impressed in each of the Fire’s last two matches, particularly in the 0-0 draw with Seattle last weekend. The young ‘keeper made several clutch saves to thwart the Sounders’ attack and earned his first clean sheet of the season, as well as anomination for MLS Save of the Week. Can he continue his revival on Thursday?

4)    Daniel Paladini – Paladini’s performance against Seattle was his best in a Fire uniform, and quite possibly, his best performance in the MLS. The Fire’s #11 constantly looked dangerous going forward and was unlucky not to score his first goal for the club. The Fire could really use another inspired performance from him on Thursday night.

5)    Rest Up – Amidst such a busy schedule, Klopas is likely to rest several players against Sporting. This could provide a chance for a number of players to receive some much needed playing time and prove their worth. Looking at you Baggio Husidic.

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March 28, 2011 · 12:51 am

Chicago Fire vs. Sporting Kansas Post Match Analysis

The Chicago Fire picked up their first win of the season on Saturday, defeating Sporting Kansas FC 3-2 in the first home match of the new campaign. Diego Chaves fired the Men in red into the lead from the penalty spot in the 34th minute after Omar Bravo received his marching orders for being adjudged to have denied the Uruguayan from a clear scoring opportunity. As harsh as Kansas City might have thought it was, the Fire capitalized and Gaston Puerari notched his first MLS goal of the season six minutes later. Scott Besler pulled one back for the visitors after the restart but Marco Pappa doubled the Fire’s advantage with a brilliant individual effort on 59 minutes. Teal Bunbury’s goal in the 72nd minute would prove to be nothing more than a consolation as the Fire held on to collect all three points.

Talking Points:

Diego Chaves scores again – Two goals in two games, not a bad start to his Fire career by any means. His goal last week against FC Dallas may have been a tap-in and his opening goal on Saturday may have come from the penalty spot but he was brought in to score goals and so far he’s fulfilled his task. He appears to be a great fit for this squad and I admire his energy up front. It’s incredible how much the Fire missed that type of energy last year. His decision to go for power in his spot kick revealed a great deal of confidence from Chaves as well. So far so good from the little Uruguayan.

Marco Pappa is pure class – What a goal and what a player. He was involved in the Fire’s second goal and his goal in the second half was a piece of absolute magic. When he received the ball outside of the opposition penalty box there appeared to be no danger, but five seconds later the ball was in the back of the net and the entire Sporting Kansas defense had been shredded apart by the Guatemalan’s trickery. The snapshot below shows how little danger there is when Pappa receives possession. And that’s when ‘Big Pappa’ pulls out a few tricks from his repertoire to give the Fire a two-goal cushion.

Sean Johnson’s handling – There is no doubting Johnson’s abilities, but it has to be said he did look a little shaky on a few plays. In the second half, he fumbled what should have been an easy catch to allow Besler to cut the Fire’s lead in half. He couldn’t do much about the second Sporting Kansas goal as it was a one-on-one situation but I felt his overall handling was not up to his usual standards. Despite his mistake, I have complete faith he is a top-notch ‘keeper and will be a valuable player for the Fire once again this season.

Mike Videira is the real deal – I’ve been thoroughly impressed by Videira’s impact since joining the club. He looks extremely comfortable in midfield and has already formed a good partnership with Logan Pause. His assist for Puerari’s goal was pure class too. After brilliantly sidestepping a defender, he then threaded a beautiful pass into the path of the Puerari who finished with ease. The snapshot below shows the pass Videira made to split KC’s defense.

Low attendance – For a home opener, I was extremely surprised, and disappointed, that only 12,157 people showed up to cheer on the Fire at Toyota Park for the first time since October. 32 degree weather probably didn’t help, but last season’s home opener against San Jose saw a large crowd of 20,276 welcome the Fire out for their first home match of the season. I was in attendance that day and I remember it being a fantastic atmosphere, despite the Earthquakes winning 2-1. The same type of atmosphere was missing on Saturday. Thankfully, Section 8 was in full voice and still managed to help create a good atmosphere. I look forward to seeing and being a part of Section 8’s incredible atmosphere again and again this season but I wouldn’t mind seeing a few more seats filled up elsewhere in the stadium.

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March 25, 2011 · 11:37 am

Five things to watch for against Sporting Kansas FC

1)      Omar Bravo: All of the talk after an exciting first week of MLS action has centered around Sporting Kansas FC’s 31-year-old Mexican striker. Bravo scored two goals to lead Kansas City to a 3-2 win over Chivas USA on Saturday. He was also named the MLS Player of the Week and the Fire defense will need to be on full alert if they are to prevent Bravo from adding to his goals tally. Jalil Anibaba and Cory Gibbs partnered each other in the center of the Fire’s defense and they will have their work cut out for them in the club’s first home match of the season.

2)      Diego Chaves: After a scoring in his debut against FC Dallas, Carlos de los Cobos will be hoping the Uruguayan striker will be able to find the net again this weekend. With Gaston Puerari a doubt with a hamstring injury, the Fire will be relying on Chaves to deliver up front.

3)      Formation: De los Cobos started off the Fire’s match last Saturday with a 3-4-3 formation but switched to a 4-4-2 before the end of the first half. With Real Sporting likely to play with three forwards up front, don’t be surprised if the Fire continues in a 4-4-2 formation to neutralize the opposition attack. Kei Kamara, Sapong and Bravo are all talented forwards, each boasting different strong points, and a 4-4-2 would help ensure the Fire are strong in the back instead of relying on its midfield to drop down. We already saw last week how dangerous the Fire can be counter attacking with four in midfield and two up front so why not provide extra cover in the back? It would also allow the Fire to mark Bravo more closely, an important task for the Fire defense.

4)      More debuts: Incredibly, more than half of the Chicago Fire starting 11 against FC Dallas were making their MLS debuts for the club. Josip Mikulic, Mike Videira, Cory Gibbs, Gaston Puerari, Diego Chaves, and Jalil Anibaba all earned their first league start for the Fire while Orr Barouch stepped off the bench to add his name to a long list of players making their league debut. With the acquisitions of Dominic Aduro, Yamith Cuesta, and Gabriel Ferrari this past week, could we be set to see further debutants for the Fire this weekend?

5)      Logan Pause: The Fire captain will be marking his 200th career MLS regular season match on Saturday and what better way to celebrate the accomplishment with a victory. Only four other players have ever reached 200 matches for the Fire and Pause will become the youngest to ever do so. With such a newly formed and relatively inexperienced squad, Pause’s leadership will be pivotal this season and a win over Sporting Kansas would go a long way to proving he has what it takes to lead this team.

Notes: The Fire tied and lost to Sporting Kansas City last season. The first meeting saw Julio Martinez and Brian McBride give the Men in Red the lead only for Kei Kamara to level the score with a second half brace. The Fire lost the subsequent meeting 2-0 at Toyota Park after goals by Davy Arnaud and Teal Bunbury. The Fire boast a better head-to-head record of 20-10-8, including a 13-3-2 home record against the Kansas City club.

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