Patrick Nyarko scored early to give the Chicago Fire a 1-0 lead, and their stout defense held firm the rest of the way for an eventual victory against Chivas USA in front of an electric, sold-out Toyota Park.
Chicago came out firing from the first whistle. Rookie Nyarko sent the ball wide right of the goal in the first minute of play. Five minutes later, newly signed Marco Pappa blasted the ball at newly acquired Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton, who made the save.
The Fire appeared to score in the 14th minute, when John Thorrington found Nyarko in the box. Nyarko tapped it in, only for the referee to call the play offside and disallow the goal.
But two minutes later, Nyarko got his name in the scoring books. Chris Rolfe latched on to a cleared corner kick at the top of the penalty area, and when his first touch got away from him, Nyarko reacted quickly and hooked a high, curling shot into the net for a 1-0 lead. With the goal, Chicago snapped its scoreless streak in MLS play at 196 minutes.
In the 30th minute, Chivas USA midfielder Paulo Nagamura took down Thorrington with a rough tackle. Pappa took the free kick, sending a near-perfect ball into the box, but no one was on the other end.
A free kick on the other end by Jesse Marsch minutes later fell flat as Atiba Harris headed the ball out. In the 39th minute, Jon Busch kept the Fire net clean as he caught another Harris header.
In extra time of the first half, Nyarko made run up the left side of the field, but the ball was knocked out for a corner kick. Justin Mapp sent the restart into the box. Nyarko jumped up for the shot and collided mid-air with Chivas USA defender Claudio Suarez.
Nyarko laid face down on the field before finally turning over, but after Suarez attempted to get up, he soon returned to his back. Nyarko walked off the field, escorted by Fire trainers. Suarez was carted off on a stretcher. While Nyarko was able to return before the game restarted, neither was able to return for the second half. Nyarko was diagnosed with with a mild concussion; Suarez was being further evaluated.
A 68th-minute scramble in the box almost cost the Fire a goal, but the defense cleared it up before Chicago lost its lead.
Chivas USA continued to press for the equalizer. Francisco Mendoza challenged Fire 'keeper Jon Busch in the 70th minute, but he grabbed the save.
Busch grabbed a loose ball in the box in the 87th minute after a failed Chivas USA corner kick and Chicago survived a couple close calls in extra time as they held on for the win. The 1-0 win gave the Fire and Busch a league-best eight shutouts for 2008.
Both Nyarko and Pappa made their first starts for the Fire. For Pappa, it was also his MLS debut, as he played 72 minutes and collected his first yellow card.
Chicago played without Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Diego Gutierrez, who were serving one-game suspensions for yellow-card accumulation. Both players will be ready for next Saturday's Eastern Conference showdown at the New England Revolution.
Kathryn L. Knapp is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
