BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – The Fire came into the inaugural edition of the Chicago Sister Cities International Cup with high hopes for the tournament. Chicago hadn’t won a match in their last three heading into the tournament and the club was hoping to use the two games to get back on track.
“Hopefully this little mini break [from league play] can get us going,” Fire winger Patrick Nyarko told MLSsoccer.com ahead of the tournament. “Hopefully we’ll win the tournament to give us that added confidence going into our next league game.”
Unfortunately for the Fire, they came nowhere near to fulfilling Nyarko’s hopes of winning the tournament. A 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the opening round and a 3-0 drubbing to Legia Warsaw in the consolation game relegated the tournament hosts to last place – and left Chicago reeling heading into this Thursday’s return to league play against FC Dallas.
Of particular concern to head coach Carlos de los Cobos was the Fire’s poor finishing throughout the tournament. Chicago registered 23 shots against Warsaw, but failed to capitalize on any of its chances.
“We didn’t complete [our] opportunities,” he said after the Fire’s loss to Legia. “We have to be more efficient. That’s no secret; we have to be more efficient.”
Back on the map
Midfielder Justin Mapp returned to action for Saturday night’s game for the first time since sustaining a hamstring injury against Chivas USA on May 1. Mapp looked decent playing on the right side of the field.
“[I feel] pretty good,” he said. “I’m a little sore, but fine for the most part.”
Bone to pick
Fire rookie Corben Bone saw his most significant playing time of the season this Saturday, getting the start and going the first 57 minutes of the Fire’s 3-0 loss to Legia. Bone looked good in his home debut, distributing the ball nicely and creating two fantastic first half chances.
“I thought I made some pretty good passes and moved around a lot,” Bone said. “It felt great just to be out there with the guys and play a real game.”
Bone played the role of supporting striker, lining up behind Dimitrov with freedom to roam around the attacking third.
“I think that [position] fits my qualities the best,” Bone said. “Get the ball in between midfielders and defenses and turn and create problems through passes. I think it’s a great position for my type of player.”
But Bone’s solid play didn’t prevent him from being subbed off in the 57th minute for Marco Pappa – a move that he was marginally disappointed by.
“I wanted to play a little bit more,” said Bone. “I haven’t played that much lately and it was the beginning of the second half. I hadn’t really gotten into the game yet and got taken off. So I’m a little upset about that, but what can you do but move onto the next one?”
Sam Stejskal covers the Chicago Fire for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached at sam.h.stejskal@gmail.com.
