Chicago Fire

Resilient is the best way to describe the Chicago Fire this season. There was no better term to use for the Fire’s 2-1 win over Toronto FC than resilient. With the win, the Fire improved to 10-7-5 and 35 points with a stellar 7-2-2 home record.

The Fire could have packed it in once they went down 0-1 midway in the first half when some miscommunication on a pass ended up a turnover. TFC’s forward Ryan Johnson was at the right place at the right time intercepting a Marco Pappa pass meant for Austin Berry. Both Pappa and Berry would later make up for the gaffe when they scored on the tying and game-winning goals.

On the first Fire goal, Pappa used some nifty footwork to capitalize on a TFC miscue. On the shot, Pappa drew the TFC defenders with a hesitation play with his feet to knock in the left-footed goal.

Berry was in good position for a beautiful header in the second goal, in the 85th minute that proved to be the game-winner.

Before those two goals, TFC’s goalkeeper Milos Kocic had a marvelous match denying the Fire on seven shots on goal.

The match was a physical one that featured pushing, pulling and shoving. It was marred with an injury to each team as well. The physicality was so intense that defender Logan Emory received two yellow cards for his aggressive play.

For the Fire, newly acquired Alvaro Fernandez was among the first 11 while Sherjill MacDonald came in the match at the start of the second half. It was their first games at Toyota Park in a Fire uniform.

Fernandez had his home debut cut short after he left the match with a left-ankle injury. He was not the only player to get hurt as TFC’s Jeremy Hall could not finish the match with an injury.    

After the match, Fire coach Frank Kloppas did not seem to believe that he will be without Fernandez in next Sunday’s match against the Philadelphia Union. Instead of focusing so much on the left ankle of Fernandez, he lauded the veteran for his play.

Alvaro [Fernandez] is just such a good player – he has the ability to move and find space on the field. Technically he is a very good player and very composed on the ball, and I think he gives us the opportunity to now to have depth on the line with Patrick [Nyarko] and Marco [Pappa]. It’s just unfortunate that he rolled his ankle, but he’s just a very composed player and smart how he moves, his ability to make good decisions on the ball and I thought he did very well.

A great comeback win for the Fire as they are becoming the team without any quit in them.

Ernest Shepard is an analyst for Bleacher Report. All quotes and observations were obtained firsthand.

Chicago Fire fans got a glimpse of players that they seldom get to see play against Aston Villa.

In the international friendly, reserves such as Corben Bone, Rafael Robayo and Orr Barouch received some much-needed playing time. They started alongside, among others, Marco Pappa and Alex, the newcomer from Brazil.

Jay Nolly also started for the Fire as the goalkeeper. It was his first game since tearing his Achilles.

For Alex, this game should prove to be beneficial as he is still getting acclimated to his Fire teammates. For the rest of the reserves, they received an in-game experience that may prove vital in case an injury strikes the team going forward.

After the game, Fire coach Frank Klopas acknowledged the obvious about his unusual first 11.

“It was an opportunity for some guys to continue to have some rhythm. Since we don’t have a league this week, obviously an opportunity for some other players to get 45 minutes, 60 minutes in and make sure that they are in a position where they’re ready to help out in case we need them.

So, I’m happy with the effort of players and we walk away luckily, with no injuries. Certain guys got 45 minutes, certain guys were able to rest and certain guys who haven’t seen a lot of action were able to get in there and get 45 or 60 minutes. I was pleased with the effort, obviously we always want to go out on the field and win. It didn’t happen but I thought the players gave everything they had.”

The Fire looked slightly tentative in the first 45 minutes against their foes from the English Premier League. While the Fire's passing was sharp, they seldom had chances to attack. Their defense also appeared sluggish as they tried to get a feel for Aston Villa's offensive attack.

Aston Villa struck in the 28th minute of play with a goal by Gabriel Agbonlahor and took their 1-0 lead into halftime. It proved to be the only goal that they needed in their 1-0 victory against the Fire.

The celebration for Aston Villa became bittersweet after Agbonlahor was carried out on a stretcher in the 61st minute of play.

The team originally feared that they would be without Agbonlahor for quite some time. After the international friendly, Aston Villa coach Paul Lambert seemed relieved when discussing his forward. Agbonlahor should only miss a “couple of weeks.”

Agbonlahor might be ready just in time for Aston Villa’s first match of the EPL season against West Ham United on August 18th.

For the Fire, their next stop is in San Jose to take on the Western Conference leaders this Saturday.

Ernest Shepard is an analyst for the Bleacher Report. All quotes and observations were obtained firsthand.

After the Chicago Fire’s 1-0 win versus the Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday night, I was able to catch up with the Fire’s Patrick Nyarko.

During my conversation with the fourth-year forward from Ghana, we touched on a couple of topics. We discussed the team’s ongoing Twitter campaign, #pickpat, to have him placed on the MLS All-Star team and how his selection would help the team and his confidence. Also, I asked him about the Fire’s upcoming match with the New York Red Bulls this week. 

(Upon the release of this interview, Nyarko was not selected to the MLS All-Star team.)

B/R: What are your feelings regarding the team’s twitter campaign #pickpat?

Patrick Nyarko: It came as a surprise really. Generally, I think those that pick the team, they do that on merit. They take guys that they think merits the all-star team. My team thinks that I should be there. I believe in my abilities, I think that I can fit in those kind of games, play in those kind of big games. It’s all up to them, I’ll be perfectly fine if get picked. I’ll be perfectly fine if I don’t get picked. My main goal is to help this get team back to the playoffs and make a run for the championship.

B/R: How would an all-star selection impact his confidence and profile and how would it affect the profile of the team.

PN: It’s great any time you get a player that reps on the all-star team, the all-star game. It shows how well the team is doing and how personal the guy helping the team where they are at. It would be huge for my career. It’s a glamorous occasion. You play the best team in the world and, in this case Chelsea believe it or not. They were the champ’s league in Europe. We have a chance to play the best team in the world. It would be the perfect occasion to showcase abilities and get game loads of experience to come back and help your team get into the playoffs.

B/R: On the next game against the Red Bulls. How would a win help the team’s confidence in their uphill climb in the eastern conference standings?

PN: It’s definitely a tough game, especially away at Red Bull Stadium. They have such a good team now that they feel like they can win every game. We are playing so far, we think that we can sneak points away from them. So it’s going to make for an intriguing game. We beat them here it’s going to be in the back of their minds to get revenge. We just need to go up there and play a smart game and sneak up there. It would be huge if we get the win to move up in the standings.

B/R: On losing Arne Friedrich for the next game versus the Red Bulls, how is the adjustment of Alex has affected the team?

PN: (On Alex) I think that it’s coming, it’s still early.  It’s a couple of games that we have played with him in there.

(On Arne Friedrich) It’s tough losing Arne. He’s one of the leaders of this team. It’s tough leaving him out of the team but, I think guys all season have stepped up when we needed. Arne was hurt and we still got a couple of guys to step in and give us good results. It’s gonna be tough. It’s an away game, we’ve played tougher away games and we feel like the coaches have a great setup for us and scouting report for us. We just need to go there and play smart and sneak one out.

To sum things up, a bright future is ahead for Nyarko as well as the Fire as a team. With everything from consideration for a MLS All-Star selection to an opportunity to climb up the Eastern Conference standings in the grasps, the sky is the limit.

That is good news for Fire fans. 

Ernest Shepard is an analyst for the Bleacher Report. All quotes and observations were obtained firsthand. 

A goal scored on a free kick by Pavel Pardo helped the Chicago Fire tackle the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 in a physical matchup.

The game featured a lot of pushing, shoving and jersey holding. Several players received yellow cards, including Gonzalo Segares, Alex and Arne Friedrich (two) for the Fire, and Darren Mattocks for the Whitecaps. Friedrich was ejected after his second yellow card in the 69th minute when he and defender Austin Berry collided with Mattocks on a breakaway play.

The game also had its share of good passing, defense and some terrific saves by Sean Johnson. On the last save of the match in the 86th minute, Johnson swatted a goal attempt out of bounds. It led to some rarely seen emotion from the Fire players. It was a symbolic save in a sense, a save that could send a message to the rest of the league that this team is for real.

The Fire did a great job defensively on Mattocks, who earlier in the week scored two goals against Toronto FC. The second of those goals was a header that became an instant classic.

Friedrich was given the task of shadowing the tough matchup with Mattocks and was asked if he had seen the goal. Friedrich was all jokes with his response, “he can jump high, but we can too,” quipped the West German defender.

Fire coach Frank Klopas after the match:

A lot of credit to the players. Fantastic win. Obviously great to rebound like this after the setback against L.A. I felt we played an excellent first half. Very smart in possession. Good on our decision making. Scored a very nice goal, Pardo a fantastic free-kick. Felt we had a couple of other opportunities maybe to put the game away in the first half. And we started the second half the same way. You get a red card, it’s amazing, changes the game and I felt that the guys worked very hard in the end. Credit to the whole team. Stick a way to come away with the three points. Every game is important, we keep saying this. It was a huge win for the team.

The victory moved the Fire into a tie for third in the Eastern Conference and kept the team within five points of the conference leading Sporting Kansas City club.

Ernest Shepard is an analyst for the Bleacher Report, all quotes and observations were obtained first-hand.

Skittish would be a good way to describe the Chicago Fire’s 2-0 loss to the LA Galaxy on Sunday.

Logan Pause and the Fire had no movement on the field in front of a sellout Toyota Park crowd.

The Fire is trying to figure out how to work recently acquired Brazilian midfielder Alex into the lineup. They are also coping with the absence of midfielder Sebastian Grazzini, who left the team more than a week ago to tend to a personal matter.

However, neither situation should serve as an excuse for the Fire, who simply did not take advantage of some good scoring chances.

In the 55th minute, striker Dominic Oduro's attempt on goal went straight into the arms of Galaxy keeper Josh Saunders. It was a play that summed up the match. The Fire never had a better opportunity, despite turning up their desperation.

After the match, Fire head coach Frank Klopas downplayed the defeat, describing it as just “one game.”

Meanwhile, former United States head coach and current coach of the Galaxy Bruce Arena praised the “good effort” of his team.

The Galaxy played without David Beckham due to a league suspension. Landon Donovan was supposed to be held out of the game, but the midfielder came on and provided an assist for one of two goals scored by Robbie Keane.

Next up for the Fire is a date at home against the Vancouver Whitecaps. They will bring their balanced attack to Toyota Park on Saturday.

Ernest Shepard is an analyst for the Bleacher Report. All quotes and observations were obtained first-hand.

With their 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City, the Chicago Fire have won three straight matches and are scorching up the MLS standings.

Friday night’s victory puts the Fire within three points of both the New England Revolution and New York Red Bulls. Both teams have matches tonight against Seattle Sounders FC and Toronto FC. A loss by both or either team would help the Fire tremendously.

Midfielder Marco Pappa tied striker Dominic Oduro for the most goals this season for the Fire with his goal against Sporting Kansas City. Pappa’s goal was assisted by Chris Rolfe.

They were not the only players who were stellar in Friday night’s win as goalkeeper Sean Johnson finished the game with five saves, giving him 13 for the entire week.

It has been a very successful week for the Fire who on Sunday defeated their hated rival, the Columbus Crew.

After the win over the Crew, I asked Pappa if there was a friendly competition between he and Oduro for most goals scored. Not only was I received with a laugh but I was given a friendly reminder; the Fire is all about team. “It is not a competition… We are trying to score for the team… The competition is a different kind of competition not only for Dominic and I but for everyone in this locker room.”

That was a great choice of words from one of the Fire’s star players. They were words that should put the rest of the MLS on notice about the team’s long-term goals.

Teams win games because of the totality of a team effort. The Chicago Fire exudes that which defines a total team effort.

Ernest Shepard is an analyst for the Bleacher Report. All quotes were acquired first-hand.

Going into the game against the New York Red Bulls, the Chicago Fire were looking for a good start. Within only four minutes into the first half, a goal by forward Patrick Nyarko gave the energetic crowd of 18,526 something to celebrate. The end result: a 3-1 scorching of the Red Bulls that helped the Fire jump ahead of both the Houston Dynamo and their rivals, the Columbus Crew.

The Fire went into halftime up 1-nil against the Red Bulls, who were without Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez. During the first 45 minutes, the Fire showed great passing and solid defense.

In the second half of the match, the tide began to turn, leading to a game-tying goal by Dax McCarty of the Red Bulls in the 55th minute. Shortly after, controversy ensued in the 64th minute of play when an apparent goal by Dominic Oduro was disallowed. The ball appeared to have made its way into the net after deflecting off of Red Bull goalkeeper Ryan Meara’s finger tips.

Speaking with Oduro after the match about his scoring opportunities, he took a moment to reflect on the disallowed goal. “As you can see there was one ball in that clearly I thought it was in, but the ref didn’t call it.” About another scoring chance, Oduro praised Meara’s effort, "The goalie made a great save. He cut an angle really good on me. He just had a great save.”

Instead of sulking, the Fire quickly regrouped and scored the eventual game-winning goal from an unassisted goal by Gonzalo Segares. It was the second goal of the season from the Costa Rican defender.

An insurance goal in the 81st minute was scored by Chris Rolfe. Rolfe, injured for much of the season, had played for the first time against the New England Revolution.

Chicago Fire coach Frank Klopas on the win:

Obviously a great win. It’s good to be back home. And obviously it was important after this two-week break to start off on the right track. We talked about coming out from the beginning and having a good start to the game. And pressure right off the bat so we can make this really a home-field advantage with the great fans that we had.

We had a great start. The first 15 or 20 minutes I thought were very good. We lost our momentum but a little bit in the rhythm. After that cause, I think we needed to be a little bit more simple with our decision making with the ball. Needed to be better and then we just turned the ball over a little bit.

But then after that we gave up a goal off a set piece but then the team responded very well. I give credit to the players and thank the great fans for coming out and watching the game. It was a great win for us.

The win, which was perhaps the Fire’s best game of the year, sets up an important Wednesday night date versus the Crew.

Ernest Shepard is an analyst for Bleacher Report. All quotes and observations were acquired first-hand.

Follow me on Twitter @ernestshepard  

Heading to Michigan to face the Michigan Bucks on Tuesday, the Chicago Fire did not expect to lose.

But after a 3-2 loss in the third round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, I must say that it could serve as a blessing in disguise.

Losing to a team from the Player Development League (PDL) should be a wake-up call for the Fire.

In the Fire's defense, they have been undermanned with two of their top players sidelined with injuries: defender Arne Friedrich has been out along with midfielder Chris Rolfe. The biggest problem is the offense which has also struggled especially early in games.

With a trip to New England on the horizon and stinging from the loss to the Bucks should have the Fire come out angry and focused. What better way to get a win streak started than against the seventh-place Revolution?

To win on Saturday, the Fire must attack early and often while neutralizing Saer Sene. The MLS rookie from France leads the Revolution in goals scored with seven and shots with 29.

While Sene has flourished, New England has struggled, having also lost their third-round matchup to the Harrisburg Islanders.

The Fire must also avoid falling behind on the scoreboard. This has been what has hampered the Fire so far throughout the season. It happened on Tuesday during the loss to the Bucks with the Fire getting behind 1-0.

They must not fall behind in the game in New England. If Rafael Robayo and Sebastian Grazzini can provide some much-needed energy, the Fire will have a shot to get a early lead and perhaps leave Gillette Stadium victorious.

Follow me on Twitter @ernestshepard.    

After a 2-1 loss this past Saturday to the Columbus Crew, Austin Berry (second career goal) and the Chicago Fire have to be licking their wounds.

The biggest problem the Fire has is getting off to better offensive starts. Going down 2-0 in Columbus marked the ninth time during the season that the Fire have been forced to fight back from a deficit.

No one will question the Fire’s resiliency and toughness. There are no issues with the talent. The team has talent ranging from the aforementioned Austin Berry to Mexican superstar Pavel Pardo.

Adjustments have been made with Rafael Robayo being added to the starting 11. Before the FC Dallas game, Robayo would be a late game substitution to provide a spark on the offensive end. The thought process behind including Robayo with the starters was: passing would be crisper, shot opportunities would increase, and there would be more spacing on the field.

As a result, teams have stacked their defenders around midfield in an attempt to interrupt the Fire’s offensive flow.

The Fire must come out with a purpose at the opening kick. They must find Dominic Oduro as well. He has been missing in action ever since suffering from minor leg injuries.

Watching the games, I cannot help but wonder if Oduro has lost some of his confidence.

Playing against the Michigan Bucks in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Cup tomorrow could help Oduro and the Fire gain some confidence before heading out to Gillette Stadium on Saturday to face the New England Revolution.

With the Fire headed into the midway point of the schedule, the time is now to gain some momentum.

Chicago Fire midfielder Rafael Robayo wanted more playing time and he got his wish when he was inserted in the starting lineup. As a result, the Fire went on to defeat FC Dallas 2-1 while shaking off a somewhat lethargic first 25 minutes or so.

A Sebastian Grazzini goal right before halftime tied the game at one apiece. A goal by FC Dallas’ Matt Hedge that got by goalkeeper Sean Johnson in the 41^st minute of play did not damper the Fire’s spirits. Instead, it ignited them.

In front of 11,947 fans the Fire came out in the second half with a ton of energy. Fire coach Frank Klopas credited that newly found energy to Grazzini’s goal.

Coach Frank Klopas on the goal by Grazzini...

“We gave up that goal in the 41st minute of the game, which is never a good time to give up the goal before going into the locker room. Sebastián scored a fantastic goal-a world class goal. Those are the type of goals that he can score with his ability. I felt that the group was positive and that the goal lifted us going into halftime. We talked more about strategy at the half and they came out with good energy and pushed hard. Sometimes it is difficult with the road trips...we came back from the trip to Portland and we had a great response from the group tonight.”

It was not just the game-tying goal that turned the tide. A great save by Sean Johnson on a free-kick early in the second half gave the Fire some much needed momentum. It was perhaps his best save of the season.

Add to that a game-winning goal by Marco Pappa and you have a win that inches the Fire three points upward in the standings.

Ernest Shepard is an analyst for the Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand.