Following the disappointing draw at home to lowly Montreal last weekend, the Fire are now playing the role of playoff spoiler for the next few weeks, starting with Friday’s match in Kansas against Sporting KC (7pm CT on My50). SKC are in the middle of a rotten run and are sliding down the standings in the East. Here are some things took keep an eye on from a tactical perspective.
Replacing Sega – continuing with the Alex experiment or going with Greg Cochrane
During the Fire’s recent spell of two games in four days, coach Frank Yallop decided to experiment with Alex at left back in the midweek match against the Philadelphia Union. With Gonzalo Segares suspended, Yallop must now decide whether to continue with Alex or go with the youngster Greg Cochrane against SKC tonight.
Against Philadelphia, Alex struggled to deal with the Union attack, especially in 1v1 situations. With SKC’s 4-3-3 formation, the Fire outside defenders will be under a lot of pressure this evening. With that in mind, a thirteenth start of the season for Gregg Cochrane, could be in the cards. Cochrane has looked solid when filling in for the veteran Segares this season, most notably when the Costa Rican was out with an ankle injury.
In some previous matches where Cochrane started, the opposing teams would target the young left back. Cochrane struggled in matches where the Fire’s opponents would try and get a bigger target striker isolated on the defender, especially on set pieces.
If SKC start CJ Sapong tonight, the Fire defense must not allow the striker to try and exploit Cochrane, provided he is in the eleven for the Men in Red. SKC also possess the attacking prowess of Graham Zusi who is always looking to get balls into the box for his teammates. Cochrane or Alex will have a difficult challenge dealing with the American international.
Taking advantage of the SKC’s weakness on the outside – getting 1v1 against Julião and Sinovic’s replacement
Since the season-ending injury to Chance Meyers, SKC hasn’t been able to find a suitable replacement at right back. Young defender Julião looked very uncomfortable last weekend against D.C. United and with the suspension of left back Seth Sinovic, SKC look to be very exploitable on the outsides this evening.
Patrick Nyarko showed some flashes of his old self in last weekend’s match against the Impact and the game in Kansas provides him with a perfect platform to improve on last week’s performance. Because of his injury problems this season, Nyarko has not been able to forge a partnership with Lovel Palmer on the right and tonight provides another opportunity for both players to develop this.
On the other side of the field, I expect Grant Ward to try and pin back Julião whenever possible. D.C. clearly targeted Julião last week and most of their chances came from attacks down his side.
A major problem for the Fire this season has been getting enough men in the box to challenge for the crosses that come in. Quincy Amarikwa cast a lonely figure for much of the match against Montreal, with players not getting forward to support the Fire’s #24.
This improved slightly in the second half, but I would like to see a lot more support for Amarikwa in Kansas this evening. If the Fire indeed target the SKC outside backs, little will come to fruition if the Men in Red do not have players the danger area to take advantage of positive play on the wings.
Punishing SKC’s high defensive line – getting behind the SKC back four
One of the most startling aspects of SKC’s match in D.C. last weekend was the dangerously high line played by the back four. Despite the number of times D.C. got behind the Kansas City defense, there seemed to be little adjustment to that threat.
In transition, the SKC defense did not look unified and compact, and players like Fabian Espindola and Luis Silva were able to get between the defenders and cause trouble. I look for the Fire to exploit this weakness, if SKC obliges again tonight.
Aurelien Collin is expected to return for KC against the Fire which should provide more solidity, but the brilliant movement of a player like Amarikwa can also force gaps in defenses. Players like Nyarko, Ward, and Shipp need to take more offensive gambles and try to exploit the spaces in between the SKC defenders or behind the defensive line.
With Kansas City so desperate for points after this awful run of results, the Fire attackers must be ready to exploit any mistakes made by the home team as they look to stop the rot.
Prediction: The Fire prolong SKC’s misery – 1-1 with a goal from Patrick Nyarko.
