An undermanned and overmatched Toronto FC side was humbled by the Chicago Fire by a 3-0 result on Sunday afternoon at BMO Field.
Goals from Ivan Guerrero, Calen Carr and Floyd Franks snapped Chicago's six-game winless streak and notched the Fire just their second victory since the end of April. Goalkeeper Matt Pickens collected his fifth clean sheet of the season and third in a winning effort.
Eighteen-year-old David Monsalve made his professional debut in goal for TFC, fresh from the MLS emergency goalkeeper pool due to injuries to Greg Sutton and Sam Reynolds. Monsalve, a Toronto resident and Canadian under-20 national team performer, become the youngest goalkeeper to start a game in MLS history, about eight months younger than Tim Howard when he started for the MetroStars in 1998.
Monsalve showed his mettle by stopping three shots in the first 11 minutes. The young 'keeper deflected headers from Carr and Chad Barrett from within the box, and also stopped a close-range shot from from a charging Barrett.
The match marked the official MLS debut of Cuauhtemoc Blanco, after the striker played and scored in Chicago's friendly with Celtic FC last Sunday. The Mexican star played a role in the Fire's first goal when his well-placed pass in the 37th minute found midfielder Guerrero on the left side of the Toronto penalty area.
Guerrero outran TFC midfielder Chris Pozniak and angled a shot over Monsalve and into the upper-left corner of the net. The goal was Guerrero's first in MLS since Oct. 30, 2005, when he notched a pair in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series.
Fielding a decimated lineup with Jeff Cunningham, Ronnie O'Brien and Marvell Wynne all out with injuries, TFC couldn't muster much of an attack in their first home game since June 17. Neither of Toronto's two shots on goal in the first half presented any difficulty for Pickens. The Reds were awarded a pair of direct free kicks, but both were easily stopped by the Fire defenders.
Things didn't get better for Toronto at the start of the second half as Chicago increased its lead. The Fire were able to keep possession within the TFC penalty area in spite of numerous shaky passes and a number of Reds defenders trying to interfere. The ball eventually bounced to Carr, who sent a chip shot towards the right side of the net. Monsalve showed his inexperience by mistiming his dive as the ball rolled inside the right post.
It was Carr's second goal of the season and he nearly had his third in the 74th minute. Carr took a pass from Franks in the Toronto penalty area and sent a close-range shot that bounced off Monsalve towards the top of the net. Unfortunately for Carr, the ball bounced off both the crossbar and the post and back to Monsalve.
The Carr-Franks connection struck again the very next minute. This time it was Carr who provided the deft pass from the right flank to Franks, who collected the cross and fired it past Monsalve for the first goal of his MLS career.
TFC's offensive woes continued in the half with only one shot on goal. This came in the 64th minute, when a charge by Reds forward Danny Dichio left Pickens out of position in the penalty area. Defender Todd Dunivant pounced on the loose ball, but his shot was cleared off the goal line by a Fire defender.
The eyes of the soccer world will be on Toronto FC for their next match on Sunday. The Reds host the LA Galaxy in what is scheduled to be David Beckham's first league match in Major League Soccer. Beckham's status is currently questionable due to an injured ankle, but the Galaxy could need an international superstar to counter Toronto's dominance against Western Conference opponents. TFC have a 4-1-1 record and a plus-5 goal differential against the West this season.
The Fire head home for their next match, a meeting with the Columbus Crew on Saturday. Before the result against Toronto, Chicago's last victory came against the Crew, a 3-2 win on June 3.
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
