RECAP: Fire Beat Atlanta, 2-1; Have They Mastered the Art of Winning Ugly?
Last Saturday, the Chicago Fire registered a 2-1 win over Atlanta United at Soldier Field, snapping a six-match winless streak in MLS.
Anyone who watched the match will confidently tell you that it was not a pretty win.
The Fire scored from a penalty, conceded an own goal, and got into some scraps in a very physical game.
Between goals, they looked relatively lifeless, struggling to make any sort of threat.
It wasn’t a performance to write home about, but it was indicative of a major transformation.
The Men in Red may have finally mastered the art of winning ugly.
Fire Find a Way to Win
PHOTO: Talia Sprague/Imagn Images
The old soccer adage dictates that you have to win when you’re playing badly if you want to be successful. Indeed, this is the mark of every team that’s ever won a title. One of the many problems that has befallen the Chicago Fire in recent years is their total inability to earn gritty wins. There was hope that this would change under Gregg Berhalter, but the team still suffered some inexplicable implosions to start the season.
That finally changed on Saturday, as the Men in Red stayed composed to take the three points. Shorthanded as always, dealing with fatigue from a midweek cup game, the Fire were never going to put in a five-star showing. Instead, they took the chances they got. Despite lacking ideas in the final third early on, Chicago launched attack after attack, hoping to find a spark somewhere. In the end, they got it from an opposing player – Aleksei Miranchuk handled the ball in the box to give away a penalty. The Fire’s Hugo Cuypers put it away for his ninth goal of the season, allowing his team to sit back.
The middle stretch of the game was largely forgettable, which is really a testament to the quality of the Chicago midfield. They didn’t create many opportunities to add to the lead, but they cut down most every Atlanta United counter. Sure, it didn’t make for an entertaining game, but it gave the hosts some peace of mind.
Bench Provides a Spark
Squad depth has generally been a huge weakness of the Fire. The options off the bench are very limited, and when substitutions are made, the incoming players rarely provide much of a boost. For once, that wasn’t the case.
While Chicago had largely controlled the game, Atlanta started looking more dangerous midway through the second half. They got their equalizer on a freak own goal in the 80th minute, when two Fire players combined to put the ball in their own net. If history were to be any indication, that goal ruled out any possibility of a Fire win.
Berhalter, who had planned a triple substitution prior to giving up the goal, did not revise his plans. He sent the same three players into the fray, even though he admits that “the original plan was to put them in for defensive reasons.” To the casual onlooker, this seemed like a resigned acceptance of another poor result. Instead, it proved to be a stroke of genius.
In the 86th minute, the three substitutes combined to give Chicago a winner out of the blue. Maren Haile-Selassie played in Omari Glasgow, who squared the ball beautifully for Rominigue Kouamé. The Malian midfielder directed the ball into the bottom corner of the net, making it 2-1 against all the odds.
More of the Same to Come?
As the Fire look to make a long-awaited return to the MLS Cup Playoffs this year, there will have to be wins like last weekend’s.
This team also wants to win the U.S. Open Cup, which means there will be plenty of squad management challenges.
A season like that cannot be successful unless the Fire creates victories from tense, uneventful games.
“There’s plenty of reason to believe these guys can do it,” Berhalter says of the demanding schedule ahead. The team heads to Charlotte next weekend for an MLS clash before taking on the New England Revolution in the last 16 of the Open Cup on Tuesday.
It’s always nice to have the opportunity to go to the quarterfinals of the Open Cup, so we’ll be ready for it,” said Berhalter.
PHOTO: Talia Sprague/Imagn Images
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