Chicago Fire 1, Columbus Crew 0: First Thoughts

Chicago Fire 1 Nikolic 27’

Columbus Crew 0

• Lineups are here!
• Pregame thought 1: So, uh. Wow. That lineup is certainly A Choice. A 3-4-1-2 setup, Basti as a defender, Campos as the #10, Nikolic in a strike partnership with Alan “I Love Yelling Homophobic Slurs At My Opponents In The Middle Of A Game” Gordon, and Katai on the bench. Either this is going to be the jolt we need to break out of the funk, or this is going to be an unmitigated disaster.
• Pregame thought 2: Kiiiiiiiiinda leaning toward the Unmitigated Disaster option tbh. I don’t see this working out well for us. I will be delighted to be proven wrong.
• Pregame thought 3: Remember last year when we didn’t go into every game with a palpable sense of dread? Good times.
• Let’s goooooooooooooooooooooooo
• 6’ Pretty spicy game in the opening few minutes. Both teams with a decent shot on goal and Kap has a yellow card. They’re both going for it. Good.
• 15’ So the Fire definitely look more organized tonight. Their attack also looks a teensy bit better, even if it’s not entirely clicking.
• 20’ Campos is doing okay as the #10 but he needs to communicate better with Niko.
• 26’ GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL NIKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CHI 1-0 CLB
• 27’ Steffen fucked up and hit a pass meant to a defender right at Niko. Our guy did what he always does. I love it.
• 28’ Tchani goes down with a knock. He looks fine, but he has to sit on the touchline for a minute or so.
• 30’ Campos gets a layoff in a dangerous position but he can’t get his feet right to capitalize.
• 34’ Kap gives the ball away cheap in the Fire’s defensive third, serving it up on a plat for Zardes. Ellis manages to step in to kill the attack, but, yikes.
• 40’ Apparently Alan Gordon puked on himself a few minutes ago. Which is very relatable, given that’s how I feel every time I see him in a Fire shirt.
• 42’ Columbus comes very close to their first goal thanks to some gawdawful set piece defending.
• 44’ Higuain is played through and hits a shot, which Sanchez barely manages to tip over the bar. I’m emotionally preparing myself for a 1-1 score at halftime.
• 45’ Campos steals the ball after a CLB corner kick and makes a lung-busting run to the other end of the pitch. No one’s there to receive a pass and the attack fizzles out, but good hustle nonetheless.
• Halftime! CHI 1-0 CLB
• Halftime thought 1: Alright, not bad. Not bad at all. If we can keep this up and make fewer dumb mistakes, we might actually win this thing.
• Halftime thought 2: For some stupid reason they’re interviewing Noted Homophobic Slur Enthusiast Alan Gordon on the touchline. Hey Paul, ask him why he loves calling people ‘f*ggot’ so much.
• Second half is underway!
• 47’ Artur picks up an early yellow.
• 49’ Basti is back in the midfield, playing something resembling a 4-3-3.
• 50’ Whatever pep talk the Crew heard in the locker room at halftime did not have the intended effect. They’ve been incredibly sloppy in the opening minutes of the half.
• 54’ Haha shoulda knocked on wood, Zardes makes a run down the right flank and hits a low cross to Higuain, who almost squeezes it inside the near post.
• 55’ But the subsequent corner comes to nothing and leads directly into a Fire counterattack. Campos with another blazing run. I think this kid’s gonna turn out alright.
• 58’ Fire almost score on a corner, Crew survive and launch a counterattack, which nearly gives That Yellow Team the equalizer.
• 59’ This game definitely isn’t boring!
• 64’ Grant Lillard makes his professional and MLS debut, coming in for Kevin Ellis.
• 65’ Ellis picked up a knock and needed to come off anyway. Hope he’s okay. Still, excited to see Lillard’s debut!
• 67’ Meanwhile the Crew have had a string of corner kicks. Trying to increase pressure on the Fire’s back end.
• 68’ <thinky emoji>

• 69’ Tchani boops a pass forward, setting up a foot race between Niko and Steffen in no-man’s land. Steffen wins— barely— but it was a good try.
• 71’ Collier comes in for Campos. Dude put in a good shift. Don’t be surprised if we name him MOTM this week.
• 72’ Zardes gets a shot past Sanchez but it hits the underside of the crossbar and bounces out. Y I K E S
• 75’ Columbus get the ball in the back of Sanchez’ net but the offside flag is up. Hoo boy.
• 77’ The visitors hit the woodwork again. This is bad. Really bad.
• 78’ The Homophobic Slur Appreciator has logged off, with Brandt Bronico checking in to the game.
• 80’ Fire are just barely hanging on here. Need a second goal.
• 84’ Sanchez has been marginally better tonight but his distribution is still really off.
• 88’ Crew are focusing less on counterattacking and more on keeping possession in the Fire’s defensive third and piling on pressure. Santos collects a bad clearance and hits a shot that just barely misses.
• 90’ Hansen follows up with another near-miss. Four minutes of stoppage time. If the Fire can hang on we get our first win of the season.
• 92’ Both teams look pretty gassed right now.
• 94’ Fire playing keepaway, Crew getting ornery in their attempts to get the ball back. One last long FK comes to nothing. Niko gets a yellow for time-wasting. Good stuff.
• Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! Final score: CHI 1-0 CLB
• Final Whistle Thought: Finally!!! Three points and a clean sheet against That Yellow Team. Man, this feels great!

Stay tuned for more postgame coverage and a full recap here on Hot Time In Old Town. In the meantime, join the conversation in the comments or on social media.