again through Thorrington. This time Justin Mapp went on a surging run down the left, leading defenders in his wake before driving a low cross into the heart of the box for Thorrington to put first-time high into the goal.
• There were some anxious moments ahead for the home side as Colorado halved the lead two minutes later. Christian Gomez's free kick from well out on the left slipped past the wall and Tom McManus was in behind, deflecting the ball home from close range for his first MLS goal. But it was as close as the Rapids got.
• Fire head coach Denis Hamlett made no changes to the team that went down to a 1-0 defeat to the Kansas City Wizards the previous Sunday.
• Here's Hamlett's team (4-3-1-2): Jon Busch - Brandon Prideaux, Diego Gutierrez, Bakary Soumare, Gonzalo Segares - John Thorrington, Logan Pause, Justin Mapp (Wilman Conde 89) - Cuauhtemoc Blanco - Tomasz Frankowski (Calen Carr 85), Chad Barrett (Stephen King 79). Substitutes Not Used: Andy Herron, Nick Noble, Dasan Robinson, Chris Rolfe
• "I think our attacking group played well, I think from the first minute their movement was good and they created some chances just like last week," Hamlett said. "Last week we didn't finish on those chances but tonight a different guy stepped up and finished on two. We got the win and that is the important thing."
TEAM NEWS
• The goals marked the first two of the season for Thorrington and third and fourth of his four-year career with the Fire. It might not be a lot for a four-year career, but Thorrington has only played in 15 games for the Fire during those four years. He has started the last two matches on the right side of midfield as Chris Rolfe, who started there the first two games of the year, has been out with injury for the last three.
• "I know when I'm healthy I can help this team," Thorrington said. "I don't take this job for granted. It's very satisfying that I was able to get two goals and help the team win tonight."
• The Fire have still not allowed more than one goal in any game during the season. "Defensively it's been the same all season so far. Guys in front of me: Bakary [Soumare], Diego [Gutierrez], Gonzalo [Segares], Brandon [Prideaux] - they're fantastic," said goalkeeper Jon Busch. "They are limiting a lot of what I have to do and that's good for me. I organize them and keep them tight and you know, we give up one goal or less usually almost every game so that's nice."
• The Men in Red were on track for a third clean sheet on the season until McManus got free and touched the 86th-minute freekick past Busch. "Our guys were a little disappointed we couldn't stick out a 2-0 win," Busch said. "It's nice when they're upset about giving up a goal. They wanted that shutout."
• Said Thorrington: "It's a mentality our coaching staff has instilled in us. When we defend properly, it keeps us in games. Now we're developing a good understanding as to what we each need to do individually to defend. It's making it hard for other teams to score."
• Hamlett said Thorrington's performance certainly gave him a claim to the starting right-sided midfield role, a position which was a concern before the opening of preseason. ''To be fair to Chris, he was out three weeks and had only three days of training,'' Hamlett said. ''I felt it wouldn't be the right thing [to start him], that he'd help us more as a reserve than as a starter.''
• Chicago hits the road for games at New England and D.C. United and finally returns home May 17 when the Fire will take on the Houston Dynamo.
• "We feel good," midfielder Logan Pause said. "At this point we're sitting with 10 points. We weren't happy about dropping a game at home. But it's going to be a tough road ahead of us. We're starting to get into the thick of some big conference games."
• Tuesday, the Fire finally signed Paraguayan defender Lider Marmol to a contract. The Fire acquired the rights to Marmol last year as a discovery player thanks to then-coach Juan Carlos Osorio, who then left the Fire for the New York Red Bulls. Because he was never signed to an MLS contract, Marmol went with Osorio to New York and trained with the Red Bulls this spring. But two weeks ago, the Fire convinced Marmol to return.
• "I'm excited we were finally able to come to an agreement," said Fire coach Denis Hamlett. "Lider is good in the air, and a very technical player. ... We wanted to get a player that can help us now, but it is a bonus to have someone who will be available to help us in the future."
