Dispatch: Chicago Fire (1) vs. New York Red Bulls (1)

March 24, 2014

Playing in brutal conditions, BenjiJoya sticks near three defenders to stay warm (photo: chicago-fire.com)

OTF’s Brian Howe Battle has a look at Sunday’s the Fire’s home-opening draw against New York Red Bulls…

Other Chicago teams have succeeded in “winning ugly,” but this may be the first time one of its teams had “drawn pretty.”  The Fire squad played to an opening day tie yesterday at a decidedly cold Toyota Park.  The conditions made for rough turf conditions on the field and glove-muffled applause off it, but if an opening day draw at home could ever be spun as a positive outcome, yesterday was it — and for a couple of reasons.

First off, this team actually has depth, something no one would have suggested 12 months ago.  It was nearly one year ago (4/7/13) at Toyota Park that the Fire pulled out an unlikely 3-1 victory over the eventual Supporters Shield winning New Yorkers. While the Red Bulls started a very similar line-up yesterday, only two Fire men — Sean Johnson and Jeff Larentowicz — saw the field in both matches. In a year’s span, a mix of injuries, disciplinary bans, league churn, trade, and performance expectations have shaken up the Chicago roster in a good way.

The back four was without Lovel Palmer, who is in the midst of a two-game suspension, but midfielder Matt Watson filled the right back position admirably (See: Wells Thompson last year for comparison).  At left back was recent acquisition Greg Cochrane, who was spelling (or supplanting?) the injured Gonzalo Segares (ankle).  Midfielders DIlly Duka (hamstring) and Patrick Nyarko (red card suspension) also didn’t make the full 18 with injuries and a red card, respectfully.  Whether these swaps forced Frank Yallop’s hand, or if the inconveniences simply facilitated changes, we don’t yet know, but the outcomes are encouraging.

Most encouraging was the showing of Fire homegrown player Harrison Shipp, who tallied his first assist of the season from an early corner.  The hero of the goal, though, was Jeff Larentowicz, who shed Tim Cahill’s mark and headed the ball from outside the 6-yard box past Luis Robles with aplomb.  Shipp’s service into the box was accurate and menacing.  A dipping right-to-left cross during free play was nearly put home by the head-first charge of Quincy Amarikwa— the try was inches from putting Chicago up by two goals in under ten minuets.  Later in the match, another excellent Shipp free kick from 40 yards out  was flicked on by “Money” Mike Magee, only to be saved in athletic fashion by Robles.

Larentowicz and Henry battle. The “D.P.” stands for “Donkey Punch” (photo: Chicago-Fire.com)

On the New York side of things, Designated Player icons Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill were surprisingly quiet. Be it game conditions or early season form, neither Red Bull superstar was able to make a dent in the game. Henry’s presence, size, and skill on the ball is always a menace, but the Frenchman found himself playing considerably deep for a striker.  Doing an iffy Ya Ya Toure impression, Henry was often capturing the ball near the midline, squaring up, and calibrating a pass to an advancing teammate.  His corners, of course, remained dangerous.

The Red Bull’s equalizer came from such a cross.  Henry’s corner ball sailed long and pinballed around the box before Dax McCarty found a soft Larentowicz clearance at his feet, and put it home.  To note: Cahill did not receive an assist for face-planting directly in front of goal, making an easy Fire clearance nearly impossible.  Cahill did, however, get his name in the box score by smacking Magee in the face off the ball during injury time.  It was, perhaps, payback for receiving a similar smack by Bakary Soumare early in the first half.

Post game, Yallop was disappointed but positive, asserting that the his men “were closer to winning the match than losing it.”  Yallop also mentioned the field conditions didn’t suit how either team wanted to play, but was pleased his side turned some of the “scrappy” moments into opportunities.  From the crowd’s vantage point, the pitch did not look terrible, but conditions were bad enough that today’s reserve match was scheduled to be played on the practice field instead of inside Toyota Park.

“Draws on the road, wins at home,” is every competitive team’s mantra, but nabbing a point from a dangerous New York side with so many regulars unavailable made the home opener a positive one, and the Fire’s future promising.

OTF Contributor Brian Howe Battle is a Chicago local, burgeoning cynic, and soccer nOOb. You can find his other soccer musings at the Owen Goal blog. Follow Brian on Twitter at @OwenGoal