Operation Backs-to-the-wall: Halftime of Fire-Galaxy

Just a couple of thoughts at the half here. We’re scoreless, down a man, and lucky to be on even terms:

- What the f*** was Segares thinking trying to land an overhand right on a corner-kick scrum? I admit the run was looking threatening, but it may be time to break out the old ‘Gonzo’ nickname if he’s going to make brain-dead decisions like that. Talk about letting the team down – I hope he was in the locker-room waiting to apologize.

- Why, oh why did the Fire wait until they were a man down to start making triangles and possessing the ball? From about the 25th minute on, this was the Chicago possession game we were led to expect – and they were doing it with 10 men! Part of the problem early on was McBride, who took several minutes (and more than a few wayward passes) to settle into the game.

- Sean Johnson’s agent has to be salivating at the contract talks s/he’ll undertake on his behalf in the offseason. Granted, LD’s penalty wasn’t his best, but stopping a guy’s who’s 22-for-24 in that situation was a tremendous boost to the team. It’s no coincidence the Fire looked much better after the save – the emotional bounce and sense of let-off was palpable.

- Castillo does look like he’s run some laps in the last couple of weeks – outstanding! Here’s to hoping he isn’t out of gas 10 minutes into the second half.

It’s an uphill climb now. LA has enough experience to know they need to stretch us, but Arena has put out a pretty non-descript midfield, so their efforts to make us chase haven’t worked. We’ll need to be both lucky and good to get all three points now. Barring further ejections, a point is looking good now; problem is, playing for it is a fool’s game.

Dale Fire!

Category: Team News