much like as he did the weekend previous in New England -- settled it outside the area and hammered home a long-range drive.
• The game then turned just before the break, when Dichio and Fire midfielder Diego Gutierrez were both sent off after they were involved in a larger fracas in the Chicago goalmouth.
• TFC was able to adjust more quickly, and retook the lead just six minutes after the break. A neat passing sequence saw Andy Welsh find Edson Buddle with a nifty touch, and he poked it wide to Kevin Goldthwaite all alone in the area. Goldthwaite ripped a left-footed drive past Matt Pickens for his first professional goal.
• The home side finished off the match 15 minutes from the end. A long ball down the right found Andrea Lombardo behind the Chicago defense, and his cross into the area found a wide-open Maurice Edu. The No. 1 pick from January's SuperDraft also made no mistake for his first professional goal and sealed TFC's first win.
• Here's Johnston's team (4-4-2): Greg Sutton - Marvell Wynne, Andrew Boyens, Jim Brennan, Kevin Goldthwaite - Ronnie O'Brien (Chris Pozniak 77), Maurice Edu, Carl Robinson, Andy Welsh (Adam Braz 87) - Edson Buddle (Andrea Lombardo 70), Danny Dichio. Substitutes Not Used: Srdjan Djekanovic, Alecko Eskandarian, David Guzman, Marco Reda
• Here's Dave Sarachan's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Pickens - C.J. Brown, Jim Curtin, Dasan Robinson (Calen Carr 70) - Justin Mapp, Logan Pause, Diego Gutierrez, Gonzalo Segares - Thiago - Chris Rolfe (Ivan Guerrero 59), Chad Barrett (Pascal Bedrossian 82). Substitutes Not Used: Jon Busch, Floyd Franks, Brian Plotkin, Osei Telesford
CHICAGO FIRE
The Chicago Fire lost for the third time in their last four matches, leaving Denis Hamlett still looking for a first victory since taking charge in a 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday night at The Home Depot Center. The Fire have 15 points from their 14 matches on the season, sitting in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, two behind sixth-place Toronto FC but still eight points behind division leaders D.C. United.
LAST MATCH
• The two teams who will welcome two of the biggest signings in league history in the coming weeks were struggling entering the game. The Galaxy had won just once in their last seven games, while the Fire had just one victory in their last nine matches.
• Twice Kyle Martino was tripped in the area, and twice Landon Donovan converted from the spot, and that was all the Galaxy needed for the victory, In the 16th minute, Martino was tripped up by Chris Armas after skipping past C.J. Brown in the area, and Donovan knocked home the spot kick.
• Then in the 87th minute Martino was held up by Ivan Guerrero, and again Donovan beat Fire 'keeper Jon Busch from the spot. It was the fifth consecutive game where Donovan had scored a penalty kick - the previous four coming while playing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup with the U.S. national team.
• The Fire managed just two shots on the night, and neither of those was on target. Both came from defender C.J. Brown on headers from set pieces, the first not coming until the 70th minute.
• Fire interim head coach Denis Hamlett made five changes to the team that played to a scoreless draw with the Colorado Rapids the previous Saturday. Jon Busch made his Fire debut, coming in between the posts for Matt Pickens, while Chris Armas, Dasan Robinson, Floyd Franks and Calen Carr all came back into the team, in for the injured Brian Plotkin and Jerson Monteiro, the suspended Bakary Soumare and Willian Oliveira, who did return to the substitutes' bench.
• Here's Hamlett's team (4-4-2): Jon Busch - Dasan Robinson (Bruno Menezes 46), C.J. Brown, Diego Gutierrez, Gonzalo Segares - Calen Carr (Thiago 70), Chris Armas, Logan Pause, Ivan Guerrero - Chad Barrett (Willian Oliveira 80), Floyd Franks. Substitutes Not Used: Jeff Curtin, Jim Curtin, Matt Pickens, Daniel Woolard
• "I think tonight was a good night for us in terms of us working on things we've talked about with keeping the ball moving, guys getting active. For the most part, we were pretty good. The issue came in the final third. I think we created, maybe, one shot on goal, two shots over all," Hamlett said. "That's the part we let ourselves down tonight. Obviously, two PKs. Last week we got a break they didn't call it, this week they called two. It's all a part of the game. We just have to deal with that part of it."
TEAM NEWS
• It was a fifth shutout in the last seven games for the Fire. Fire forward Chris Rolfe missed his eighth consecutive match with a sprained ankle while midfielder Justin Mapp was with the U.S. national team at Copa America. Cuauhtémoc Blanco could still be weeks away from joining the club as he is with Mexico at Copa America as well while Thiago played his second consecutive match after missing four games with injury.
• "That's an issue we've had. We're trying to create chances and opportunities. Right now it's very difficult for us," Hamlett said. "There's no secret I think when Justin and Chris Rolfe and Blanco and a healthy Thiago back that changes but right now this is what we have and this is what we have to deal with. We've just got to keep working."
• Hamlett also tried another variation in his team, moving Calen Carr to a wide midfield role and partnering Chad Barrett with Floyd Franks. Carr said the idea was to have him going more forward, running at defenders, rather than playing with his back to goal.
• "I thought we moved the ball pretty well. We had good possession. We moved it through the midfield pretty well. I think that we needed to get a few more good passes together and find a finishing touch," Carr said.
• Jon Busch started his first match of the season, an offseason pickup after playing five years in Columbus. Matt Pickens had played in each of the Fire's 13 regular-season games.
• "I'm happy with Jon tonight with his ability in goal and making saves," Hamlett said. "We just needed to get Jon a game. We have three games in a week and five games in a 15-day period with an Open Cup game thrown in there. I think it was just important to keep him sharp."
• Busch was helpless on the two goals, both coming as they did from the penalty spot. Busch said he was not exactly fooled but could not stop the shots from hitting the back of the net nonetheless.
• "Lately he seems to have had a lot of penalty kicks not just in the league but also with national team so you see a lot of that," Busch said. "I had a hunch he was going to hit it down the middle and I was hoping could get something on them but some days you save those and some days you don't."
TORONTO FC
Toronto FC won for the first time in club history away from BMO Field, getting a late penalty kick to defeat Real Salt Lake 2-1 in a highly charged affair Wednesday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Toronto FC now have 17 points from 14 matches, moving into sixth place in the Eastern Conference, two ahead of the Chicago Fire and just six behind division-leading D.C. United
LAST MATCH
• Real Salt Lake were coming off their first victory of the season, a 2-1 defeat of D.C. United at home, while Toronto FC were in the third game of a six-game road swing still searching for a first road victory in club history.
• Real nearly took an early lead when Robbie Findley beat TFC 'keeper Sam Reynolds with a low angled shot from the left, only to see it come off the inside of the post and back out behind the other side of the 'keeper.
• In his first game against his former team, Jeff Cunningham put TFC into the lead in the 19th minute. He ran onto a wonderful flick-on header from Danny Dichio and raced in alone, pounding a shot off the inside of the right post and into the back of the net.
• RSL pulled level just before the halftime as Alecko Eskandarian returned the favor, scoring against his former team. He converted from the penalty spot after he was bundled over in the area, sandwiched by Toronto defenders Jim Brennan and Carl Robinson.
• But Collin Samuel gave TFC their historic victory, converting a penalty of his own in the 79th minute after he was held back by Jean-Martial Kipre while trying to race deeper into the area.
• An injury forced Reynolds from the field three minutes from the end, and before he had even touched the ball, Jamie Watson got in behind the TFC defense and volleyed a ball over substitute Srdjan Djekanovic. But the ball bounced off the crossbar and over the goal.
• TFC head coach Mo Johnston made one change to the team that played to a 1-1 draw with the Kansas City Wizards the previous Sunday. Andrew Boyens was sent off in that game but Tyrone Marshall returned from suspension, coming into the back four for his Toronto debut.
• Here's Johnston's team (4-4-2): Sam Reynolds (Srdjan Djekanovic 85) - Chris Pozniak, Tyrone Marshall, Jim Brennan, Todd Dunivant - Ronnie O'Brien, Maurice Edu, Carl Robinson, Collin Samuel - Jeff Cunningham (Andy Welsh 49), Danny Dichio. Substitutes Not Used: Adam Braz, Miguel Canizalez, David Guzman, Joey Melo, Marco Reda
• "I don't think the fans would have been pleased with what they saw. I thought they were over-aggressive. We came here to play soccer, and I don't think there was much soccer played," Johnston said. "I'm disappointed in the fact, because we're a good soccer team and the tactics you saw out there tonight didn't exactly work for me. ... All together, it's three points and I'll take it any day."
TEAM NEWS
• Johnston was thrilled with the effort of Jeff Cunningham, who capped his return to face his former club with the penalty kick goal. "He's been great. He already has three goals for us and could possibly have seven or eight. He creates goals; you guys have seen him often enough. We love having him here because he's a major threat all the time," Johnston said.
• Then Cunningham went off after just four minutes in the second half, after ending the first half with some heated discussions with his former teammates, most notably Andy Williams.
• "We were concerned that he may get a red card - they were going after each other. He pulled up and pulled his groin so he needed to come off. Did it work in our favor? Probably," said Johnston. "We threw in [Andy] Welsh with (Collin Samuel) up front. I felt our guys battled well and played well in the second half. First half it was hard to play. All together three points, I'll take it any day."
• Samuel had spent the entirety of his TFC debut as a wide midfielder, where he started against RSL. But the substitution allowed the Trinidad & Tobago international to move to his preferred position. "Yeah, it's his second game. I know what Collin can do, I've seen him often enough. He's a striker - you see his movement to the goal. He drew that PK, which I felt was a red card; I feel that's the last man," Johnston said.
• It was the seventh game together for the strike partnership of Cunningham and Danny Dichio, and in that time, TFC has scored 12 goals. Of those, Cunningham has contributed three goals, Dichio four.
• "I think that guy gives me two more years on my career, because he takes so much abuse. He holds the ball up and draws defenders to himself, and it allows me to get goals like that. I am able to run at defenders, which I feel is my strength," Cunningham said. "I have always heard of players that make others better around them and I see that in him, and that is something I appreciate and am aiming to do more of, helping the other guys around me. He makes others around him better."
• Still, Cunningham said, despite the recent success and the good string of results, there is no resting on any laurels in the Toronto camp.
• "Each week you have to come and show him you deserve to be on the pitch and I have been given the opportunity so far and hopefully I can continue to score and stay in the team. He expects a lot from us and I guarantee we are going to continue to improve and he'll continue to bring in players," Cunningham said. "In other words, I'm saying I don't feel very settled, that's what I'm trying to say. But I'll tell you what, the thing is he's honest. He is going to ask for an honest effort, and if you're not able to do it he'll find someone else who can. There is no BS with him and I respect that."
