Because of a FIFA international window, the Fire don’t play until Wednesday against the Timbers in Portland, Oregon. It’s a pause they desperately needed.
From May 6 through last Saturday, the Fire competed in 11 matches. The tight schedule forced them to rotate the squad, and injuries made coach Frank Klopas’ job even tougher.
The problem: They entered this interlude winless in five matches in all competitions. The final game of the busy stretch was a 2-1 loss Saturday to the Crew, thanks to Lucas Zelarayan’s audacious shot from his own side of the field that caught Fire goalkeeper Spencer Richey too far off his line to make a save.
‘‘It’s a good time to have a break,’’ Klopas said after the game against the Crew. ‘‘Obviously, [it] would have been better going in with a win or with points, but we’ll take it right now and regroup. We’re going to miss some guys because they’re away with national-team duty. And hopefully they have safe travels and they’re back healthy.’’
Midfielder Brian Gutierrez didn’t hide how taxing he found the recent schedule.
‘‘Obviously, there’s a bunch of games we had with the [Lamar Hunt U.S.] Open Cup,’’ Gutierrez said. ‘‘It honestly can get you mentally and physically, and I think we have a much-needed break for us.’’
Entering the limited slate of MLS matches Saturday, the Fire are 14th in the 15-team East, five points behind Montreal for the ninth and final playoff spot in the conference and only ahead of Inter Miami, which is expected to add global icon Lionel Messi. The game against the Crew marked the halfway point of the Fire’s season, and they’re on pace to average a meager one point per match for the third time in four years under sporting director Georg Heitz and technical director Sebastian Pelzer.
To make things tougher, the game in Portland begins a daunting stretch of road matches that takes the Fire from the Pacific Northwest to Sporting Kansas City (next Saturday) to Orlando City (July 1).
Ever the optimist, Klopas still sees an opportunity for the Fire (3-6-8, 17 points) to turn their season around. The lighter schedule will allow them to dig deeper in training and get a little more rest.
‘‘There’s got to be a commitment — and there is — a mentality with the guys that we need to do whatever it takes to try to reach the goals,’’ Klopas said. ‘‘There’s a lot of games left. You put two or three wins together, and it changes everything in this league.’’
Such quotes have become all too familiar for the Fire. The bunches of victories Klopas is looking for have been too rare, and in the games in which they’ve played well, they’ve developed a nasty habit of allowing late goals.
‘‘We’ve just got to manage moments in games a little bit different,’’ Klopas said. ‘‘If you look at [Saturday], the goals that we gave up and then the goals we scored and the opportunities we have, sometimes it doesn’t add up. But that’s the game.’’
Perhaps the break will allow the Fire to recharge. Gutierrez echoed the message from Klopas that the team still had the second half of the season and an opening to breathe before the game in Portland.
There was also something else.
‘‘Believe as a group, as a unit,’’ he said.
