The Chicago Fire ended their string of five straight draws with their first road victory of the season, a 2-0 decision over Toronto FC on Saturday in Major League Soccer action at BMO Field. Chris Rolfe and Brian McBride (pictured) scored second-half goals as the Fire improved to 3-0-6 on the season and moved into a first-place tie with D.C. United in the Eastern Conference, with 15 points apiece.After a first half that didn’t create too many scoring chances, things picked up in the second half for both Toronto (3-3-4) and the Fire. And Chicago turned a non-call on a hand ball into a huge positive.
Fire defender Logan Pause’s left arm made contact with the ball at the top of the box as Chicago cleared the Reds’ attack, and the Fire completely turned the tide when Cuauhtemoc Blanco set up Rolfe, who made a run past Toronto defender Marco Velez and then beat Toronto goalkeeper Stefan Frei to the ball for a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute. Rolfe was a halftime substitution for Patrick Nyarko.
McBride’s goal in the 81st minute sealed the deal. Rolfe dealt the initial strike on goal, which was saved by Velez. Mike Banner kept the attack going from the left side and made a quick cross to McBride, who scored his league-leading sixth goal of the season.
Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch made three saves to post his second clean sheet of the season.
Next up: The Red Stars stay on the road to take on the New York Red Bulls for a 2 p.m. (CST) match on Sunday, May 24. The game is televised on My50.
SlideTackles.net thoughts: Everything changed for Chicago with the start of this three-game road trip. They finished their touches. And they caught quite a few breaks, which tended not to be the case in key situations on the Fire’s home stand.
Toronto’s Amado Guevara easily could have had a couple of goals, but Busch made a great save in the 60th minute and Guevara’s free kick hit the cross bar in the 71st. Chad Barrett had a good strike from the right side in the 76th minute, with Busch making the save. But the biggest break for Chicago was in the 66th minute on a Sam Cronin cross to Barrett.
Barrett was unmarked and his header went wide. He knew he blew a perfect opportunity when he covered his face. My50 Fire color commentator Chris Doran even said, “That was a freaking gift,” during the broadcast.
That Fire fortune wasn’t in the air for the past two MLS matches at Toyota Park. Turns out, it was on the road all this time, and now Chicago is tied atop the East.
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