#cf97blog

MATCH PREVIEW: Upon cf97blog's from a very long and unexpected break (we'll have a separate post explaining where we have been) the Fire find themselves bottom of the Eastern conference once again. Sitting 10 out 10 is not somewhere I saw the Fire at this point of the season. Therefore, every match has now become critical. We need to take these three points at home, especially when we dropped garbage points against teams like Orlando at home and DC away. I can see this being a win for the Fire. We are finally getting our DP's back from international duty, and this will bring back the usual explosiveness that the Fire's attack has been lacking. One other thing I am looking for is for Yallop to go out and get a CB this summer. Adailton and Larentowicz simply have not built a strong relationship and it is hurting in the terms of results. Let us know your thoughts below! We apologize for the long break! PREDICTED FINAL: Fire 3 - 2 DC United #cf97 #cf97blog #COCF #MLS #CHIvsDC (at Toyota Park)

MATCH PREVIEW: In just over 3 hours the Fire will kick off a game that will be a definite challenge. At 4PM on ESPN2 tune in to see our Chicago Fire take on Sporting KC at Sporting Park in Kansas City. Last year in this fixture the match ended 1-1 with a goal from Mike Magee for the Fire. Today though, it's going to be a very different story. Kansas City is a team with an arsenal of attacking options. The likes of Dwyer and Feilhaber will certainly present some challenges for the Fire defense. However, in counter Sporting has an awful defensive record, giving up 4 goals to the Dynamo last time out. The key to success for the Fire today will be the play of Matt Polster. It is up to the rookie to dominate the middle of the park and to slow down the KC counter attack. On the offensive end it is going to be very important for the Fire to expose the wide areas of the field, and get service into the box (expect Do Prado to start because of this). Overall I'm confident the Fire will secure a 4th consecutive victory. Let us know what you think the result will be below! #cf97 #cf97blog #MLS #COCF #CHIvsKC Predicted Final: Fire 3 - 1 SKC Predicted XI: Johnson, Gehrig, Larentowicz, Adaílton, Palmer, Polster, Jones, Maloney, Shipp, Do Prado, Accam (at Sporting Park )

MATCH REVIEW: Fire 1 - 0 NYCFC Last night's match showed the true attacking force that the Fire possess. From whistle to whistle the Fire dominated the game 100%. We had 57% and 7 shots on goal. If it wasn't for some incredible saves from Meara, the Fire would have won the game at least 3-0. Accam looked extremely dangerous, and Maloney looks to be finding his form in the team. Once again Matt Poulster was phenomenal, and nearly got himself his first MLS goal! With this 3rd consecutive win the Fire have moved to 4th place in the East with at least 1 game in hand on the teams ahead of them. The Fire are coming alive and any team that has to play us should be concerned. Let us know what you guys thought of the game below! If you guys were there and have any videos/photos you want to share send them to us at [email protected]! #cf97 #cf97blog #COCF #CHIvsNY #MLS (at Toyota Park)

cf97blog was a part of history last night as I attended the Inaugural Home Opener for the Fire's USL Pro Affiliate: @saintlouisfc against the Pittsburg Riverhounds. The game took place in front of a sold out crowd at the Saint Louis Soccer Park. Official attendance was 5,280 people! It's great to see St. Louis back on the soccer map, and it was even nicer to see the Fire's own Patrick Doody assist on the STLFC goal last night! Overall the match ended 1-1, and Saint Louis really should have taken their chances to win 3 or 4 to 1. All in all it was a great experience! And there are some promising players on the STLFC roster the Fire may pick up in the future! #STLFC #cf97 #cf97blog #USL #MLS (at Saint Louis Soccer Park)

cf97blog was a part of history last night as I attended the Inaugural Home Opener for the Fire's USL Pro Affiliate: @saintlouisfc against the Pittsburg Riverhounds. The game took place in front of a sold out crowd at the Saint Louis Soccer Park. Official attendance was 5,280 people! It's great to see St. Louis back on the soccer map, and it was even nicer to see the Fire's own Patrick Doody assist on the STLFC goal last night! Overall the match ended 1-1, and Saint Louis really should have taken their chances to win 3 or 4 to 1. All in all it was a great experience! And there are some promising players on the STLFC roster the Fire may pick up in the future! #STLFC #cf97 #cf97blog #USL #MLS (at Saint Louis Soccer Park)

MATCH REVIEW: Fire 3 - 2 TFC Today the Fire showed why they went out and spent the money this offseason! They looked outstanding throughout almost the entire game and were unlucky to be trailing 1-2 for that brief period of time. I can't believe I'm actually saying this but Maloney really impressed me today and I'm glad we did not drop him to the bench. David Accam was outstanding, and I felt that he was very unlucky not to have scored today! Shipp seemed to take a while to get going but once again he was great in the second half! Unfortunately Stephens suffered an ankle sprain on a nasty tackle just a couple minutes into the match, and he will be reevaluated tomorrow to see how long he will be out. The opening goal from the Fire was a spectacular finish from Jones on the back end of a cheeky Maloney pass! Maloney's equalizing goal wasn't pretty but it was much needed for the Scottish DP. Finally, the third and winning goal from Jeff Larentowicz was a cracker! The captain picked his spot and blasted it into the bottom corner from 25 yards out. Overall this match showed the true colors of the Fire! We are going to be a very dangerous team going forward into the rest of this season, and neither of the TFC goals today were a fair representation of how well the back line played. Once again I was especially impressed with the performance of Matt Polster, and I hope that hamstring problem he left the game with isn't too serious. As far as Perez I feel that he wasn't on the field long enough to draw any conclusions on how he will fit into the team. Let us know what you guys thought of a second consecutive win for the Fire below! (Fun fact the Fire are unbeaten in their last 13 matches against TFC 😏) #cf97 #cf97blog #COCF #CHIvsTOR #MLS (at Toyota Park)