Once one of the perennial powers of MLS the Fire have slipped into a listless and seemingly directionless existence over the past half-decade. After missing the playoffs last season – though it did come down to their final game in New York – Chicago’s ownership decided to end the club’s long relationship with Frank Klopas, who moved on to take the head coaching position Montreal.
Fire fans were by and large underwhelmed, however, when the club announced the appointment of Frank Yallop as Klopas’ replacement. Yallop, of course, is a former MLS Cup winner from his time in-charge of the first MLS iteration of the San Jose Earthquakes, and lead the current edition to a Supporters Shield title in 2012, but was seen as an uninspired choice for a club looking to reconnect with a disaffected audience. Subsequently, a long winless streak to start the season did little to raise expectations or silence doubters.
On the field, forward Mike Magee, while clearly established as the face of the franchise, has found it hard to recapture the form that propelled him to last season’s MLS MVP award. Out of sync with all prior production levels, Magee scored 21 goals during a remarkable 2013 season but has returned closer to his historical output so far this year with only 4 goals from the Fire’s first 14 MLS matches.
When they have found success, the Fire have benefited from two surprises that have resulted in a far more balanced attack than Toronto FC’s Jermain Defoe reliant offense. Former Red Quincy Amarikwa, not remembered fondly in Toronto due to his short stay during some of the darkest days of Toronto’s worst season, has surprised everyone with five league goals to date. Amarikwa does have an MLS Cup championship ring from his time in Colorado, but that was as the fourth striker on the Rapids depth chart, and virtually no one was expecting him to emerge as a regular starter, let alone scorer, for the Fire in 2014.
The other surprise has been the emergence of rookie Harry Shipp with five goals which have tied him for the team lead with Amarikwa. Shipp’s goals all came in two explosive multiple goal performances, including two against the Seattle Sounders in the Fire’s last league game before the World Cup break over three weeks ago.
For Toronto, the objective will be to maintain the more fluid attacking style that created, by their standards, a plethora of shots, opportunities, and ultimately two second half goals versus New York in their last match. Dropping points in stoppage time was a disappointment Reds fans are used to but the overall quality of the performance against the Red Bulls gave positive indications that the team is still moving in the right direction.
Toronto FC has never won in Chicago but, if they can break that streak, would start the process of using their copious games in hand to create a gap between themselves and the teams chasing the playoff positions in MLS’s Eastern Conference. Against a team stuck at the bottom of the conference, it’s time for the Reds to establish themselves as a team that can be relied on to take full points, even away from BMO Field, when expected.