Fire facing must-win match vs. Whitecaps
If the Fire’s been consistent in any one area this spring, it’s in making changes.
The club hasn’t fielded the same lineup twice in its first seven games, using 21 players. There will be another change Saturday night at Toyota Park (7:30 p.m., Comcast SportsNet) against Vancouver, though that has more to do with the injury bug than coach’s decision.
Now — riding a five-game winless streak and falling in the standings — the Fire finds itself in a must-win situation in early May. If the Fire can’t get 3 points against the struggling expansion club Whitecaps, it doesn’t speak well for the team’s chances this season.
“We need it, we need it,” Fire coach Carlos de los Cobos agreed. “It’s very important.”
“We’re home and we’ve dropped ones at home as of late,” said Fire captain Logan Pause, who will miss his second straight game with a hamstring injury. “Obviously, a big game.
“... We also have to keep things in perspective that we do have a lot of new faces and it has been a lot of change. It’s not going to happen overnight. That’s one thing we’ve been working on is the process of making sure of homing in on some of the important things, the training habits that will over time translate into hopefully good results.”
Josip Mikulic’s shoulder injury last Saturday at Colorado means Dasan Robinson will join Yamith Cuesta at center back. Cuesta is playing in place of the injured Cory Gibbs (hamstring).
Michael Videira (concussion) also will not play Saturday.
De los Cobos thinks he found a lineup he wants to stick with, however, at least until newly acquired striker Cristian Navarit is ready to play. Navarit, signed Wednesday, is due to join the club today for his first day of training.
“Now I think I want to try to keep the same team on the field,” de los Cobos said. “This is my intention. The team make a good work against Colorado.
“I think this combination with Corben Bone, with Gaston (Puerari), with Daniel Paladini in the midfield (in a new 4-1-4-1 formation), we created a good connection with each other because they have very good feet. Maybe in the first matches we worked very hard but we played too much directly from behind to the forward. Now I want to see the ball with passing with frequency for the midfielders.”
De los Cobos said he doesn’t expect to change back to a 4-4-2 formation when Navarit is ready to join the lineup. But his addition will cause one more change in a season-long experiment.
The question is not just, will it work, but will it work in time? De los Cobos has patience. There’s no guarantee fans and management have the patience to match.
Best seat in the house:Fire defender Pari Pantazopoulos enjoyed the latest milestone in his young career when he traveled with his teammates to Colorado and was among the 18 players available for selection Saturday night.He didn#146;t play, but that#146;s OK for now for the happy-go-lucky 22-year-old from Mount Prospect, who won the club#146;s cattle-call open tryout over the winter, then won a spot on the roster coming out of preseason training.#147;It#146;s crazy, you know?#148; Pantazopoulos asked rhetorically Wednesday. #147;I walked in and I see my jersey, 24 (on the list of players traveling), and I didn#146;t know what to do. I#146;m asking Pat(rick Nyarko) and all these guys, Baggio (Husidic), what do I do? Do I bring the jersey with? I didn#146;t know. It#146;s a first-time thing.#148;#147;Overall it was a good opportunity, a good chance to see how it is from sitting on the bench, how physically and mentally everyone#146;s thinking about the game. I was excited, and I#146;ve just got to keep working hard. There are going to be plenty more chances. We#146;ve still got a long season to go. But overall it was a good feeling to be part of this and hopefully soon I#146;ll step on the field.#148;oschwarz@dailyherald.com 585380JAIVER NIETO SOC23121676The Colorado Rapids Andre Akpan, left, and Chicago Fires Josip Mikulic fight for the control of the ball in the first half Saturday.Associated PressSOCSOC36682408The Colorado Rapids Pablo Mastroeni, center, controls the ball against Chicago Fires Marco Papa, left, and Corben Bone in the first half Saturday.Associated PressSOC