THOUGHTS ON THE FIRE: You know you’re coach is frustrated when he bemoans the “same mistakes from the same people” as well as a perceived lack of self-pride. It has sadly gotten to the point where the object apparently is not to finish last. Too many times this season, the Fire will have a positive result in their hands (even when they come from a trailing position) only to lose it.
The Fire have won just once when in a trailing position at any point this season (vs. NYCFC). Twice they went a goal down, came back to go a goal ahead, and then finished a goal down. You can bring up injuries to key players all you can, but this team is not good enough to deal with adversity. While Paunovic has not helped himself at times with his lineups, he has not been helped at all the front office this year. For Fire fans, all of this amounts to the same old song again and one can be forgiven if they wish Steve Dahl was around to smash some of these records.
THOUGHTS ON THE RED STARS: Let’s start with Wednesday. I have to question why the game took place given the deteriorating air quality in Seattle due to the wildfires in Washington state. The match was essentially played in 15 minute chuckers and while both teams had chances for a win, both teams got the result they deserved.
Granted, this match did have playoff implications and it’s near the end of the season, but would they be doing this if it were the Sounders playing? The Sounders did play on Saturday as air quality did improve temporarily, but this is something the NWSL has to consider given that they had to rearrange parts of the fixture list, including their Game of the Week on Lifetime, after Rachel Daly collapsed due to heat exhaustion last season. Player safety needs to be first and foremost when you have situations like you have in Seattle at the present moment.
As for Saturday, the Red Stars looked like they were going to get their first win over Portland since 2013, but the Thorns came back and got a valuable point. That’s not to say the point the Red Stars got wasn’t valuable. Results went their way over the weekend and they are currently above the red line by a point over Orlando. They can go a long way towards a playoff spot if they can defeat their nearest contender Orlando on Saturday.
Chicago Fire
Chicago Red Stars
