Home standing

You could say that noone expected the Chicago Fire to be fighting for first place in the Eastern Conference halfway through the 2003 season, but you'd be wrong. I, for one, never bought into the whole "sky is falling" argument that surrounded the team's offseason high-profile departures. While I wasn't sure how or how often the team would be able to score goals, I absolutely disagreed with the notion that this would be purely a rebuilding year, and so far, I've been right.

Right now, however, the Fire are at a crossroads. They're two points off the overall lead in MLS with a game in hand. They've got the hottest tandem of forwards in the league, with something like six of the next seven games at home. But, at the same time, Chicago will be missing some key players during the next month, and homefield advantage in Naperville isn't anything like that of downtown Chicago, where at one point, nearly a year went by without a loss at Soldier Field.

In a perfect world, this stretch would be at that stadium, and DaMarcus Beasley, Carlos Bocanegra and Andy Williams, currently playing with the national teams of the US and Jamaica for the Gold Cup, and Ante Razov, who may have to sit out at least this week with an injury, would all be available. The next month and a half offers the Fire an opportunity to establish the kind of dominance the team enjoyed in their 2000 and 2001 seasons, a chance to go for the throat of, at least, the tightly-packed Eastern Conference. As it stands, they'll have to make a go of it with a little more uncertainty, as the absence of Beasley and Williams once again calls into question the ability of the Fire's midfield to provide good service to forwards Ante Razov and rookie standout Damani Ralph. Razov might play this Saturday against DC United, but just as soon might not, after suffering an anterior soft tissue tear in his ankle in a non-contact play in last week's match.

That's going to leave a lot of the offensive burden on second-year midfielder Justin Mapp, which may be a little too much to ask from the 18-year old. More likely, expect to see a return to the longball game of the first couple of matches, only with two dedicated forwards up to receive the entry passes rather than the one from earlier in the season. With a central midfield biased more to the defensive side, look for the opposing midfield to get stretched further up the field, which should open up spots behind them for Ralph and either Razov, Nate Jaqua or Dipsy Selolwane to accept those balls. Ralph and Razov have already shown that they can break down defenses as a pair, so the lack of Williams and Beasley might not hurt too much once the ball is already in the offensive third, but getting there is going to be a challenge.

Defensively, second-year utility man Kelly Gray looked solid replacing Bocanegra against San Jose last week, although he may line up more centrally in a four-man backline this week in order to get the best 11 guys on the field. Fortunately, United forward Ali Curtis had his breakout game last week, so his speed shouldn't be a surprise. DC has struggled to find the net all season, and the Fire should be able to help them continue that trend.

On paper, the first game of this homestand has all the makings of another 0-0 draw, which wouldn't be terrible. If the Fire can hang on to second place in the absence of their stars, or even drop one spot in the standings, the team will still be in a good position going into the final third of the season. But you get the sense, as a fan, that success in this next month could make the difference between playoff contender and MLS Cup winner. Hopefully, the coaches and players get that sense as well, and establish themselves in the (family) friendly confines of Naperville as a dominant home side.