Chicago Fire forwards Cristian Nazarit and Orr Barouch starred in Tuesday’s 5-0 reserve league win over FC Dallas, with Nazarit scoring a hat trick and Barouch bagging a brace in the romp at the Toyota Park practice field.
While the goals didn’t come against first-team competition, they were still important for the young strikers, who are both looking to rebuild their confidence following lengthy goal-less streaks.
“Scoring a goal always boosts your confidence,” Barouch told MLSsoccer.com on Wednesday. “I felt good and Cristian also felt pretty good and we’re hoping to do it this weekend. It’s all about confidence. When you come in and you have that feeling that you will score, most of the time you will, so it’s definitely good for us.”
Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas was also encouraged by the performance of the two strikers in Tuesday’s match.
“Any time you have your forwards scoring goals, that’s obviously a positive,” Klopas said. “Not only did they get through 90 minutes healthy, but now they’re scoring goals and it’s good for their confidence.”
The 19-year-old Barouch, who assisted on Nazarit’s second goal, was especially happy with how well he and his 20-year-old Colombian strike partner combined on Tuesday.
“I think we’re doing pretty well together,” Barouch said. “Cristian likes to stay up high and that gives me room to come in a little lower, which I like, so I think it works pretty well for both of us.”
Sam Stejskal covers the Chicago Fire for MLSsoccer.com. E-mail him at sam.h.stejskal@gmail.comvand follow him on Twitter @samstejskal.
