Every contest between Chicago Fire and Columbus Crew is an event. Maybe not for the rest of MLS, but it certainly is a rager for Crew and Fire supporters. For this first match up of three in the 2012 season, Chicago will travel to Columbus. Arriving ahead of the Fire will be over 600 of its supporters, Section 8, who have not so lovingly re-christened Crew Stadium as Fire House East (#FHEast). So far this season there are some rather starling similarities between the two squads making Saturday evening’s match even more intense.
Both teams are coming off wins but the moods of those wins could be more different. Columbus to the entire league’s surprise was able to beat Seattle handily midweek, while Chicago is coming off a bit of a dirty midweek win against FC Dallas. Each team will have a US Open Cup 3rd Round match on Tuesday that will continue to stretch their line-up and figure to be a bit draining given the both matches will have a regional rivalry edge to them. Chicago will travel to Pontiac, Michigan just outside of Detroit to face the Michigan Bucks, and Columbus will participate in the first ever Ohio derby when they host the Dayton Dutch Lions. Both opponents are PDL teams and are expected to be dispatched with ease according to most pundits. Yet upsets aren’t infrequent and usually happen when the stronger side is tired. Chicago were hosted by Portland last Sunday, welcomed Dallas to Toyota Park on Wednesday, will play at Columbus on Saturday, will then travel up to Pontiac for the match on the Tuesday, and finally trek out to Foxboro to face New England next Saturday. That’s a slew of games to play on scant rest. Columbus is experiencing a similar run as they will end May having played six matches, the last four played every three days.
A run of play like this can just as easily invigorate a club as drain it. Chicago (although ‘power rankings’ refuse to admit it) are the seventh best team in MLS, a win would put them a point behind Sporting Kansas City for third place. As things stand right now, Chicago is three points ahead of Columbus for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with each team having played eleven games. For either team, this current run of matches could be their breakaway, each having scored nearly as many goals as they’ve surrendered and each essentially balanced in home/away play.
Columbus like Chicago’s midweek opponent Dallas has been battling injuries all season. It’s unlike that Saturday’s match will see defender Chad Marshall or forward Ethan Finlay (both out with a concussions) or midfielders Milovan Mirosevic and Danny O’Rourke. Columbus will be fielding not a make-shift midfield exactly but certainly a harried one. Chicago will likely still have its newest (re)member Chris Rolfe out with an ankle sprain, although there is hope he may see some time as a substitute, and may even have their regular forward Dominic Oduro on the bench as sub so as to let him rest a tweaked hamstring.
More pressing concerns are haunting Chicago. Wins have come but winning consistently hasn’t and every loss that the Fire have been handed the reason can be easily pinpointed. When the Fire loses, it comes from poorly defended set pieces, specifically corner kicks (Chicago is tied for most goals conceded from corners). A Fire win can be a harrowing affair; they’ve fallen behind in each of their last four wins and two of their three draws. An unnerving stat, Chicago have won three games after allowing the first goal, tied for most in MLS (along with San Jose). Good news, I suppose, but considering that they’ve conceded the opening goal in eight games this season, you have to feel this is a bad zone to be in. Who else is in this last stat category? The wretchedly out of form Galaxy and the just plain wretched Toronto FC. All Archer jokes aside, this is the danger zone.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
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