Their most famous player, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, was absent, but the Chicago Fire took advantage of the skills of another veteran star, Brian McBride, to help secure a 1-0 win Thursday against the L.A. Galaxy. In his first start, McBride played the ball to John Thorrington for the assist on the only goal of the game.
Fire head coach Denis Hamlett lauded the effort by all of his players.
"From the first whistle the team played very well. We moved the ball and created some good chances. It was a little bit unfortunate not to score a goal early, but I think in the second half we kept doing what we should have been doing, and then we got a great goal by John," he said.
When the Fire offense had trouble getting untracked, the defense of the squad kept giving them time to come up with a solution.
"They're a good team, regardless of whether they've got Landon [Donovan] and David [Beckham] in there or not,' said goalkeeper Jon Busch.
Busch and the Fire defense lead the league in shutouts, recording their ninth in the win against the Galaxy. They take pride in their ability to deny the attackers of other teams.
"Our goal is the same, every game, to get a clean sheet," said Busch. "We'll let the guys up front worry about how many goals to score and we'll just take care of things in the back."
One player with a knack for taking care of business against the Galaxy is Thorrington. The midfielder seems to play especially well against LA, and proved deadly on a bending shot that found net in the 65th minute.
"It was good to get the goal and the win," said Thorrington, who is returning from a recent injury. "I hadn't been to training for the last week or so, but it all ended on a positive note. We all worked really hard and deserved these three important points for us."
The Fire are in a dogfight for the Eastern Conference crown. With the win, they moved back into second place for the time being, with their two closest rivals, New England and Columbus, both playing on Saturday.
"It's going to be a tight race, down to the wire," Hamlett acknowledged. "There's no leeway in the East."
Trying to close down the margin for error means that the Fire players have learned to see the positives in even a potentially difficult situation like Blanco's absence. Thorrington viewed it as a chance for other players to step up.
"We do miss his playmaking ability and his ability to make a pass out of nowhere, which he has done for us so many times this year," Thorrington said. "We have to make up for that in other areas and work that bit harder, and create chances for ourselves more than just expecting to get the ball. We will be very relieved to have him back, but it helps us to play a game without him."
Though Blanco and McBride are expected to be a lethal combination of passing ability and striking talent, McBride displayed some nifty passes of his own against the Galaxy. On one, McBride earned his first assist as a Fire player in his first start.
"More importantly, it was my first game with a win," said the former U.S. international forward.
It is likely to be the first of more to come.
Andrea Canales is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
