After a disappointing draw against New York just over a week ago, and an even more disappointing draw against DC United on Thursday, Chicago faced Toronto FC at Toyota Park Sunday night hoping to finally get three points at home, something they hadn’t done since their home opener back in March. The Fire seemed to find a way to put all the pieces together, scoring twice and shutting out Toronto FC, while simultaneously taking the season series against just their second opponent in 2011 (the other being Sporting KC).
Frank Klopas has made some changes over the last few games, and the dividends are slowly being realized on the pitch. Recent acquisition and former Toronto FC defender Dan Gargan has gotten the start three straight games now at RB, and he seems to have solidified his starting spot, especially in the wake of Jalil Anibaba being moved to his natural CB position, which Klopas favors. “I like him better as a center back. He reads the game better there. For me, I think he can play both but I see him as a better center back than on the line” said Klopas of Anibaba, adding that he likes the look of Anibaba in the middle, surrounded by veteran defenders Gargan, Cory Gibbs, and Gonzalo Segares. “It’s a position where you need experience. I think he provides that. When you have Segares and Gargan, you have some experienced guys….Look, Cory’s been good, Cuesta’s been good, Jalil has played very well, and even Mikulic when he’s been in there has done well. You have some good center backs and experienced guys and younger guys that you have behind this team.”
Klopas seems more comfortable with tonight’s defensive formation, and with good reason. Yamith Cuesta has seen some struggle at CB the last few games, while Anibaba has shown himself far more comfortable. Dan Gargan, who saw limited time on the pitch in his first weeks with the team, proved himself in starts against New York and DC, and with the return of Cory Gibbs from a groin strain picked up in the game against Philadelphia, Klopas’ defensive set seems more mature and stronger, while still containing the depth in the chart needed should anyone go down due to injury or suspension.
With the shoring up of the defensive line, Klopas seems to have also answered a few questions in the midfield, to a lesser degree. After the experiment of captain Logan Pause at RB ended, Klopas shuffled his midfield around, exiting Daniel Paladini from the Starting XI, and moving Pause alongside Pavel Pardo, who has made a positive impact on the team thusfar. Klopas has opted for two holding mids in Pardo and Pause, behind Sebastian Grazzini. Grazzini, who scored in back-to-back matches against New York and DC, seems to have found his fitness, finally going nearly (but not quite) 90 minutes against Toronto FC. Marco Pappa, continuing to struggle since coming back from Gold Cup duty a month and a half ago, plays out wide as a wing, with Patrick Nyarko, who has been listed as a striker the last few games, playing more of a withdrawn forward/winger role. Chicago has more closely resembled a 4-3-1-2 formation, with Grazzini setting up ahead of Pappa/Pause/Pardo. The strategy seems to give difficulty to Pappa, who has played a more traditional wing role in a 4-man midfield front, opposite either Nyarko or Dominic Oduro, who has returned and remained up top as a striker. Many analysts have contended that Pappa is just “calling it in”, with talks of his desire to go European at the end of his contract next year, as well as talks circulating over the last week that Dutch side FC Twente is highly interested in his services. Either way, Pappa that started the 2011 season is far different than the Pappa who now looks more lost game in and game out than anything else, save a decent scoring chance now and again.
With the shakeup in the midfield, Dominic Oduro and Patrick Nyarko now occupy the forward slots under Klopas’ new formation. The dual Ghanaian’s have proven themselves dangerous, as they have connected numerous times for scoring chances, some of which have not connected or resulted in goals. Still, the speed up top has given issues to the opposition, with the exception of New York, who successfully exploited the midfield against Chicago, causing Klopas to rethink things in the second half of that game. Klopas was forced to bring Nyarko back into a midfielder role before subbing him out in the second half, a move that proved to be costly to the Fire against NYRB, as there was a palpable shift in effectiveness on the part of Chicago with that move. Chicago figured a few things out as a result of that game, however, and turned it around against DC United, even though the scoreline would show differently. Chicago dominated DC, shutting down Charlie Davies, and not giving Dwayne De Rosario a chance to continue his hot streak since coming over to United. Chicago controlled possession and the run of play, only falling victim to a botched offside call that allowed former Fire player Josh Wolff to score a goal on DC’s only shot of the game. The frustration from that match reached fever pitch for fans and team alike. The result would be a Fire team that came out Sunday night with tons of energy and intensity.
Chicago controlled the game for most of the night, and didn’t disappoint the 12,020 in attendance that were hoping for something other than another draw to add to their now-league record 15 on the season. Chicago would get on the board in the first half, as a run up the wing by defender Gonzalo Segares would result in a beautiful flick by Dominic Oduro in the 16th minute to silence detractors and put the Fire up 1-0 early on. The goal, Oduro’s 8th of the season, was a perfect finish that was sorely needed, not only for Oduro, but also for the Fire, who have had a penchant for falling behind early lately.
Chicago tried and succeeded for a bit in keeping the intensity high, until Toronto began to shift the momentum in their favor with solid scoring chances in the 33rd and 38th minute. Chicago would counter that, however, nearly doubling their lead before the half on a top shelf bender off the foot of Marco Pappa that Toronto GK Milos Kocic had to dive to bat out of play.
Toronto would continue to push in the 2nd half, however, as a rocket in the 51st minute off the foot of DP Julian de Guzman would find iron before falling to the feet of Joao Plata, who’s rebound shot ended up just wide of the goal. Toronto would find the post again on a header by Ryan Johnson in the 77th minute would miss by inches, ringing the post instead.
Even had Johnson’s header gone, however, Toronto would have still found themselves down a goal, as former TFC defender Dan Gargan headed home a ball off a corner in the 69th minute to put the Men in Red up 2-0. The goal was Chicago’s first off a corner in the 2011 campaign. Said Gargan of scoring on his former team, “It feels great to score, but it feels even better to get the three points. We’ve been pushing for that and we really needed it. It was really nice to get it at home. I can’t really hide the excitement and I’m not going to try to either. It was phenomenal; it felt like a long time coming. It was nice to get it against them and at the time we were pushing for the second one to put the game out of reach.”
That goal would prove unnecessary for the win, however, as Chicago would keep a clean sheet against Toronto, their 6th of the season. After the game, Frank Klopas reflected on the result, as Chicago seemed to finally put everything together and have things fall their way to secure three points at the end of the night. “Obviously it’s just great to get the win because sometimes the team has played well, but sometimes things just don’t go your way. In a game like today, we looked a little bit tired. It certainly wasn’t one of our best games…..Toronto hit the post a few times, ball didn’t go in, and so things were going our way. Mostly, I’m just very happy not only for the players that have been working very hard, but also for our fans. Gosh, it’s just a good feeling.”
While previous wins against Sporting KC and Columbus showed that a win is no guarantee of a hot streak over the long haul, it is a positive sign for a Fire team that has continued to make adjustments as they try to shake some of the ghosts of this season. With a win Sunday, Chicago heads into next weekend’s match against defending champs Colorado with a bit more confidence, and feel as if they can come out in nine days against the Richmond Kickers in their semi-final USOC match with the tools to do damage and move forward. If Chicago can finally mount the run they’ve so desperately tried to assemble this season, the could find themselves in the middle of a USOC Final, as well as continuing to claw their way up in the standings, as the team holds on to hope of making a playoff run in 2011.
Time will certainly tell if they’ve done all they need to do to make either of those scenarios a reality.
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