2. Houston have won 5 of their last 6 games, with the other game being a tie.
The Fire have won 3 of their last 6 with 2 ties and 1 loss.

3. The Fire are the top scoring team in the MLS with 20 goals.
Houston are the top defense in the MLS giving up only 7 goals.

4. The Fire have won only 1 game at home this season.
Houston have won only 1 game on the road this season.

5. The Fire have never beaten Houston at Toyota Park, losing 2 and tying 1.
Houston hasn’t lost this season when they have scored first.

6. Last season, Houston beat the Fire 2-1 in Toyota Park.
The score was the same in Houston, with the Houston coming from a goal down at home to win.

7. The Fire have played 3 of their last 4 games away from home.
Houston have played 3 of their last 4 games at home.

Ok ok, it’s not all doom and gloom for the Fire tonight:

8. Dwayne De Rosario scored in both games against the Fire last season but we won’t see him on the field for Houston this time around!

9. According to betting giants William Hill the Fire are favorites to win tonight!

Prediction: The Fire sneak it 1 nil with a goal from Chris Rolfe

Both Blanco and the ref were under investigation due to the fact that Marrufo accepted a signed jersey from Blanco in the locker room after the game. We all know that it is against the rule for ref’s to accept gifts and this morning US Soccer decided to take action, dropping Marrufo from this weeks round of MLS matches.

Last night, the Fire suffered a 2-1 loss at home against Club America in a friendly. Yet again, individual defensive errors cost the Fire dearly, with Logan Pause and Nick Noble were the culprits. Blanco did little to help the Fire and looked like he was trying too hard to make an impact, further evidence that he cant hack it at this level for 90 minutes. Chris Rolfe looked like he had a point to prove and played harder than anyone on the field. He missed a lot of chances but managed to put 1 away. Stefan Dimitrov had some very nice touches including a brilliant assist for the Fire’s lone goal.

In league play the Fire are the only unbeaten team in the MLS, have scored more than any other team and boast the leagues top goalscorer, Brian McBride. On the other side of the coin, the Fire have tied their last 4 games, and have given up 9 goals in 6 games so far this season as opposed to only giving up 3 goals in the first 6 games of last season.

What do you think of the Fire’s season so far? Should we be happy or dissappointed? Share your thoughts below!

Here is a look back on the good and the bad from Saturday’s game:

The Good:

Justin Mapp had a very tidy performance. A lot of people have criticized Mapp over the past few years myself included but he silenced many of his critics with his play in Dallas. Mapp scored 1 and earned the Fire their second goal via a McBride penalty. He worked well with Segares on the left flank and sent in some very dangerous crosses.

Patrick Nyarko was my man of the match. Not only did his attacking play and runs cause Dallas all sorts of problems but he did a fantastic job of coming back to help the defense out. Nyarko did all the work on the Fire’s first goal, capitalizing on a Dallas mistake and putting the ball on a plate for Mapp to finish. He worked well with McBride and the midfield players and did everything but score in the game.

Marco Pappa played a great game on the right wing. He helped out Tim Ward a lot of defense and his attacking play prevented Dave Van Den Berg from getting forward too often for Dallas. Both Pappa and Mapp did a great job of spreading the field and one of them was always available for a Conde long ball.

Tim Ward looked very solid on his Fire debut. His first touch is very good for such a tall player and his foot skills got him out a 1 of 2 tricky situations. He combined well with Pappa on the right side for the Fire and he bombed forward whenever possible.

Conde and Bakay won everything in the back for the Fire. Both men picked up from where they left off last year by shutting down Cooper and Cunningham. Conde won every defensive header and his long ball distribution to Mapp, Pappa and the forwards was fantastic.

Finally, Thorrington had another tidy game in midfield for the Fire. Not only did he come back to help neutralize the threat of Kenny Cooper but his forward runs from midfield caused Dallas so many problems. One of these runs set up the free kick that lead to the Fire’s third goal.

The Negatives:

The only real negative I saw was the Fire gave the ball away a few too many times in their defensive third of the field. Dallas’s only chances were created by mistakes by the Fire. That being said, it was the first game of the season and mistakes were bound to happen.

Final Word:

I didn’t realize how much of a baby Kenny Cooper was until I watched this game. He spent half of the match on the floor. He dived at the slightest hint of contact with the Fire players. He dives more than Luca Toni and that’s saying something!

Yes. Yes, it was.

I’ll give New York [sic] credit: They brought it the last 15 minutes of the first half. I went into halftime worried that Red Bull were ascendant, that the Fire had expended too much energy in dominating the first 30 minutes. I was worried.

I shouldn’t have been, but I’ve discussed my pessimism before. I mean, the Soumare/Conde tandem in the back had absolutely worked Juan Pablo Angel out of the game. Segares was just erasing Richards. Gutierrez, 8 months older than Claudio Reyna, looked 5 years Captain America’s junior in hounding him totally out of rhythm. In short, whatever was happening with the attack, the Fire had snuffed out every Red Bulls thrust almost before it began.

The attack wasn’t consistent, but it was varied. Barrett has continued to grow into his strengths – I’m curious whether he’s become more of a student of the game in the last year or so. Before, Chad seemed to have no idea what to do with his decent first touch, his strength on the ball, his great work-rate. Now he’s combining well, holding the ball in traffic, and forcing defenders to play outside their comfort zone with the ball. It’s a lot easier to forgive the lad for a couple of gaks in front of goal when he’s doing so much to help the Fire keep possession.

It’s hard to talk about Blanco, in some ways. I’m completely sold. If he plays this way the rest of the year, he’s on the all-time Fire XI in my book. The team looks like it has marinated in his competitiveness, his vision, and his knowledge of the game – his influence is just everywhere.

There’s more – a 5-1 road win will have plenty of positive stories – but man, I gotta get this food off the grill.

Now here’s the thing: anyone can answer. You can answer here, in the comments section, or over there, in Jeff’s comments section. As much as I think my opinion dominates, well, writing should be like football – anyone who can make it work is welcome. Anyone? Anyone? (Feel free to comment both places, y’all. The electrons are freeish.)

Unfortunately, we were wrong. As notabbott points out, the game, formation and tactics were all too reminiscent of the Sarachan era. Maybe it just comes down to the personnel available, but the Fire are far too reliant on Blanco if no-one else outside the forwards (and maybe Guerrero) can be expected to create anything. If three of your midfielders are Pause, Armas and Soumare, what do you expect?

There has to be a reason why Wanchope and Rolfe were so anonymous. Both are quality footballers, albeit neither in top form. But they were simply noticeable only for their absence during play yesterday. This comes down to service. Mapp’s injury (out for another month at least) is a big blow in this regard. Could we play Rolfe on the wing, with Blanco moving up-field a bit? I’d really like to see him receiving the ball nearer the opposition’s goal more often.

Osorio now needs to prove his mettle and figure out how to make the best use of Blanchopolfe, because just counting on magic from Blanco will not be enough on its own. Guppy recently told the Trib that a trade was 50/50. Those odds, I would think, changed last night, especially with Guerrero going down with an ankle sprain that looked pretty bad. Change is needed.

It was slightly deflating to see our forward line again consist of Barrett and Carr, who were once more unconvincing as a pairing. At least Carr tried to come back and hold up the ball, even though it’s something he’s entirely unsuited to do; I’m not sure what Barrett was doing at all. And the midfield lacked creativity.

The impressive crowd of 20,358 certainly livened up every time Blanco had the ball, and though he had a quiet first half, his strength and touch were still mightily refreshing to see. He was notably better once Wanchope and Rolfe came on in the second half: one could almost sense his added vitality, as he had people worth actually sending incisive passes to. And he did send one to Wanchope in the 84th minute: the Costa Rican latched on to it well, but his shot was weak, and surely betrayed his rustiness. He looked very powerful out there, and I still expect to produce when fully fit and more experienced with the team.

I also realised how much I’d missed Chris Rolfe. He might have done nothing spectacular, but his movement was excellent, and he also oozes a touch of class above the likes of regular MLS fare whenever he’s healthy. Welcome back, Chris. Now stay healthy. The twenty minutes of Blanchopolfe were heartening.

The Fire did look shaky at the back, with Pickens forced into a couple of outstanding saves. Dasan Robinson was strong, but CJ Brown really looked his age, unfortantately. As much as the Fire have done well to upgrade their forwards, another strong defender is surely still needed.

What did you think of the game?

And now I’m finally watching Temo make his MLS debut, and it’s an away game at Toronto – one of the most physical, British-style teams. Sure, he’s fallen over a few times and looked a little annoyed with the referee from time to time, when he hasn’t received calls in his favour.

But right now, he’s literally toying with the opposition: taking the ball in midfield, holding off defenders for as long as he wants, finding his forwards at will, caressing the ball with care, and generally looking like he’s been playing in MLS his entire career.

His assist for the first goal, a gorgeous chip wrong-siding the defender and laid perfectly into the stride of Ivan Guererro, was the best pass I’ve seen a Fire player make all season. The Fire are winning 3-0, and it could easily be 5 or 6.

Temo is leaving the field now, in the 78th minute. What a start.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ll still be there for the next home game. I’ve watched enough lower division English football in my time to know supporting a team is about more than the aesthetically pleasing patterns of ball movement a good team performs. But still, this was an atrocious game in front of a thankfully small crowd (an announced 10,626 that seemed rather optimistic to me) and I’d like to forget it ever took place.

The sad thing is, it was actually a step forward for the Fire, after two consecutive defeats in MLS. Because, if you hadn’t guessed it already, the result was a nil-nil draw.

The flipside, of course, is that any stutters will only raise the temperature to boiling point. According to the Trib’s Fire blog, the lineup will be interesting, perhaps a sign Dave’s decided it’s time to roll the dice; a sighting of Bakary Soumare possibly? Chad Barrett back on the bench? And how about this for a hell of an injury report:

OUT: DF Osei Telesford (L groin strain); QUESTIONABLE: FW Calen Carr (L ankle contusion/strain); MF Diego Gutierrez (L toe fracture); FW Chris Rolfe (L ankle sprain); PROBABLE: MF Ivan Guerrero (L ankle sprain); MF Thiago (R groin strain); MF Justin Mapp (L shoulder strain); GK Matt Pickens (R groin strain); DF Dasan Robinson (R groin strain); DF Gonzalo Segares (L ankle sprain) .

Well, with those kind of problems, it certainly could be an interesting lineup.

I’m going to be in the pressbox for this game. Nothing to do with this blog – but that won’t stop me attempting to post from the game. I doubt it’ll be worthy of being called a liveblog, but I’ll try to update whenever I can.

One last item: there’s an excellent article on Blanco in today’s Tribune.

Below are some pics. First up, the Mega-damn-bandanera!

Flags. Section 8 flags.

Oh yes, it was an ESPN game.

Considering the events on the field, I’m kind of glad my view was obscured.

Too much lateral passing?

At least Section 8 showed up.