When someone says, “I’ve never felt something like this before,” they are usually not making reference to a game. However, defender C.J. Brown was referring to just that, as the Chicago Fire were routed by Monaracas Morelia.
Head coach Carlos de los Cobos added, “It’s the worst game I’ve ever seen since joining the Chicago Fire.”
The Fire looked out of sorts from the gates, letting in an easy goal by Monaracas’ Elias Hernandez only three minutes into the game. Morelia controlled possession throughout the first half and were able to find holes in the banged up Fire defense.
By: Justin Mertes-Mistretta
In the 25th minute, the Fire received, what would be their best opportunity of the night, a free-kick from just outside the box. Unfortunately, midfielder Peter Lowry was unable to convert, missing wide right.
Things went downhill from there for the Fire. Goals in the 34th and 40th minute gave Morelia a 3-0 lead heading into halftime. A cheeky dummy by Morelia’s Hugo Droguett to forward Miguel Sabah for the third goal made the Fire look absolutely silly. The most telling stat of the first half was the fact that the Fire had zero shots on goal to Morelia’s three, all of which went for goals. At halftime, I was left wondering if the youth ball boys on the sidelines could give a better effort. It couldn’t have been any worse.
“It looked like a bunch of tired guys and just bad soccer from start to finish,” defender C.J. Brown said. “It was pretty embarrassing, basically.”
The Fire came out of halftime with a sense of purpose, scoring three minutes into the half. Things were looking up for the Fire, for about a minute, when Morelia came right back down and answered with a goal. It was truly the Bad News Bears on a soccer field. The game couldn’t have ended soon enough for the Fire. They ended up losing the game 5-1, starting the 2010 SuperLiga with one loss.
The struggles for the Fire are nothing new, as they have been on a three-game losing streak (2-7-5 in their past 14 games). “I don’t even think in MLS we’re holding our own,” Brown stated. “Yeah, we’re getting ties, but that’s not what the Fire’s about. We’re not satisfied with ties. We charge to win. And it’s not happening.”
Going forward, there is one thing that is certain. Change must be made. Do the Fire have anybody who can give them the much needed firepower on the offensive side of the ball? Also, is it possible to find a back-line that doesn’t resemble matadors, just letting opposing players dribble right by? These are all questions that will have to be answered if the Fire hope to turn things around in the 2010 SuperLiga.
Read more articles by Justin Mertes-Mistretta here.