Set plays have shockingly been very kind to the Chicago Fire this year. According to WhoScored, the Fire are tied for 2nd in Major League Soccer on set pieces goals with 12. This past Saturday against FC Cincinnati, the Fire went up against a team that is quite good at defending set pieces, and it seems like Veljko Paunovic set up a specific plan to avoid aerial confrontations with centerback Kendall Waston (6’5”). Some of the strategies can be picked out from watching open play crosses as well.
To take away the height advantage, many of the Fire’s crosses in the game were low to the ground or at waist height.