The Chicago Fire put up quite a fight Saturday night against D.C. United. Yet despite a late push, the Fire couldn't overcome a first-half goal and fell 1-0 to their Eastern Conference rivals.
United's Fred tallied a 27th-minute goal that proved to be enough for the win. Jaime Moreno sent a corner kick into the box and Fred found an opening, stood in the right side of the box, jumped up and headed it into the net to the right of Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch for a 1-0 lead.
"We lost our concentration on our marks," Busch said. "We fell asleep a little bit. They got an easy header. We have to pay attention to our marks. Second half they had one good shot. The rest was easy."
Chicago's defense did its job, aside from the one goal. But the offense still struggled to find the net, despite 13 shots.
"I think our guys want to attack," Fire head coach Denis Hamlett said. "They still need to understand the discipline to be patient, move the ball a little more, and I think they'll create some chances. We needed to get the ball back real quick. As the home team you want to push and get the equalizer."
Chris Rolfe came close to scoring in the 44th minute. He rocketed a ball toward goal. but newly acquired United goalkeeper Louis Crayton barely got his fingers on it, sending it out for a corner kick.
In the second half, the Fire put on some fresh legs. Brian McBride made his Fire debut in the 46th minute, just a day after returning from China where he played with the U.S. Olympic team. He tallied three shots in his 45 minutes, and made some noise late in the game.
In the 88th minute, Wilman Conde sent the ball into the box. McBride shot the ball toward goal, but Crayton smothered it. McBride headed a ball toward goal in stoppage time, but the shot was blocked by a defender.
"He's a guy that I think can help us," Hamlett said. "We decided we needed something up front. He felt he could give us whatever we needed. To his credit he came in and did well holding balls, laying balls up front and got a good look on the header. We signed this guy for those reasons -- to help us make a push."
McBride said despite the loss, he's happy to be playing in his hometown.
"It's great to be playing here," McBride said. "The adrenaline takes over. I'm very excited. I definitely would have enjoyed it more if we had won. Now we have to refocus and get ready for Thursday's game."
Chicago dropped to third place in the Eastern Conference, as the Columbus Crew took over, ahead of New England, with their 2-1 win against FC Dallas. The Fire travel to Los Angeles to take on the Galaxy on MLS Primetime Thursday.
Kathryn L. Knapp is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
