The Chicago Fire desperately need a win against DC United as the season is quickly slipping away from them.
The Fire have not won a game since April 6 when they beat the Houston Dynamo at Soldier Field. The last time they scored a point was on April 27 in a goalless draw against Atlanta United.
The last two months have been a struggle in which confidence seems to wane when the opponent scores or minutes pass without scoring. As Chris Mueller states, there is only one way to maintain or develop trust.
“I think you need to get a win. Three points would be the only thing I would say is how to get that trust back, so to speak. But for us, for now, we have to move forward and be positive as much as we can.
“It’s not easy right now. And I don’t think anyone cares more than all the guys in the locker room because we are the ones who are here every day giving our best.”
At DC United, the Fire face a team currently in ninth place. However, they do have Christian Benteke, who is tied for second as the MLS top scorer with 11 goals. The Fire have allowed 26 goals, the second most in the Eastern Conference.
While they can’t focus their attention solely on Benteke, he will certainly be someone to watch and someone the Fire will need to contain if they are to get out of this bad time.
“Obviously he is a big key to everything they do. A very direct team, many crosses into the area,” said Frank Klopas. “And he’s obviously a target player. I think they are not a team that seeks to make much progress with possession, especially from the back.
“I think the two players who play a key role in that in their back five, they come forward, it’s [Aaron] Herrera on the right side and Pedro Santos, if he plays, on the left side, help. They are quite direct and then I think a lot of it has to do with whether they can win second balls.”
In terms of what the Fire needs to do, that’s easier said than done.
DC United also gives up a good amount of goals, so the Fire will have to take advantage and create opportunities for Hugo Cuypers. Cuypers, one of the team’s most notable signings, has not had the impact that many expected. But a lot of that has to do with Cuypers not getting enough service to score.
“It’s tough when you’re relying on one or two chances a game to win,” Mueller said. “And sometimes you have to do that. I’m also not naive to the fact that sometimes a match ends 1-0 or you waste the two chances you have and win 2-1.
“But at the same time I think it’s unrealistic to expect to score both chances, two out of two chances in a game. “I think getting the ball to dangerous points of attack more often will definitely be something that helps us, for sure.”
Once again, easier said than done.
With the Fire on a seven-game winless streak, it doesn’t matter taking advantage of one, two, three or four opportunities. As long as they score more than their opponents, they will accept it.
The bottom line is that the Fire need a win to basically save their season. The season is no longer early and the team cannot afford to lose many more points if it wants to be in the hunt for a playoff spot.
