CHICAGO (April 22, 2023) – Chicago Fire FC II were shut out 2-0 by Atlanta United 2 on Sunday night at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia. A pair of goals by Nick Firmino handed the Fire their third straight loss. Atlanta’s three points helped them leapfrog the Fire for seventh place of the match, pending Sunday’s MLS NEXT Pro action.
Head coach Ludovic Taillandier and midfielder Matteo Kidd spoke about the loss following the conclusion of the match.
Chicago Fire FC II Head Coach Ludovic Taillandier
On what was missing in a shutout loss…
“We missed a good start, of course. It looks like they started a little sharper than us. We had something like 10 minutes before we could definitely put the plan in place on the field, in terms of the way we built and the way that we pressed on the front. On both sides of the field, we were not exactly accurate based on what we planned to do. And I would say after that, after the goal we conceded and maybe 10 minutes after, maybe the last 20 minutes – I will watch the video – but the last 20 minutes of the first half looked like we took good control of the game. Unfortunately, we were not able to convert this feeling of control and those situations, those chances, into goals.
The second half, again, I would say on the ball, we probably delivered something pretty decent, but we were very exposed in counter attacks. I would say logically in the end, you push, they counter; they end up getting a corner kick and then they score 2-0. I would say I'm still proud of the mentality of the guys, because we could see at the end of the game the desire to come back to defend; in terms of fitness and mentality, that was pretty good.”
On improvements to be made before facing New York Red Bulls II next week…
“We keep going. We keep going, we keep working. We want to develop a real identity of play of having control of the game on the ball – a possession-based style of play. That's what we had a little more of, a little better, today than last week. We can consider that we are improving. We're improving on the ball, we're improving the control we can have on the ball. In terms of the way we defend, there is probably [more] to do in terms of pressing at the front and getting a little less exposed. Then, there are some set pieces we can improve for the next game.”
On controlling the number of cards in the match…
“There are different kinds of yellow cards. There is a yellow card that we can qualify as a lack of control when a player speaks to the ref – and that's totally unacceptable. Sometimes, it can be a little clumsy, a tackle; there are different kinds of yellow cards. We spoke, for sure, and we addressed the objective of staying in control of our emotions and not getting in the ref’s face too much. And so I think the players are on that path and were able to go all the way. Like for Charlie, he was able to control the situation and not get a red card. In terms of controlling the emotions, it was better than the last games.”
Chicago Fire FC Midfielder Matteo Kidd
On how the team can bounce back offensively…
“I think we need to stay consistent and just keep working on everything we’ve been working on throughout the week. We just need to stay together. Right now we’re going through a tough time but it’s okay, we work hard every week. The goals will come, the wins will come if we stick together.”
On his performance tonight…
“I think everyone on the team worked really hard tonight. I thought that it was a really good effort from the guys. I think that we didn’t let off the pedal and even until the end of the game, I thought that we could have had a couple of goals. They got lucky, but I thought I played pretty well and we’ll keep stacking these performances and the wins will come.”
