BRIDGEVIEW -- The Chicago Fire play their final away match of the 2014 campaign Saturday against East leaders D.C. United. With the season nearly at its close, head coach Frank Yallop could choose to give a game to a few players that haven’t seen much time this season.
Though he admitted he hadn’t decided yet, one that seems likely is backup goalkeeper Kyle Reynish who has served as understudy to U.S. international Sean Johnson this season.
“I’m most likely going to go with Kyle,” Yallop told reporters Thursday. “He’s worked hard and backed up Sean – Sean is fine with everything. He deserves to keep playing obviously but I wanted to see what Kyle’s abilities are like. His training habits are fantastic and we want to see him in a real game.”
Reynish, 30, joined the Fire over the offseason after spending 2013 with the New York Cosmos. Prior to that, he played deputy to another established U.S. international Nick Rimando for six seasons at Real Salt Lake.
“The situation with the team now and the prospect that I might get a start would be real nice at this point to get some minutes and show my stuff a little bit,” Reynish said Thursday.
“I played behind Nick at Salt Lake and Sean here. They have different skill sets and techniques so I feel like you can always learn a lot with the guys you’ve trained and played with day in and day out. It’s been great, I’ve really enjoyed training with Sean this year and watching him.”
Reynish's last MLS appearance came with RSL in a 0-0 draw vs. Vancouver Whitecaps on October 27, 2012.
Injury Report
Though listed as questionable on the latest Athletico Injury Report, Yallop confirmed that forward Robert Earnshaw wouldn’t play a part in Saturday’s match at D.C. as he continues to recover from a hamstring strain.
Razvan Cocis (facial fracture), Mike Magee (hip surgery) and Steven Kinney (back surgery) remain out through the end of the season.
Don Garber & Jurgen Klinsmann feud
American soccer got a dose of drama on Wednesday when MLS Commissioner Don Garber hit out at U.S. Men’s National Team Coach Jurgen Klinsmann over some of his recent comments.
The German-American coach has been critical in the past of the likes of Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley returning to Major League Soccer rather than continuing to ply their trade in Europe.
Asked Tuesday about Garber’s response to Klinsmann’s most recent comments, Yallop seemed to back the MLS Commissioner.
“It’s [Jurgen’s] view so he can say whatever he wants. We should be hand-in-hand, the league with the national team program. I think the league’s done a fantastic job of building up our profile and players.
“It’s not the highest league in the world but we’re trying to get there. It’s one person’s view so I don’t look into it too much. The players that play in our league have done very well at the international level and not everyone is suited to go overseas.”
Read a summary of Garber’s comments by clicking here.
Josh Wright Training Stint
Finally, newsatden.co.uk broke earlier Thursday that Millwall central midfielder Josh Wright would be coming over on a trial with the Chicago Fire.
Yallop confirmed Thursday that the 24-year-old Englishman would come in for a training stint before players leave for the offseason.
