The Chicago Fire grabbed a huge three points in their bid to get back into the MLS postseason chase, getting the only goal of the game to defeat the Columbus Crew on Saturday evening in a weather-delayed match at Crew Stadium.
Paulo Wanchope's goal was the only one the Fire would need for the victory. In doing so, Chicago moved ahead of Columbus by one point in the Eastern Conference standings, and the Fire also have a game in hand. The Crew saw their winless streak extended to six games with the loss, and have four of their final six games against from home.
The game opened under skies and with the Crew attacking early in a bid to put an early end to their unsuccessful streak. In the first minute they earned a free kick deep in Chicago territory, but defender Rusty Pierce was not able to head home from the free kick by Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
In the early minutes there were some rather hard challenges in the midfield as the game took on a playoff-like intensity. Several involved Schelotto, the Crew's in-season acquisition from Argentina, and Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Chicago's in-season acquisition from Mexico. After fouling Blanco for the second time in 10 minutes Schelotto was forced to leave the field with a strain to his right hamstring, removing the main focus of the Crew attack from the field.
In the 32nd minute Jacob Thomas of the Crew had a moment on the left wing and picked out forward Alejandro Moreno in the penalty area with a cross. Moreno chested down the pass and fired on the Chicago goal, but his bouncing shot bounded out of bounds, and the Crew squandered the opportunity from the resulting corner kick.
Chicago countered at the other end of the field, and fired off a barrage of their own shots on Will Hesmer and the Crew defense. Between the 34th minute and the 38th minute Wanchope recorded three of the four Chicago attempts at goal.
But in the 38th minute the Fire attack came to a sudden halt -- only it was the weather that stopped it, as referee Jozef Batko sent the teams into the locker rooms with lightning in the area, suspending the game.
After a 32-minute delay, play resumed at Crew Stadium but neither team could slosh the ball into the net in the seven minutes before the halftime break.
The early minutes of the second half saw the Crew again take to the offensive. The Crew had several dangerous opportunities from restarts, but with their field general Schelotto already out of the game, they could not capitalize.
In the 56th minute it looked as if the home side would have a chance at a goal from the penalty spot, but referee Batko did not deem Dasan Robinson's tackle of Eddie Gaven in the area worthy of a whistle.
The Fire drew first blood in the 65th minute with a quick strike from a long ball played over nearly every Crew player. Fire defender Wilman Conde was holding the ball some 80 yards from goal when he spotted Wanchope making a run down the middle.
Conde's pass bounced behind the last Crew defender, leading Wanchope directly to the Crew goal. Crew 'keeper Will Hesmer might have had a chance to corral the long pass, but slipped as he tried to charge out of his net and Wanchope took advantage, slotting home for his second goal of the year.
The Crew held the majority of possession over the final minutes, but only once were the Fire troubled, when Kei Kamara snuck through on the right side of the area. But Chicago 'keeper Matt Pickens got down to block the difficult shot.
The Fire should have doubled their lead over the closing seconds when Calen Carr twice was all alone in front of goal, but first he fired well over the bar after Chicago had a three-on-one in the Crew area, then he decided to try and pass when alone. But it mattered not -- the Fire had the goal they would need to ensure the three points on the night, and also momentarily reserved themselves a spot in the playoffs.
Nathan Linton is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
