The Fire are arguably in the middle of their best stretch of play since the first half of the 2017 season when they surged to the top of Major League Soccer. On top of their performance in MLS, the Fire reached the knockout stage of the Leagues Cup and should have reason for optimism when league play resumes later this month.
The Fire must keep three goals in mind as they seek to build off their run of five wins in six MLS matches in their quest to return to the postseason.
Stay solid defensively
The statistic that jumps out when looking at the Fire’s surge is how well they’ve protected their net. In their three games before the Leagues Cup break, the Fire pitched three shutouts and showed a sturdiness in front of their own goal that has been lacking in the recent past.
“I say to the team, it’s that I have no problem when guys take risks, they make mistakes, as long as everybody works hard for the team,” coach Frank Klopas said. “When we lose the ball or pressure’s broken, it’s just about always, everyone’s sprinting back and getting behind the ball.”
And when the opponent gets a shot on target, goalkeeper Chris Brady has been up to the challenge by keeping six clean sheets.
“I know the backline is really satisfied with the job they’ve done,” Brady said. “But for us, we’re just happy that we got it for the team. It makes this entire team look a whole lot better when you get three wins, but also you don’t concede in three games.”
Keep converting chances
Even though the Fire are picking up points, they aren’t blistering opponents. Over their last six league games, the Fire have registered more than two expected goals once, and that was in their 3-1 loss to Orlando City on July 1.
If they aren’t going to generate more on the attack, the Fire must continue finding ways to score. They’ve done that in MLS play, getting decisive scores from Kacper Przybylko and Fabian Herbers.
“There’s no secret. I think it’s just hard work, try to get into the right spots at the right time,” Herbers said of a run that saw him score three times in four matches. “But try to pick your moments. And it’s just about the team being compact, creating chances and the more chances you create and the more compact you are, I think of the more likely you are to win and to score goals. And I think as a team, we’ve been doing that really well the past few games and hopefully we can continue.”
Don’t lose focus
The Fire have their destiny in their own hands. If they play well and continue getting results, they will be in the playoffs and won’t need to watch the out-of-town scoreboard.
“If we take our foot off the gas and if we think that we get complacent a little bit, then everything we’ve done, it’s really easy to fall,” Klopas said. “Really hard to climb up that ladder. That’s why it’s important to stay grounded and level-headed and stay low and understand that we have a long way to go and keep working hard.”
