Has the Chicago Fire turned the corner?
It took the first five months of the season, but the Chicago Fire might be beginning to show what it promised.
The Fire won its second consecutive game, 2-0 over defending MLS Cup champion Colorado on Saturday night at Toyota Park.
The Fire showed Saturday the team that interim coach/technical director Frank Klopas has been waiting for. It not only played attractive, attacking soccer, it converted its chances and held firm defensively. It hasn’t yet proved it can win consistently.
“The guys, let me tell you something, they’re not happy with where the team is at the moment,” Klopas said. “This is a big game for us, and now we have to keep going.”
“That win last week (against Toronto) definitely pushed the players’ confidence levels,” veteran defender Cory Gibbs said amid the laughter in the winning locker room. “Oduro, Grazzini, everybody. And they worked hard in training on certain things, and it’s paid off.”
Dominic Oduro took a long Pavel Pardo pass down the right sideline in the 17th minute, turned on his tremendous speed and slotted a shot past Colorado goalkeeper Matt Pickens. It was Oduro’s ninth goal of the season.
The second goal was even better. New midfielder Sebastian Grazzini lofted a chip from the endline to the left of the goal, finding Gibbs for a header he made sure of, the memory of last week’s miss against Toronto still burning in his mind.
And this time there were no defensive letdowns. Goalkeeper Sean Johnson made 4 good saves and the Fire had a second straight shutout. Just the way it’s supposed to happen but hasn’t far too often.
“The thing is I thought we played a complete game for 90 minutes,” Klopas said. “I think there were moments in the game where you see Marco (Pappa) and (Sebastian) Grazzini get back and chase and defend, and they did that. “
Next comes Tuesday night’s U.S. Open Cup semifinal at Toyota Park. The Fire sees an opportunity it can’t afford to let slip away.
The Fire players and coaches aren’t getting ahead of themselves. They know they’re still just 4-7-15 in MLS play. They know they’ll need to pile up points in a big hurry if they want a shot at the playoffs.
“I think it’s just all coming together,” Gibbs said. “But we can’t live off these two wins. We have to keep pushing.”
“It’s just one game,” Klopas said. “The guys are not satisfied. We’re not satisfied. I know this is behind us. We have to look at this match and look at the good things and the things we need to improve. We have another game on Tuesday and another good opportunity to put ourselves in position to win a championship.”
A win Tuesday would be a promise kept and a sign that maybe the Fire really is turning things around.
Maybe is more than the Fire had two weeks ago.
oschwarz@dailyherald.com
Follow Orrin Schwarz on Twitter @orrinsoccer.