No time like the present: Fire v. Galaxy

It will be standing-room only this afternoon when the Galaxy visit Toyota Park – Section 8 will be in fine voice, the weather breezy but mild, the pitch immaculate, the foe imposing but beatable: exactly the situation where the Fire have laid an absolute egg again and again over the last three or four seasons.

Doing so today wouldn’t exactly be disaster. The men in red still would have 10 games to crawl back into playoff contention. And the Fire have plenty of personnel excuses to blame if the Gals win, as Chicago will be without their two most effective attacking players – Marco Pappa is away with the Guatemalan national team, while Freddie Ljungberg has his collection of yellows-for-dissent to thank for his exclusion.

Taking a harder look at the standings, though, it’s crucial that the Fire start piling up wins now. So how could that happen today?

– Movement in the final third: The typical Galaxy centerback tandem of Gonzalez and Berhalter reads the game well and is fantastic in the air, but they have no footspeed, as demonstrated by the three counterattack goals the Fire dropped on them in the first 18 minutes of the teams’ last meeting. Berhalter and his glacial pace will apparently sit this one out with a virus, so in comes young Brazilian Leonardo; this gives the Galaxy a classic stopper/sweeper tandem and more pace to deal with simple runs. The Fire need to think as a unit and move off the ball to take advantage of the duo’s relative inexperience both overall and as pairing. Creating space for team-mates will be as important as showing for the ball much of the time.

– Marking exhibition: If the Fire haven’t focussed on marking in the last week, someone should be fired. Expect to see an exuberant defensive effort from the back triangle of Pause, Conde and Brown on the lethal Donovan/Buddle axis. If we can’t avoid giving Buddle clean looks at goal, we’re done.

- Wing battles: Todd Dunivant and Sean Franklin have been solid on the edges of the LA defense, but Nyarko has proven he can beat people and create chances when isolated 1-on-1. Look for him to run at Dunivant on Chicago’s right flank to create havoc. On the other side, Banner will play a more withdrawn two-way role, hopefully providing enough defensive cover to allow Segares to pinch in when Donovan and Buddle run riot.

– Nery time?: Nery Castillo, after being left home to run laps last week, swears he’s ready to give it a go today against LA. I know I’m not the only one hoping Nery can round into form in the stretch run – MLS isn’t exactly filled to bursting with the sort of lightning-in-a-bottle players Castillo can be.

– ‘Bake’ McBride, Chicagoland legend: One of our target-forward tandem has to stand up and be counted. Here’s to hoping McBride starts and is invigorated by the waves of approbation washing from the stands – his ability to hold the ball up keeps possession alive, but his finishing has been awful recently. Get in, pelota!

– All sorts of other stuff: It’s also possible we change formation entirely, for example starting Castillo with either McBride or John up front in a 4-4-2. And, of course, it’s mistakes that generally decide games that matter. Here’s to hoping the visitors make ‘em.

The future is written on water, the past in stone. Dale Fire!

Category: Team News