CHICAGO, Ill. – Just days out from the season-opening clash with New York City FC, Chicago Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson is still unsure if he has done enough to earn a starting spot between the posts under new head coach Veljko Paunovic.
The USMNT goalkeeper joined the Fire’s preseason camp late, due to being in Jurgen Klinsmann's annual national team camp, along with fellow US call-ups Matt Polster and Brandon Vincent, and played in just two of the Fire’s five preseason outings, logging a combined 124 minutes in wins over the Philadelphia Union and Vancouver Whitecaps.
By comparison, recent signing Matt Lampson logged 161 minutes across three games, but perhaps tellingly, played the full 90 minutes and kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 victory over the Portland Timbers as the Men in Red completed an impressive preseason campaign unbeaten, lifting the Simple Invitational trophy.
That would appear to put former Columbus Crew SC goalkeeper Lampson at the head of the queue, with fellow newcomer Patrick McLain also in contention having featured in two games for 75 minutes since his switch from Sacramento Republic.
Still, is all this evaluating the options at hand before a long season begins, or is there a true goalkeeper competition heading into the season?
“He did very well, they all have to work and earn it,” Paunovic said of Lampson when talking to reporters at the Fire’s 17th Annual Season Kickoff Luncheon in Chicago on Monday. “This week and every week, everyone has to earn his spot and they are working very good and we are very happy with that. We believe that that’s the approach that we have to have in order to have all our guys 100 percent for every session and for every game.”
As you’d expect, Paunovic gave nothing away on how that decision would be made, but it is clear from the outset that competition for places throughout the roster will be intense.
“We are working on that, we have seven days to prepare the game,” he added.
Johnson played 21 of the Fire’s 34 regular season games in 2015 and begins his seventh year in Chicago as the club’s longest-tenured player following the departure of Patrick Nyarko to D.C. United this offseason.
“I definitely expected to play more than I did [during preseason],” Johnson, 26, told reporters. “Playing for 75 minutes in Portland, I would have liked to have played a little bit more but that’s the coach’s decision, not mine.”
Asked if he had any indications if he would start against NYCFC (2 pm ET, MLS Live), Johnson offered a simple, “No, I’m afraid not.”
That said, the Georgia native is still looking forward to a season in which the overhauled Fire look to improve significantly on 2015’s last place finish in MLS, starting on Sunday. That is especially true now that he has put his injury woes behind him and is “100 percent” as the season approaches.
“I’m definitely excited to start the season,” he insisted. “It’s been a long stretch, if you will, from national team camp to preseason. There’s been a lot of energy injected into the team and the organization from Pauno and his staff, so it’s definitely a positive change for us, we’re adapting and trying our best to come up to speed for March 6.”
