BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – The Chicago Fire have yet to get a goal from their striker this season, but head coach Frank Yallop isn’t overly concerned as his team head to Sporting Kansas City on Sunday (4 p.m. CT; ESPN2, ESPN Deportes in US, TSN1 in Canada) chasing a fourth consecutive win.
The Fire (3-3-0, 9 pts) boast a 100-percent record in Eastern Conference play, but of their six goals scored, none have come from the striker position typically filled by Quincy Amarikwa, Guly do Prado or Kennedy Igboananike.
Meanwhile, three of the side’s regular starting back four have got off the mark, and the attack-minded midfield trio of Shaun Maloney, Harry Shipp and David Accam have also opened their accounts with one goal each.
But after creating 24 chances in last Friday’s 1-0 victory over New York City FC, scoring only by capitalizing on a goalkeeping error, Yallop revealed that converting opportunities in front of goal is an area the Fire have focused special attention on in training this past week.
PREVIEW: Fire Travel to Sporting KC
“We’ve got to get all our strikers more dangerous and get on the end of stuff,” Yallop told reporters after training at Toyota Park on Thursday. “We’ve worked on that, we’ve talked about that, showed a lot of clips. When one ball goes in, we kind of shut off. We’ve got to keep driving to the goal and trying to get those chances that are going to come, because we have created a bunch of chances that have not been finished off, or our strikers have not been in the right area, moving forward and trying to get on the end of stuff.
“It’s cat and mouse,” he added. “If they don’t think they’re going to get the ball, they won’t make the run. But if our guys serving don’t think they’re going to make the run, they’re not going to serve it. We’ve got to get them on the same page. We’ve talked about it. We’re working on it. It’s no different to our wide guys as well. We want to score goals in all areas, especially the striker's position.”
Brazilian do Prado was given the nod up top against NYCFC for his first start of the season, and Yallop was happy with the 66-minute performance.
“I thought he did a good job. Whether he stays in the team or not, I’ll choose that, but I thought he played the position well for a good hour, and I think that he’s got good feet, he can pass the ball, he’s got good movement,” Yallop said when asked if the 33-year-old had done enough to earn another start.
For his part, do Prado was satisfied with his first start after coming off the bench in four of the club’s previous five games, now at 120 minutes for his maiden MLS campaign.
“It felt amazing because I haven’t had a game for a long time,” Do Prado told MLSsoccer.com. “But I felt good, the team felt good as well, and when you win, it makes you happy. I hope I can keep it going and start to play more games to get more comfortable.”
Fellow offseason recruit Accam insisted there is still more to come from him in a Fire shirt after his match-winning performance against NYCFC, and do Prado likewise believes he has yet to show his true potential for the Toyota Park club.
“No, you haven’t seen the best of me,” Do Prado said. “I need more. That’s my first game, so the way I play, I can do much, much better. I just need to keep playing, keep training and get fitter, and I’m going to be OK.”
