Firing Away on Tape Delay: San Jose Earthquakes at Chicago Fire

Circumstances -- and a gig that paid for more than half of my season tickets -- prevented me from attending the home opener, but I'm going to have thoughts as I watch it tonight, so why deprive you of them?

• [PREGAME] Eh, Brian McBride is an important player, but he's not exactly a "glue guy." That's a quibble, though. And sorry, Chris, that's not actually ironic. Also a quibble.
• [PREGAME] In other sports, someone would get fired for how badly that toss went for the Dykstra interview. Wow.
• [PREGAME] And now we get the Baggio/Lowry midfield, along with Umanzor on the left, which shouldn't be surprising. Even if Krol wasn't out of favor with de los Cobos, I could imagine he would sit this out after that plane crash that killed Poland's president.
• [1'] At some point we're going to have to stop making excuses for Andrew Dykstra. Terrible distribution in the back, and San Jose almost makes him pay.
• [3'] Baggio with a bad pass, Conde with a badly missed tackle, and this isn't off to a great start here. C.J. Brown takes Baggio aside and explains that we're the ones wearing red.
• [6'] Baggio sends a wicked ball into McBride, but it doesn't amount to anything, and doesn't hide the fact that Husidic has looked exceptionally soft so far.
• [7'] That's a bit better for the Fire, with Lowry hitting Nyarko on the wing, and Nyarko getting a good cross in that's just past McBride on the far post. If he can keep providing that kind of service, it'll be a really good development.
• [11'] More good buildup from the fire, and again it's Nyarko sending the ball in the box off a feed from McBride, but Collins John somehow finds a way to put it wide. One name suspiciously absent from this burst of offense? Marco Pappa.
• [17'] A bit of a war of attrition in the midfield, with players falling down all over the place. Eventually, San Jose works their way downfield and wins a corner kick. They take it way to the far post, which makes me wonder if they've noticed Dykstra's tendency to crash into defenders as he slides across the goal mouth.
• [21'] Not impressed at all with Umanzor so far, in case you were wondering. His positioning hasn't been particularly good.
• [23'] Pappa finally asserts himself, and the Fire have another good chance as a result. Collins John gets a really quick shot off after Husidic is denied the entry pass, and that's exactly what I want to see from him.
• [25'] Chicago's defense not inspiring confidence. I don't even know where to start on the suckage on this particular play, but nearly everyone played a role. Ward missed a challenge, Brown and Conde got bunched up, Umanzor totally whiffed a tackle, and Dykstra let a ball swing right across the front of the goal. Other teams will make us pay for our insolence.
• [29'] Tim Ward almost gets tricky touch past Joe Cannon off a Marco Pappa free kick after Husidic got mugged in the midfield. Almost, but not quite.
• [33'] Pappa with a good rip that gets wide. He's getting warmed up, and I don't know if flipping to the right was the answer, because he sorta started doing some damage before he and Nyarko switched sides.
• [38'] Dykstra makes his first real save of the season, I think, as Conde and Umanzor combine to let Joey Gjersten make a run right up the middle. Not sure if he made that harder than it really was, but good to make a real play none the less. Then it's a long shot right into Dykstra's bread basket as Umanzor is nowhere to be seen on the left side, allowing San Jose to get the chance.
• [HALFTIME] Some good chances for the Fire, with Brian McBride, Collins John and Patrick Nyarko looking like they're starting to gel. I'm still concerned about the defense, particularly the new guy.
• [46'] Tim Ward with a teasing ball across the box that isn't too far from the back post. And I think Carlos de los Cobos said most of the exact same things Denis Hamlett would say when interviewed -- some good chances, and we have to stay compact and organized in the back -- only it was harder to tell because of the English.
• [48'] Almost the best own goal ever, as Ike Opara gives Joe Cannon a really hot backpass that Cannon may have to touch outside the post. Either way, it's a corner kick.
• [49'] GOAL SAN JOSE! Ward scuffs a backpass, Dykstra and C.J. Brown collide as they try to recover, and Arturo Alvarez is right there to chip it over the prone goalkeeper and defender. Would not have expected the boneheaded defensive play to come from Tim Ward, to be honest.
• [52'] GOAL CHICAGO! Great response from the Fire. Patrick Nyarko does the hard work on the right side and finds Collins John, who does a great job posting up with his back to goal, laying it off for Marco Pappa, who absolutely blasts it into the top corner. Looks like Pappa is getting his shit together after an ineffective couple of games.
• [54'] Conde gets beaten badly by Arturo Alvarez -- thereby assuring Ives puts Conde on his best XI again -- but C.J. Brown bails him out with a great tackle right on the goal line.
• [58'] Dykstra does just enough to touch a San Jose corner kick away from the head of Ryan Johnson, but I'm not sure the end justifies the means. Didn't look confident.
• [63'] Krol on for Umanzor. Along with Mapp on for Husidic at halftime, I'm not sure either of these reflect well on the starters who were replaced.
• [68'] Alvarez with a quick shot that's just wide. Dykstra looks athletic getting down to cover, but as was the case last week, he looked pretty late getting down and to one side.
• [70'] Nyarko continues to make things happen, but nobody's close enough to the cross. On the ensuing play, Krol really, really wants someone to switch fields and pass it to him.
• [73'] Daniel Hernandez with a brilliant goal line clearance after Patrick Nyarko dispossessed a San Jose defender and found Collins John in front for what looked like a sure goal.
• [81'] GOAL SAN JOSE! Convey sends in a heck of a cross to find Ike Opara, who gets in front of Tim Ward to head it into the back of the net. Ward is not having his best match. Dykstra probably should have come off his line, and once again had trouble getting down low quickly enough.
• [85'] Banner in for Ward, who again, can't be happy. Nyarko put another cross in, but he's not always trying to find somebody as much as he's just trying to get the ball somewhere in the box. Cornel Glen on for San Jose.
• [90'+] Chris Doran just said Convey didn't figure in the match. What about the assist on the game-winning goal? Doesn't that count?
• [FULL TIME] Well, Carlos de los Cobos hasn't solved the Fire's problems at Toyota Park right out of the gate. Two golden chances for Collins John go begging, one on a miss and one on a goal-line clearance, and Chicago needed those goals to make up for the defensive mistakes, of which there were far too many. Last year, the team struggled to convert chances, too, but the defense was much, much better. So, why did we get rid of Denis Hamlett again?
• [FULL TIME] What else? Patrick Nyarko on the wing is reminding me a lot of DaMarcus Beasley at his best, and his crossing has been pretty good. So that's one bright spot. And maybe they'll get better, but the guys de los Cobos brought in have sorta sucked so far. Julio Martinez is behind Justin Mapp on the bench. Umanzor has to step it up or he'll be looking up at both Krol and Banner at left back.
• [FULL TIME] We lost at home to frickin' San Jose. What the hell?