The Kansas City Wizards lost their fourth game in a row on Tuesday night, this time falling to the Chicago Fire by a 1-0 score at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. Andy Herron scored the only goal of the game on a bicycle kick shortly after the halftime break.
The Fire started off the game against a formidable formation of three strikers, a tough prospect even before realizing that they are comprised of U.S. national team members Eddie Johnson and Josh Wolff, and Davy Arnaud. The match was Johnson's first since returning from Germany.
Despite the skill and ability of these three, the Fire back line of C.J. Brown, Gonzalo Segares and rookie Dasan Robinson looked cool under pressure.
The midfield looked confident as well, with Thiago early on making tackles and long passes to spur on the offense.
Ten minutes into the match, Chicago got its first good chance on net. Midfielder Ivan Guerrero crossed the ball to striker Nate Jaqua, who headed it high into the air for an easy catch by Wizards goalkeeper Will Hesmer.
Three minutes later, Herron would chase a loose ball into the box and take a shot that deflected for the corner kick. The Fire kept producing chances, they just could not finish.
In the 16th minute Robinson got into the action, tackling Johnson to stop an attack and then heading out a shot by Wolff.
Former Wizards midfielder Diego Guttierez came up big defensively in the 35th minute for the Fire, sacrificing his body to make a good tackle on Johnson and prevent a chance on goal.
A minute later, Guttierez again made a good defensive play with a clearing header that was then quickly passed to the flank. But Fire 'keeper Zach Thornton pulled down the tough cross in the 6-yard box.
But things started going the Fire's way after the break. Within minutes they were creating chances, getting headers and shots towards goal.
In the 49th minute, the Fire finally got their goal. Midfielder Justin Mapp delivered a cross from the left to Herron in the center of the box. Herron touched the ball high over his head, and with his back to the net, he successfully attempted a bicycle kick that put the ball into the far corner of the net to put the Fire up 1-0.
In the 69th minute, Fire 'keeper Thornton made a good save to keep the one-goal lead. With five minutes left to play, Guerrero made a great defensive play to stop Johnson. Johnson was slow to get up after the clean tackle, holding his left leg.
Chicago held on for their third straight home win and will look to make it four straight as they host the New England Revolution on Saturday. The Wizards, meanwhile, have now lost four straight and aim to stop the streak on Saturday in a visit to the Colorado Rapids.
Jack Daniel Chavez is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
