Posted on August 24, 2012
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Licking their wounds after a 4-2 defeat at D.C. United in a mid-week major, the Chicago Fire players know they face a great opportunity to take their playoff fate into their own hands.
Starting on Sept. 2, the Fire will play three of its next four Major League Soccer matches in the friendly confines of Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.
Chicago wil have time to rest and prepare for its next chalenge, a home encounter against the Houston Dynamo.
“It’s always vital to win at home, but especially now that it is the final push of the season,” Fire Costa Rican midfielder Gonzalo Segares said. “We are very focused on winning our home games so that we can to cut the distance between us and the leading teams of the conference standings in order to reach the playoffs.”
The Fire will hit the road against Toronto FC on Sept. 12, before hosting the Montreal Impact three days later and the Columbus Crew on Sept. 22.
Against D.C. at RFK Stadium on Wednesday, the Fire players could only ponder what went wrong.
“It was mostly our lack of order,” Segares said. “Once we went down in the scoreboard, we started pressuring up, which spread our lines thin and gave a lot of space for players like De Rosario to hurt us. When we play away games we are generally a very organized team, with two defensive lines that close down space well, but that was clearly not the case today. That was what made the difference in the game.”
The Fire’s Guatemalan midfielder Marco Pappa had another idea.
“Well, at the end of the day it’s about scoring goals,” he said. “The 4-2 result is a clear indication that we must take better advantage of our chances and finish more often. I think everyone contributed positively on the pitch today, but unfortunately we could not get the score we wanted.”
Photo: Gonzalo Segares: “It’s always vital to win at home, but especially now that it is the final push of the season.” Andy Mead/YCJ
Categories: Central America, Costa Rica, Guatemala
Tags: Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, Gonzalo Segares, Houston Dynamo, Major League Soccer, Marco Pappa, Montreal Impact, Toronto FC
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