Saturday night was truly something to behold. It was the perfect way to send the Fire off in Chicago in 2021 with 31,308 of our closest friends in attendance.
Frank Klopas’ side stifled Real Salt Lake in a 1-0 victory that made it much more difficult for the visitors to qualify for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. They will have another opportunity to do just that against New York City FC in the Bronx on Wednesday night. Ronny Deila’s boys in blue currently sit one point above the playoff line, with five teams separated by three points fighting for three remaining spots.
Here’s what to look for as NYCFC and CFFC collide for the third and final time this year in the penultimate match of the 2021 regular season…
BACK ON THEIR FEET
The Fire and “Pigeons” squared off at SeatGeek Stadium just a month ago, and it was a 2-0 win for CFFC.
That was the low point of the year for City, as they were in the middle of what would be 509- minute goal drought that ended in the 90th minute against Atlanta last week when Gudi Thórarinsson’s finish helped steal a late point.
They then followed up that important point on the road against Atlanta with an absolute thrashing of D.C. United on Saturday night at Yankee stadium. NYCFC scored six goals in a match for the first time in club history as the 6-0 win saw D.C. United fall below the playoff line in a proverbial six-pointer.
City took advantage of a couple disastrous D.C. mistakes, and the game was essentially over in the 11th minute with NYCFC already up 3-0.
It looks like NYCFC have put their scoring woes behind them and are ready to make their final push to secure their spot in the postseason.
Thiago Andrade, Santiago Rodriguez and Talles Magno seem to all be settling in after being brought in midway through the season, and of course Taty Castellanos is always dangerous, having scored two this past weekend.
The emphatic win against D.C. ended a six-match winless streak for NYCFC, their longest since the start of the 2019 season.
THIRD ROUND
After falling to NYCFC on Decision Day in 2020 and being eliminated from postseason contention, the Fire have responded well this year with a win and a draw against the side that shattered their playoff hopes a year ago.
This game will be different, though. Following the aforementioned skid, NYCFC have become desperate for points in their final few games of the season. That’s not something most pundits would have predicted a month ago, when they were potentially battling for a top three spot in the Eastern Conference. Now, they’re just trying to keep the heads above water.
As if beating or getting any type of result against the same team three times in a season wasn’t hard enough, this will be a different animal with NYCFC fully needing three points. It’s not a “must-win” for them per se, but their fate could be out of their hands if they fall to the Fire heading into their final two games of the season.
The season-ending achilles injury to Anton Tinnerholm - arguably one of the best right backs in the league - has certainly hurt, but there is still plenty of talent on this roster to get the job done.
Ronny Deila has tried out a few different ways to attempt to fill the void of Tinnerholm by either going to a three-back (which he has done before), using Tayvon Gray in that position, or even James Sands - who typically plays a deep-lying midfielder or the center of a three-back.
Whatever the system may be, the goal remains the same for the Fire. They will need to be sharp and not afraid to go direct and alleviate pressure on a tight, narrow field with a less-than-ideal playing surface. D.C. got caught a few times trying to play out of the back and got burned for it early and often.
The two centerbacks (or three) are not particularly pacey, so there will be opportunities to get in behind.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is going to be another battle and another awesome opportunity for the Fire. They are playing some of their better football the season and have earned seven points over their past three games.
CFFC were able to bottle up Real Salt Lake and negate their strengths in Damir Kreilach, Rubio Rubin and Albert Rusnák, and will now have to do the same to NYCFC’s very capable front line.
Álvaro Medrán has been strutting his stuff as of late, and his green light to roam around the field and dictate the tempo has been key to the Fire’s success. He’ll have less time to do so at Yankee Stadium given the dimensions and playing surface.
Gaga Slonina is coming off one of the finest performances in his young career after keeping his fourth clean sheet and earning his MLS Team of the Week honors. He will be called into action more than a few times, and will need some big saves (like he’s been doing) if the Fire are going to get a result. NYCFC will generate chances.
This is another team who has everything to play for, and the Fire seem to be relishing these moments. I can’t wait for this one at Yankee stadium.
The Fire will look to make it three wins a row at 6:30 p.m. CT on WGN and CFFC Live on Wednesday night.
