The Chicago Fire (7-9-5, 26pts.) out-scored the Kansas City Wizards in a 2-0 win over the Kansas City Wizards (9-8-5, 32pts.) tonight at TOYOTA PARK in front of 18,453 fans. The game-winning goal came courtesy of Fire midfielder Cuauhtémoc Blanco in the 44th minute of play off a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box. Forward Calen Carr added the insurance goal in the 86th minute with a header from point-blank range. Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch recorded his first shutout and win of the season for the "Men in Red".
In the 44th minute, Blanco carried the ball to the top of the box, faked a shot and slipped a pass to midfielder Ivan Guerrero positioned at the top of the 18-yard box. Wizards defender Kurt Morsink fouled Guerrero just outside of the penalty box, resulting in the direct free kick opportunity. Gutierrez made an initial fake over the ball and Blanco followed up with a bending ball that curled inside the left post and past Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman to give the Fire a one goal advantage heading into halftime.
The Wizards opened the second half with a shot by Sasha Victorine from just outside the 18-yard box slightly left of center, but Busch stifled the shot headed across the box toward the right post. The Fire doubled their lead late in the second half courtesy of a header from Carr. In the 86th minute, Blanco sent a short corner kick from the left side of the field to defender Gonzalo Segares. Segares returned the ball to Blanco, who sent a cross into the middle of the box and onto the head of Carr streaking to the penalty spot. Carr's header went between the legs of Hartman to give the Fire a two-goal lead.
"I think the first half was too big of a game for some of our players. We couldn't keep the ball, we kept giving it away, and we did a lot of unnecessary running. We worked very hard. The second half was a remarkable comeback and I think we tightened things up and made some adjustments. The team completely turned around and played better the second half."
The win tonight brings the Fire to 7-9-5 (26 pts.) in league play, keeping the "Men in Red" in 6th place in the Eastern Conference, six points ahead of Toronto FC and 13 points behind the conference-leading New England Revolution. The Fire return to action on Sept. 1, as Chicago travel to Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ to take on the New York Red Bulls (10-8-3 33pts.) at 6:30 p.m. CT (Comcast SportsNet).
