Must win: Chicago Fire vs Detroit City U.S. Open Cup Preview
Sixty-seven days after the Chicago Fire’s first home game of the season, the team will host Detroit City FC in the first U.S. Open Cup match of their campaign. In a sense, the game was always going to be must-win: Given the single-elimination nature of the tournament, advancing and winning – whether after 90 minutes, extra time, or penalty kick shootout – are perfect synonyms.
The Fire, however, are under added pressure to win on Wednesday against Detroit City. The team is now in its fourth month of competitive soccer since Gregg Berhalter took control of the team as head coach and director of football, still looking for their first home win. After a promising March, when the team went undefeated with three road wins and two home draws, the Fire are in the midst of a six-game winless slide, conceding a team-record seven goals in Nashville two weeks ago.
Despite the results, the team has shown signs of promise: The tactical identity is clearer under coach Gregg Berhalter than it has been in years. Hugo Cuypers, who barely scraped his way to double-digit goals after being deprived of service last year, is tied atop the MLS Golden Boot race with seven goals. The team’s plan to cultivate local talent is starting to bear fruit. And even if the 0-0 draws count as moral victories at best, the fact that the team stared wn Lionel Messi and Inter Miami for 90 minutes and played a majority of last week’s contest against Orlando City down a man without conceding says something positive about the team.
Still: The Fire need a win. They need one in front of home fans so that they can feel the progress that they’ve seen on the pitch. They need one for themselves, to give them confidence as they continue to develop their identity.
A win in the U.S. Open Cup – a competition that has long been a core part of the Fire’s identity -- at SeatGeek Stadium, the team’s former home and site of the 2006 U.S. Open Cup win that remains the team’s most recent major trophy victory, would be almost poetic.
Detroit City won’t be an easy opponent
Although Detroit City are from the second-tier USL Championship, don’t expect them to be pushovers: The team currently sits in fourth place in the 12 team Eastern Conference, and mirror the Fire’s record perfectly, going undefeated in their past six matches in all competitions.
They will also be motivated: Lower division clubs – and a lot of neutrals – like nothing more than “cupsets” against higher-division opponents. They will take to the pitch knowing that there are players on the Chicago roster who are getting paid more than Detroit’s entire squad. Detroit City and the Chicago Fire represent two of the largest sports markets in the country, playing each other in the world’s game for the first time. They would love nothing more than to be richer, first-division club from the larger Midwestern city out of the competition.
“That was the first thing we said in the meeting,” Berhalter said speaking to reporters a day before the match. “The game won’t be about tactics or skills, it’ll be about intensity, matching their intensity. We’ve been around – all of us have been around long enough to know about these games, when you play lower division teams, what it means to them, and rightfully so. The Open Cup is a great opportunity to show what you can do. Sof or us, it’s about matching that intensity, and really, putting our stamp on the game.”
Berhalter to field a strong squad
The last time the Chicago Fire had a new head coach going into the U.S. Open Cup, they made a highly unceremonious exit in their first game against third-division Union Omaha.
Gregg Berhalter, it seems, will not be repeating the mistake of his predecessor who fielded a lineup that featured a number of backup players and unproven talent (ironically, including Jhon Durán in first start at Soldier Field).
“We’re going to play a very strong team,” Berhalter said, including Chris Brady, who is eligible to play in this match but will be suspended on Saturday against Atlanta United after a red card last week. “[Jack] Elliott defender, Hugo [Cuypers] we’re going to play up top, Maren will play, [Jonathan] Bamba will play. We’re playing a really strong team. In midfield, we’ll probably mix it up a little bit, but you know… it’s a strong midfield. We’re going strong. [Andrew] Gutman’s going to play. We’re going to put a really, really strong team on the field.”
While the Fire might not field the exact starting XI that you’ll see on Saturday (or the week after), it also presents a chance for players who haven’t been able to crack the starting lineup, with Berhalter stating that the match will present an opportunity for players who are on the “cusp” of the starting lineup an “opportunity to show it on the field, we know we need depth and this is a great opportunity” for players in that situation.
Berhalter and company will hope that the strong lineup will show up motivated to make a statement win in a competition that has significant meaning to the team’s diehard fans. Will the Fire win? One way or another, it feels like they must. Whether they do or not will be about outhustling a motivated opponent who will undoubtedly be cheered on by a group of travelling supporters that may be outnumbered but who will likely make up for any deficit in numbers with greater intensity of their own.
