Raphael Wicky hails "mature performance" following 4-0 Fire win

Four goals, three points, and a clean sheet at home.

Wednesday night’s victory over the visiting Houston Dynamo at Soldier Field was surely a sweet one for the Fire, who have made capitalizing on their chances a big point of emphasis in recent weeks.

When asked in his postgame press conference if the 4-0 scoreline was his team’s most complete outing of the season, head coach Raphael Wicky couldn’t disagree.

"Yeah, I think so,” he said. “I think, in general, it was a really, really good performance, it was a mature performance…I mean, the first half was almost perfect. I think Houston didn't really have much going forward. We were really aggressive, well organized, we were really good with the ball, we had chances to score even more than three goals.”

“I was very happy with the way the team managed the second half: not giving up chances, not giving up, still looking for the third goal, having a little bit less possession -- that's not what we wanted -- but then, having a clean sheet and being very mature and well organized. So yeah, that was a really good performance today."

A key factor in Wednesday night’s performance was a tactical shift in Wicky’s lineup. Fabian Herbers -- who had generally been deployed out wide this season -- swapped roles in midfield with Ignacio Aliseda, who’d primarily been playing centrally.

“It was a thought from me and my staff,” Wicky said of the switch. “Obviously, when you can find Nacho isolated out wide, he can hurt a lot of teams. He's good in 1v1, he's pace-full, but he's also good when he (comes) in from a wide area, coming inside into the half spaces. So he did that really well in a lot of moments in this game. He actually worked well also defensively. The other point is, I wanted one extra midfielder there with Fabi Herbers underneath Robert, which gave us a lot. We know what Fabi gives us, but also not only with the ball, but also defensively, Fabi helped Álvaro and Gastón to actually close the center better than in the previous games."

“I like this position very well,” Herbers added. “I don't have a favorite position. I think every position has its ups and downs kind of. But in this particular position, the number 10 role, I think I communicate well with the forwards, with Berić on how to press, and then defensively Rapha asked me when we're under pressure to help defensively as well. To come in as an aid and help Gastón (Giménez) and Álvaro (Medrán) defensively to close the midfield, and I think on both ends of the field it worked well.”

Herbers' response to the realignment was an effective two-way performance, which included his third goal of the season. Assisted by Aliseda, Herbers found himself on the end of well-weighted through-ball and put a sliding finish past Houston goalkeeper Marko Marić to double the Fire lead in the  23rd minute.

Through four games played at Soldier Field, Herbers has now scored three times and added an assist.

“I mean it's just a great stadium, great field, great team effort,” Herbers said. “Overall, I think it's credit to the team that after those tough results in the past, we come back strong like this and then we actually show what we're capable of, you know, when we play well, when we finish our chances offensively, and when we stay compact and don't give up easy chances defensively. And I like this place. Scored again, happy about that, but more happy about the three points and we just got to keep it going now in the next game against Atlanta as well.”

Herbers wasn’t alone in catching the scoring bug Wednesday night. Robert Berić got things started 15 minutes into the match with his third goal in three games, his fifth on the season overall. Medrán is receiving plaudits from around the league for his dazzling solo run and finish just before halftime. Watch it again, seriously. For good measure, CJ Sapong then capped things off with a penalty kick finish in the 89th minute. It was Sapong’s first goal of 2020, which he dedicated to his newborn daughter.

“(Before tonight) we were not the worst team, now we are not the best,” captain Francisco Calvo said of the scoreline. “We are just an honest team, always trying to win, always want to perform well. Sometimes things don’t go our way. We’re just going to keep the momentum. On Sunday we have another big game at home. We're gonna get three points, we've got to make (things) better at home, we're not going to drop any more points at home, hopefully. So (we) just have to be humble. The things are going to come if we just work and we commit.”

The Fire now shift gears into a visit from Atlanta United on Sunday night at Soldier Field (6:30 p.m. CT | WGN, ESPN+). Calvo and Herbers were part of a separate explosive scoring outburst when the Five Stripes last came to town, each scoring as part of a five-goal first half last July in a 5-1 win at SeatGeek Stadium.

“I mean, I’d rather win four times 1-0, than then one time 4-0,” Herbers said. “But now we got to keep it going, the momentum was good, I think, like I said we showed what the team is capable of if we stay engaged, and stay positive, with good energy on the field and be better on both ends of the field. I think we can get another three points against Atlanta and then we can really make a playoff push in the last final games.”