Galaxy Needs Fast Antidote for Fire in MLS Semifinals
Speed and Hristo Stoitchkov, that’s what the Galaxy has to counter if it is going to win Game 2 of its Major League Soccer semifinal series against the Chicago Fire tonight at Cal State Fullerton.
Three days ago the teams tied, 1-1, a game the Galaxy players believe they should have won.
If the Galaxy can prevail tonight, however, all it will need is another tie in Game 3 at Soldier Field Wednesday night to reach the Oct. 21 MLS championship in Columbus, Ohio.
Much will depend on the availability of Chicago midfielder Peter Nowak. With him, the Fire is a better team than the Galaxy, but without him, the Galaxy has the edge.
Nowak has a bruised right knee and whether he plays will be a game-day decision for Chicago Coach Bob Bradley. If Nowak is sidelined, Stoitchkov, Bulgaria’s 1994 World Cup hero, becomes a bigger key to the game’s outcome.
“He’s one of the more difficult players to play against,” Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid said of Stoitchkov.
“He plays the forward position in a very unorthodox manner, where he’s not always on the front line, he looks for spaces. He knows how to find the gap between your back line and your midfield, so he doesn’t drop too deep.
“And he’s clever. I mean, the experience that he has, the cleverness that he has, he knows when to get forward at the right times. Whereas a young player will make 15 runs forward and get the ball three times, Stoitchkov will make four runs forward and get the ball four times, and every one is goal-dangerous. And that’s just experience.”
Stoitchkov is a threat when he is anywhere within shooting distance of the net, but at 35, he has trouble keeping up with an exceptionally fast Fire team, with DaMarcus Beasley the fastest off all.
To counter that speed, the Galaxy has Cobi Jones--still suffering from a stiff neck Friday after a brutal Game 1 tackle by Evan Whitfield--Peter Vagenas and Adam Frye.
Frye likely will start in place of Ezra Hendrickson, whose hip injury is responding to treatment, according to trainer Ivan Pierra, but not fast enough to have him at 100% by tonight.
Frye has progressed tremendously this season and his ability to play either as a forward or as a defender has been invaluable to Schmid.
“We’ve got to get numbers behind the ball and not allow them to counterattack us at speed,” Frye said.
The Galaxy also gets defender Danny Califf back from a one-game suspension, which should bolster the back line. Califf learned a few lessons watching Wednesday’s tie from the bench.
“I think we need to find a way to work out the midfield problem because they basically have two guys more than us in there,” he said. “We’re getting exposed a lot.”
The Fire plays a 3-5-2 formation, whereas the Galaxy usually employs a 4-3-3 system. But the Fire often seems more mobile, changing positions and launching attacks from every angle.
“They seem to get the ball and be able to run at us too much,” Califf said. “If we have a couple more bodies in there [in the midfield], maybe we can eliminate it.”
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
GALAXY TONIGHT
vs. Chicago Fire, 7
Site--Titan Stadium, Cal State Fullerton.
Radio--KRLA 870, KTNQ 1020 (Spanish).
Tickets--(877) 342-5299.
Update--The Galaxy-Fire winner plays the Miami Fusion-San Jose Earthquake winner in MLS Cup 2001.
