A wildly dramatic final 15 minutes saw Chivas USA take a late lead, give up a controversial equalizer, then score a penalty kick in stoppage time as they defeated the Chicago Fire 2-1 at Toyota Park on Saturday night.
A wicked strike from Juan Pablo Garcia gave Chivas the lead in the 77th minute. But after claims for a penalty kick for Chivas weren't given, Chris Rolfe pulled the home side level five minutes later. Yet referee Alex Prus didn't ignore a later call, and after Jonathan Bornstein was knocked over in the area, Claudio Suarez converted from the spot to give Chivas the victory.
It was the first victory away from The Home Depot Center on the season for Chivas, who ended their run of five games without a win, including three draws in a row. The Fire have now gone five games without a victory, with just one game remaining on their nine-game homestand.
Much like the crowd in attendance, the action on the field in the opening half was divided with equal chances for both sides.
Six minutes into the match Fire forward Nate Jaqua made a nifty pass strike partner Rolfe, only to have his effort thwarted by a foul that wasn't called.
Four minutes later, Chivas could have opened the scoring. Ante Razov found Garcia with a beautiful pass that left him with only Fire 'keeper Zach Thornton to beat, but he put his shot wide.
Razov, along with midfielder Jesse Marsch and Chivas head coach Bob Bradley, a long-time Fire favorite returning to the new Bridgeview stadium they helped build with their years of service, continued to cause the Chicago defense fits. In the 20th minute, Razov had a good look at goal, only to mis-hit the shot wide.
Two minutes later he juked past Fire defender Dasan Robinson outside the area and, with Thornton stranded well off his line, tried a chip from all of 30 yards away only to only to see it curl high and wide of the far corner.
The best scoring chance of the first half came with 10 minutes left when Bornstein, playing with Razov and Garcia as part of a new-look three-pronged attack, pushed his way deep to the box. He made a cut to his right to evade Robinson and fired off a shot toward the far post that was kept out only from a terrific save by Thornton.
While Chivas had the better of the play in the first half, the second half started with Chicago dominating possession and getting more chances than they had in the first 45 in a manner of minutes.
In the 58th minute, Rolfe chased down a defender from behind to keep possession in the Chivas end, and after the tackle he found Justin Mapp, who made a lovely cross to Jaqua, who headed wide although the linesman's flag went up anyway. Still, it was a sign of the Fire's ascendancy.
A minute later, Mapp again made a deep run into the box, and after taking his time he decided to take a shot, only to see it slam into the outside side netting.
Then in the 71st minute, a nice dummy pass by Rolfe found Logan Pause, who made a long pass to substitute Chad Barrett. The second-year striker got his effort on the frame, only to be denied by a diving save from Chivas USA 'keeper Preston Burpo.
With half the crowd chanting "Chivas, Chivas," it seemed a goal was inevitable, especially as the visitors began to play with more urgency.
In the 77th minute, Chivas finally found the opening. Bornstein slid a simple pass to Garcia outside the area and he squared to shoot before hammering a fierce drive that left Thornton no chance as it flashed to his left into the upper corner to put Chivas USA ahead.
In the 80th minute, Razov received a long pass and ran into the box to his left. As he cut back, Sanneh appeared to pull him down, but referee Prus waved play on. Razov was irate, pounding his fist into the ground and then jumping around after the non-call, while Bradley certainly expressed his displeasure as he stormed up and down the touchline.
The reaction put an emotional charge into the game that benefited the Fire. They would take that advantage two minutes later.
Ivan Guerrero collected the ball in midfield and made a great through pass to a streaking Rolfe, who dribbled in on Burpo before chipping the ball over the shoulder of the diving 'keeper as he came rushing off his line for the equalizer.
Barrett nearly gave the home side the lead in the 89th minute when he regained possession in the area and sent a shot goalward, only to put it wide.
In the final minute of regulation time, a ball was floated into the Fire penalty area from the left flank. Bornstein tried to bring it down but was knocked into from behind by defender Gonzalo Segares. After a step or two forward he stumbled to the ground - and this time, Prus pointed to the spot.
Chivas captain Claudio Suarez stepped up to the penalty spot and buried the ball into the top right corner just past a diving Thornton, who guessed correctly, but still couldn't keep out the eventual game-winner, much to the delight of a good portion of the crowd in attendance at Toyota Park.
Jack Daniel Chavez is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
