Fire off to good start
So far, so good.
Starting the season on the road at MLS Cup runner-up FC Dallas, the Fire returned to Chicago with a 1-1 draw and a point in the standings.
For a team some figure to finish last in the Eastern Conference, it's a good start.
“You have to take what you get,” said Fire rookie defender Jalil Anibaba. “I think coming away from that game we understand a little bit better what we need to work on.”
“We put in a good effort, we put in a lot of hard work,” veteran defender Cory Gibbs added. “We have a couple of things to straighten up on in terms of heading into Kansas City, but overall it was a good performance.”
A great start, of course, would have meant stealing a win, and the Fire had its chances. Dallas defender Brek Shea helped out, picking up a red card and forcing his teammates to play shorthanded the final 35 minutes. But the Fire couldn't break down Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.
The defense looks strong, the attack needs to improve but did produce a goal, and in general the players should continue to jell and get accustomed to MLS play.
“A lot of positives for me, a lot of positives,” Fire technical director Frank Klopas said. “... You could say we could've pushed the game and, felt a little disappointed, we could've walked away with 3 (points). We did create chances. We didn't put the game away. But first game with a lot of new players ... to gain a point from (Dallas), I think people really underestimate that.”
Getting a point on the road buys the Fire time. It gives a young, new group of players a little confidence and a chance to continue to learn to play with each other. It gives the technical staff a chance to relax and silences calls for changes, at least for now.
“The last match was very acceptable,” coach Carlos de los Cobos said. “I'm very satisfied with the performance of the players. We got 1 point, our first point of the season.”
The Fire isn't standing pat. On Wednesday it announced two trades, acquiring 21-year-old Colombian defender Yamith Cuesta from Chivas USA for a supplemental draft pick. The club also sent forward Calen Carr, a five-year veteran, to Houston for speedy Ghanian forward Dominic Oduro. Oduro, 25, had 6 goals and 4 assists in 44 matches for the Dynamo.
Both new players add quality depth to the squad, but neither seems likely to crack the starting XI soon.
Cuesta's addition brings the Fire roster to 29 players, though defender Steven Kinney probably will go on the injured list until May or June.
Section 8 (hundred):
Congrats to Section 8, which at last check is just 33 season tickets from its goal of 800 sold. If Section 8 reaches its goal, the Fire will pay for transportation to Columbus for the June 12 match.
The nearly 800 tickets roughly doubles Section 8's previous best of 389 and requires the club's supporters take up four sections behind the north goal rather than just two.
New media:
You can find me on a podcast previewing Saturday's Fire game against Sporting Kansas City with fellow writers Sam Stejskal, Guillermo Rivera and Tweed Thornton, as well as the Fire's Jeff Crandall at dailyherald.com/fire.
Also, follow me on Twitter @orrinsoccer.
oschwarz@dailyherald.com