Was it a push or wasn’t it a push? Brian McBride sold it, and that’s all that mattered for the Chicago Fire. On the road, whether it’s conventional, or panicky, or lucky, a win is a win. And they did it on the home grounds of the top point leaders in Major League Soccer.The Fire scored two goals late in the second half and defeated Western Conference-leading Chivas USA, 3-2, on Thursday night at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored two penalty kicks - one in stoppage time in the second half - and Patrick Nyarko contributed a game-tying goal as the undefeated Fire improved to 5-0-6 and 21 points to extend their Eastern Conference lead. Chivas USA (7-2-3, 24 points) lost for the first time at home this season.
In the closing moments, McBride drew a foul from Mariano Trujillo. Replays showed there might have been some minimal contact. In any event, Blanco took the PK for the second time past Chivas goalkeeper Zach Thornton for the victory, capping off a perfect 3-0 road trip. Blanco now joins the Mexican National Team in preparation for training for a World Cup qualifier and will not be available Sunday when the Fire host FC Dallas at Toyota Park.
Blanco’s other PK came in the 25th minute. Before netting the goal, Wilman Conde’s jersey was pulled by Chivas defender Shavar Thomas on a ruling that was assisted by the sideline referee.
The turning point of the match was when Chivas midfielder Jesse Marsch was called for a second yellow card in the 63rd minute. Chivas had a 2-1 lead at that point and actually continued to find some chances to add to the lead.
But in the 89th minute, Chicago came up big with two of their second-half substitutes. Midfielder Justin Mapp played a ball from the left side that ricocheted off of Shavar Thomas and went through to Nyarko, who netted the game-tying goal past Thornton.
The Fire’s offensive efforts erased some lackluster defensive moments in the first half that allowed Chivas to take a 2-1 lead into the half. In the 16th minute, Paulo Nagamura had space to work with and made a deep, right-footed strike that tailed slightly away from Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch’s left, but was plausible to make a save. In the 35th minute, Fire defender Bakary Soumare was called for a trip against Maykel Galindo. And in the 37th minute, Galindo took the PK for a 2-1 lead.
Next up: The Fire return to Toyota Park for the first time since May 9 when they host FC Dallas at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 31. The game is televised on My50.
SlideTackles.net thoughts: Chicago pulled a magic rabbit out of a hat and everything worked in the Fire’s favor when it looked like they were in line for their first defeat of the season.
For most of the game, Chivas defended the likes of McBride and Chris Rolfe quite well, limiting their touches. And on the Fire defense, they started to fall back into some isolated mistakes or shortcomings in marking that nearly cost them as a whole. They gave up too much space for Nagamura’s deep strike, and Busch knows he probably should have stopped the shot, too. Then there was Soumare’s decision to lunge at Galindo resulting in a penalty. It was not necessary because he had some good help to his right from John Thorrington.
All that said, the Fire pressed on, and credit head coach Denis Hamlett with making some key substitutions in Nyarko and Mapp for Tim Ward and Marco Pappa, respectively. Libertyville native and UIC product Baggio Husidic made his debut and made a good run in the 87th minute, just before Nyarko’s game-tying heroics.
The Fire should be in decent shape for Sunday’s game against Dallas, despite the absence of Blanco. The PK attempts were clutch, and he made a couple of passes late in the game that were on cue. But beforehand, his passing was sub par and his field vision was off the mark. Mapp can definitely play more of a role against Dallas.
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