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Dateline Chicago, IL, on a beautiful Wednesday night (first midweek league wide game night of the season) the Fire welcomed Charlotte FC. On a short week and coming off a loss in St. Louis, the Fire had an opportunity to leave the St. Louis loss behind them and bounce back. Charlotte wasn’t having it on this night.
Charlotte FC decided to come out from the jump and play defensive soccer. The Fire attempted to create some chances early on. The best one coming from Hugo Cuypers when I mishandled ball by Charlotte lead to a nice first touch and side shot that was saved by Charlotte keeper Kristijan Kahlina.
Xherdan Shaqiri attempted to add some dazzle from midfield. Kahlina was playing way off the line so Shaqiri laid out a deep one from midfield that just sailed over the goal. Kahlina got tangled up in the net. Clever idea by Shaq, but the execution wasn’t all there. Maybe that’s a way to distract the opposition into Charlotte’s web (the net in this case). Pun intended.
In the 37th the Fire got caught in their own web, when a ball deflected accidentally by Cuypers got passed Chris Brady and saved off-the-line by Carlos Teran. That was nearly disastrous for the Fire.
Charlotte has picked up the momentum in the final 15 minutes of the half, where the Fire dominated the possession 70% to 30% early but those numbers certainly didn’t sustain going into the half.
Halftime at Soldier Field, 0-0. Very quick half, lacking much action and excitement. Fire need to keep the pressure they came out with in the first 30 minutes. They seemed to let up and let Charlotte create some chances to end the first half. Looks like points will be hard by to come tonight, something that’s been synonymous with this Fire team this season.
Charlotte went back to playing a defensive style, giving back the possession to the Fire.
The foundation finally cracked for Chicago in the 60th minute. Teran was called for a push-off just outside the penalty box. Charlotte had a free kick from the central spot outside the box and Ashley Westwood cashed in on a strike over the top of the wall of defenders and bending it into the back corner. Charlotte strikes first first, 1-0.
The Fire had a last ditch effort from a corner in the 94th that Cuypers got a head on but it went straight into the goalkeepers hands. Teran blasted a cross from Omari Glasgow’s cross and it was saved by the diving Kahlina. Chicago just can’t catch a break.
No one on this night has stood out for the Fire. Brady has been the most consistent and probably the best Fire player this season. The two highest paid guys aren’t producing goals. Plus, the myriad of injuries continues to pile on. This is how seasons go sideways for teams.
Same old story, Fire control possession, but get burned by the opposition. Similar to the last home game against New England, Fire give the opponent a couple chances and they come through against them. Another scoreless game for the Fire and consecutive 1-0 home loss.
This team is close to a freefall if things don’t turn around fast! Scoreless in their last six games and winless also, only managed two points in that span, not good.
Up next, quick turnaround again in a few days as they host Columbus on Saturday night. If that’s not a must win, I don’t know what is?
Notes:
- Homegrown midfielder Brian Gutiérrez started for the ninth time this season and played in his 100th regular season match for the Fire, making him the second Homegrown Player to reach the centennial mark in appearances after Mauricio Pineda.
- Goalkeeper Chris Brady made his 12th start of the season in the net, having only missed one game due to international duty. He is now tied with Gaga Slonina for most starts by a Homegrown goalkeeper in Club history with 44.
- Winger Omari Glasgow played his second match for the Chicago Fire First Team, completing his two-game availability as a member of Chicago Fire II.
- Chase Gasper (upper leg), Maren Haile-Selassie (lower leg) and Tobias Salquist (upper leg) were unavailable for today’s match.
UPDATE:
Chicago Fire FC announced today (Thursday, May 16)a venue change for the Club’s home matches on September 7 versus D.C. United and September 28 versus Toronto FC. Due to conflicts at Soldier Field with the Chicago Bears’ 2024 NFL schedule, the September 7 and September 28 matches will be held at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill.
For more information and questions on the venue change, please visit: chicagofirefc.com/tickets/venue-change-faqs
NEXT MATCH: Chicago hosts a match against defending MLS champions Columbus Crew on Saturday, May 18. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT at Soldier Field and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass and transmitted locally via wlsam.com in English and WRTO 1200 AM in Spanish
