BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. ā Thierry Henry and Juan Pablo Angel will get their chances. That is inevitable, and the Fire back four knows it.
But how many chances will the Red Bullsā dangerous strike duo get? How many cracks at goal will the two Designated Players have Sunday night at Toyota Park? For their part, the Chicago are hoping that the pairās opportunities will be limited.
āThey know how the game can change in a matter of seconds,ā Fire defender C.J. Brown said of Henry and Ćngel. āWe just have to be focused and in tune the whole game and limit their chances as much as possible.ā
How will the Fire go about limiting those chances? According to Brown, Chicago canāt let Henry and Ćngel get the ball, a process that must start with the Fireās own strikers.
āIt starts with the forwards,ā Brown said. āIf they can put pressure on [New Yorkās] backs so that they donāt play nice balls to their forwards, and if our midfielders are smashing down when it gets to [New Yorkās] forwards, then it becomes difficult for them. I think, overall, weāve done that fairly well all year, so weāre going to hope to continue that.ā
When Henry and Ćngel get their touches, Brown said Chicago ideally want them to have their backs to the goal.
āYou donāt want [Henry and Ćngel] to face you dribbling,ā Brown said. āThe advantage is for them then.ā
Brown added that Chicago will have to establish a fluid strategy if they are to effectively deal with New Yorkās forward tandem.
āYou canāt sit there and say, āAlright, Iām just going to be tight to them the whole game,ā because both of them will figure out a way to get loose and make that opportunity,ā Brown said. āIf you focus only one way on them, it wonāt work.ā
But Chicago canāt afford to focus solely on the Red Bullsā striking tandem, not when New York have plenty of other attacking options in midfielders Joel Lindpere, Mac Kandji and Dane Richards.
Fire defensive midfielder Logan Pause thinks particularly highly of Lindpere, who scored the lone goal in the Red Bulls 1-0 defeat of the Fire on March 27.
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āI rate him really highly,ā Pause said of the Estonian playmaker. āI think he might be one of the most underrated players in the league. Heās dynamic and very good with the ball.ā
All things considered, the Fire are excited for the tough challenge that awaits them on Sunday.
āWeāre excited about where weāre at,ā Pause said. āWeāre coming off a big win, getting guys healthy and getting [DPs] Freddie [Ljungberg] and Nery [Castillo] to join our team. This is a great time for our team and this organization and weāre looking forward to Sunday.ā
Sam Stejskal covers the Chicago Fire for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at sam.h.stejskal@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @samstejskal.