It’s the goal of every Major League Soccer club to render its home venue a fortress. Regularly earn three points in your own building, let the chips fall as they may on the road, and conventional wisdom says you’re more than likely to find yourself in a favorable spot in the table come year’s end.
The 2015 Fire have taken care of the first part of that equation, having won three of four home matches and all three against fellow Eastern Conference foes. But the results away from Bridgeview -- losses at LA, San Jose and Sporting KC -- have been less encouraging, if only because slow starts have kept the Men In Red from seizing control of the environment.
“It’s a weird one because we talk about it, about coming out quickly, that they’re going to come out at us,” head coach Frank Yallop said Tuesday via teleconference. “I just think we didn’t look confident (at Sporting KC) in the first 20-30 minutes. That could have cost us the game -- (Dom) Dwyer had a free header and should have scored, they could have been 2-nil up. But halftime comes, we figure it out and we’re nil-nil, so that’s the good news.”
MURRAY: Fire Unable to Finish Chances in 1-0 Defeat | Match Highlights
Unwilling to rely on fortuitous bounces to avoid early road deficits in the future, Yallop suggested he would re-examine the club’s preparation in the week and hours leading up to contests away from Toyota Park.
“I’m going to talk next week (ahead of a trip to NYCFC) about whether it’s something we do in training or maybe the days off to get us into the mode of a good start in an away game,” Yallop said. “What I like about our technical staff is we’re forever trying to fix it through video, through sleeping patterns, and different things like that. We’ve got a pretty good team that can win games (on the road), so (starting slowly) was a frustration on Sunday.”
In addition to a few isolated defensive lapses, the Fire also lacked a sharpness in the final third that could have served to undo a high-pressing Sporting back line.
“Just our timing was off in our releases, we had a 3-on-3 at one point and didn’t get any shot out of it, which is disappointing,” Yallop said. “We work on it all week, quickly getting forward with David (Accam) and breaking. It wasn’t for lack of effort, we’ll work on it and come back our next away game with a better outcome and better finishing in the game.”
MORE TUESDAY NOTES:
• Yallop participated in Tuesday’s teleconference from Vancouver, where he is visiting his father. He intends to return to the club Thursday in advance of Saturday’s home contest vs. Real Salt Lake (Saturday, 2 p.m. CT, CSN Chicago).
• The club has elected not to appeal midfielder David Accam’s one-game suspension that comes as a result of a red card shown to the Ghanaian in the 89th minute of Sunday’s loss at Sporting KC. “By the letter of the law, he puts his arm back and does touch him so it’s a tough one, and we only get a certain amount of appeals," Yallop explained. "I just don’t think we’re going to win this one. We as a club decided to not do it.”
• The impending absence of Accam naturally led to questions Tuesday as to how Yallop would configure an attacking lineup against Real Salt Lake. Once again, strikers Guly do Prado, Quincy Amarikwa and Kennedy Igboananike all are candidates to appear in the Starting XI Saturday as the trio tries to open their scoring accounts seven matches into the campaign. Yallop stated Tuesday that his staff could be prompted to make personnel moves come the summer transfer window should the drought remain, but will exercise caution knowing reinforcements are likely on the way in the form of the rehabbing Mike Magee and Patrick Nyarko.
“With the team we've got, we're creating chances from all over, so it doesn’t always need to be that robust No. 9, but we’ll see how Mike fits in,” Yallop said. “We can change the system a little bit as we’ve proven we can -- with Harry (Shipp), Shaun (Maloney) and Mike, all are good players and can drift different places -- so we’ll see how he gets on when he’s back and kind of go from there. It's exciting to get him and obviously Patrick in a wider position back with us once they get healthy.”
• Two is the lucky number this Saturday, when Toyota Park will play host to two professional matches and also offer $2 hot dogs courtesy of Red Hot Chicago during the Fire's matchup with Real Salt Lake. Following the Fire game, fans are invited to remain in the venue to watch the Chicago Red Stars face the Boston Breakers in NWSL action. All supporters -- particularly those utilizing Pub To Pitch bus transit -- are advised to click here for details on Saturday's Chicago-Style Doubleheader.
• Recently, the Unified Soccer team co-sponsored by the Chicago Fire and Special Olympics Illinois was featured in the Chicago Tribune. The team, comprised of teens with and without intellectual disabilities, is currently in training for an August trip with the Chicago Fire First Team to Portland, Ore., where it will play in conjunction with the Fire’s match against the Portland Timbers.
