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GAMETHREAD: Chicago v Columbus, USOC 5th Rd, NOW

#cf97 fields a strong side against decimated visitors, who leave best players on bench at the start

Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Remember this: Football is fickle. It turns this way and that. It has a way of humbling one.

Still, the anxieties of Fire fans had to be eased by the announced lineups for tonight's U.S. Open Cup fifth-round round tie at Toyota Park. Chicago's starters were familiar names: Johnson; Shipp; Magee. A double pivot of Big Red and Wolverine. The same loose 4-2-2-2 we saw (for 50 minutes) against Pittsburgh.

Columbus' lineup was something a bit different - naturally, since they have only 15 senior players fit and available for the the game:

The bench was where the familiar Names In Yellow huddled, perhaps having a bit of a lie down on the copious bench space left by only naming four of seven possible substitutes:

Of course football is fickle. Of course anything can happen on a sodden field in a single-game knockout. But as a Fire supporter, it's hard to look at these lineups and feel anything other than confident this evening.