Chicago Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton got some extra assistance before he faced down Wizards forward Eddie Johnson on a penalty kick Saturday evening at Arrowhead Stadium.
"I got a tip from the sidelines on that," said Thornton. "They said go to my left, so I trusted them and went to my left. Luckily, he went to the left."
The first half save was credited to Thornton, but an assist goes to the Fire coaching staff. They had done their homework on Johnson, and even though Johnson later scored on a rebound, the first half save allowed the Fire to come away from Kansas City with a 1-1 draw.
Thornton helped keep the Fire in contention with his stellar play. Thornton didn't have to rely on tips in order to anticipate well against the Wizards.
"Zach was very sharp, he was seeing things early, he was active," said Fire coach Dave Sarachan. "Obviously the penalty kick (save) I thought was great. In terms of him waiting it out, he kept us in the game quite frankly."
The Wizards offense took 20 shots for the game. Nine of them were on goal. The Fire defense was feeling the stress of the firepower of the Wizards.
"They were under pressure," said Sarachan. "They did the best they could under the circumstances."
The general consensus in both locker rooms was that the Fire were fortunate to leave Kansas City with a point.
"They put a lot into it," Sarachan said. "At the end of the day we kept them to one goal, and we come out with a point."
The trio of Johnson, Davy Arnaud and Josh Wolff are a powder keg of offensive weaponry. Johnson and Wolff were just named to the U.S. team for the World Cup.
"All three of them have the pace and mobility to unnerve defenders," Sarachan said. "They found themselves in good spots today where we couldn't catch up to them."
The scoreboard clearly showed a tie. The Wizards dominated but failed to get a win at home due to the Fire's defensive effort.
"We've had success coming to their building," Sarachan said. "It's a good healthy rivalry. You've got two teams that compete well. I thought it showed tonight."
The Fire improved their all-time record against the Wizards to 15-6-4. Sarachan thought this was a typical match between the two teams.
"The scale may be tipped in their favor tonight when you look at the stats," Sarachan said. "These are the kinds of games that we have a lot."
Thornton's game stood out, and the veteran goalkeeper said he thinks the match might be a turning point for the Fire.
"I think we're making strides in the right direction," said Thornton. "We wanted to come in tonight and prove that we could play with one of the best teams in the league."
Thomas Foote is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
