Tomorrow night marks the 2015 home opener for the Chicago Fire. One of the most exciting off-seasons in team history has led up to this moment. Now comes the big test-can the Fire bounce back from a terrible performance on the road? The Fire were comprehensively beaten by the L.A. Galaxy in the defending champions’ banner raising match last Friday. The 2-0 scoreline could have easily been 4 or 5 to nil if the Galaxy were sharper in front of net. This marks the third straight year the Men in Red have lost their season opener, all three in California.
Not much needs to be said about that last match but the execution all over the field was lacking. Now attention has turned to the Fire’s opener at Toyota Park against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Vancouver is coming off a loss in their home opener against rivals Toronto FC but looked very dangerous in the first half of that match. Without further ado, let’s look at some reasons the Fire will win tomorrow! After that we will look at some reasons the Fire will lose. (I’m not wearing rose tinted glasses yet.) Then I’ll offer my prediction.
Why the Fire will WIN their home opener:
-Jeff Larentowicz will have a better game:
Big Red had a terrible outing at L.A. He was directly responsible for the first goal. He also disappeared for long stretches. To be fair, he had just flown cross-country after pulling an all-nighter in the CBA negotiations. Mental, if not physical fatigue probably kicked in very quickly for Jeff. In the first half, Larentowicz also took a nasty cross to the face and stayed down for about a minute. After that moment, he appeared slow and tentative in the air. Eric Gehrig was the only center back winning headers for the entire rest of the match. Expect the captain to return to his normal ball-winning ways at home.
-Vancouver’s center backs are slow:
Pah Modou Kah and Kendall Waston (not Watson!) are not the most mobile center backs in the world. If Chicago choose to start Kennedy Igboannanike and Quincy Amarikwa up top, they will be able to make lots of runs behind the big defenders. Toronto exploited this backline with Giovinco, Jozy Altidore, and Robbie Findley. The Fire will try to do the same with Shaun Maloney, Harry Shipp, and a few speedy forwards.
-First match in front of Section 8:
Fire supporters will be rocking the house tomorrow. There is nothing quite like a home opener in sports-the optimism, big crowd, and good vibes can push any team on to victory. Expect Chicago to come out aggressive and try to keep the ball on the improved Toyota Park pitch.
-David Accam might be healthy:
He is listed as questionable as of the last update, but he may come on as a sub. If it makes sense to use Accam, he would add width in the attack that the Fire need desperately.
Why the Fire will LOSE their home opener:
-There may not be a “plan B” when their initial tactics don’t work:
Vancouver lost to Toronto because the Reds made significant tactical adjustments at halftime. Throughout Frank Yallop’s tenure as head coach, the Fire have struggled to make tactical or formation adjustments midgame. For all the talk about a 4-3-3 in preseason, it was still shocking to see Chicago fail to execute in a simple 4-4-2 formation in California. Good teams are able to play well in a handful of formations, and with different strategies. If Vancouver come out blazing on the wings like they did against Toronto, (and like L.A. did against the Fire) Chicago will struggle to adjust. If they cannot make changes midgame against a dynamic Vancouver side, it could be a rough night.
-Chicago’s midfield chemistry:
This team looked genuinely lost in midfield last week. Matt Watson was on the wing for some reason, Chris Ritter was playing in the back of a diamond, and Maloney spent most of the game dropping all the way back to Ritter to try to link a couple passes together. Harry Shipp and Shaun Maloney barely passed to each other. This does not bode well. Chicago did not look great in midfield at any point in preseason either. Vancouver plays a 4-5-1 formation and will try to clog the center of the park and counter attack. The Fire will need to keep the ball and find some joy tomorrow to have any chance to win because Vancouver will win in a counter-attacking footrace. Razvan Cocis is still out for this game so Ritter and/or Watson will need to improve their passing significantly. (The addition of Victor Perez will only add another wrinkle to chemistry in the coming weeks but he may also be the answer…stay tuned.)
-Vancouver’s wing play:
The Whitecaps are going to run down the wings all day with Kekuta Manneh, Steven Beitashour, Mauro Rosales, and maybe Erik Hurtado. Joevin Jones and Lovel Palmer struggled last week with the Galaxy’s onslaught of overlapping runs. They hopefully did their homework on this week’s opponents.
–Prediction:
2-1 to Chicago. Goals from Quincy Amarikwa, Jeff Larentowicz, and Kekuta Manneh.
Main Photo: TORONTO, ON – AUGUST 23 – TFC’s Gilberto Sousa (left) fights for the ball with Chicago Fire player Jeff Larentowicz during the 2nd half of MLS action as Toronto FC tied the Chicago Fire 2-2 at BMO field on August 23, 2014. (Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
