Coming on the heels of an impressive 2-0 victory at New York and the highly successful Five Things Preview, I bring you a new series, “Six Things You Should Take Away from Saturday’s game at Red Bull…”
1) No Loss of Confidence – Coming off two defeats, one of which came at home to lowly Philadelphia, you can’t say enough about how the team responded in Saturday’s 2-0 win at New York.
On the surface playing Red Bull away isn’t the best antidote to break a two-game losing streak but with so few games left, earning a result there was crucial. Before the match, almost everyone would have taken a point, it’s a good sign to see the team able to rebound in such a big game headed toward the postseason.
2) Speaking of the postseason – There’s a strong possibility Saturday’s game at New York might not be the last time the Fire visit Red Bull Arena this season. Back in July, the Fire might have felt a little hard done by coming a Thierry Henry wonder-strike away from earning a valuable point at New York. Saturday, they proved they can go to Red Bull Arena (where New York is 11-2-3 this season) and get a win.
HIGHLIGHTS: Fire 2, Red Bull 0
6) Playoffs and Other Things – Jesse Marsch, Justin Mapp and the rest of the Fire contingent nearly did their old club a solid ahead of Monday’s 15th Anniversary Saturday night, coming close to knocking off the Dynamo in Houston. With the Impact’s 1-1 draw at BBVA Compass Stadium, the Fire now only require one point from their final two matches or a Columbus loss or draw Sunday afternoon against Kansas City (3pm CT MLS Live/Direct Kick) to clinch a postseason berth
Those still looking for the Fire to finish top of the East will find a conflict of interest in today’s game. With KC still having to go play at Red Bull Arena, probably the best thing to hope for is a draw in the match in order to stay just three points behind Sporting while locking down a playoff berth ahead of the international break.
Even if playoff qualification is clinched this weekend, there's something else to keep in mind. With San Jose with one hand on the Supporters Shield and Sporting KC having won the Open Cup, if the Fire were to finish third overall in the league standings the team would have a chance to qualify for the 2013-2014 CONCACAF Champions League should either team make it to MLS Cup.
Or the Fire could to that as well...