Heading into their match against Cruz Azul, Chicago had been successful in their two previous friendly matches, going on to defeat Polish side MKS Cracovia in June and tying Scottish powerhouse Celtic FC in July.
When the Fire met Cruz Azul in Bridgeview on Wednesday, the outcome they had hoped for was spoiled by Jared Borgetti in the 25th minute on a penalty kick for a 1-0 Cruz Azul win at Toyota Park. Chicago outshot its opponent 9-4, but goalkeeper Yosgart Gutierrez refused to give into the Fire's explosive offense as he collected six saves to preserve the Mexican Primera Divisi ón club's win and shutout.
Chicago coach Juan Carlos Osorio had most of his club's regular-season starters on the bench to start the contest.
Chicago created its first scoring opportunity in the fourth minute when midfielder Floyd Franks sent a cross through the penalty box that found Calen Carr. The opportunity was wasted though as Carr struggled to get the ball under control, enabling the Cruz Azul defenders to recover.
The Mexico City-based club despite being outshot, put pressure on the Fire defense. Their efforts were rewarded in the 25th minute of the match.
A breakdown in the Fire defense as Cruz Azul's Gregorio Torres dashed toward a pass led to the penalty kick that proved to be the difference in the match.
Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch was singled for the foul when he tried to beat Torres to the ball, but instead knocked down the Mexican midfielder. Borgetti then buried the penalty kick, beating Busch high and to the left.
The match turned physical as Chicago's Carr and John Thorrington each received yellow cards in the 27th and 35th minutes, respectively. Cruz Azul midfielder Gabino Velasco was also issued a yellow card in the 28th minute.
Cuauhtemoc Blanco was finally able to break free in the 38th minute for his first shot on goal but his 20-yard missile was saved with little effort by Azul goalkeeper Gutierrez.
It may have been a friendly but tempers continued to flare in the 45th minute.
Blanco was dribbling with the ball in the Fire's offensive third of the field when he got tangled up with Azul defender Adrian Cortes. Blanco took exception to the hard foul, causing the two men to be separated. Cortes went on to receive a yellow card for the foul.
Osorio made three substitutions to start the second half as he replaced Blanco, C.J. Brown and Dasan Robinson with Diego Gutierrez, Logan Pause and Gonzalo Segares. The Cruz Azul head coach Sergio Markarian made moves of his own, taking out Cortes and midfielder Edgar Andrade and swapped in defender Rogelio Chavez and midfielder Isreal Lopez.
Chicago would create their fair share of chances to even up the score in the second half. And perhaps their most impressive opportunity came in the 68th minute.
Segares stepped up to take a free kick just on the fringe of the Cruz Azul penalty arc, it was on point but deflected by Gutierrez's left hand for the save. Franks then immediately headed the deflection on net, but the midfielder's shot hit the right post, failing to find the back of the net.
John Thorrington also helped put pressure on the Cruz Azul defense in the second half with shots in the 71st and 74th minutes. Unfortunately for Chicago, his two attempts were brilliantly saved by Gutierrez. Busch helped keep his club in the contest making his first save of the night in the 81st minute when Gabino Velasco sent a 50-yard shot toward the Fire goal.
Unfortunately, the Fire wouldn't go on to create any more scoring opportunities and failed to even up the match.
Timothy Hilton is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
