Chicago Fire winger Justin Mapp didn't make Bruce Arena's cut to remain with the United States for Saturday's World Cup finals-clinching win against Mexico and for Wednesday's match in Guatemala. Instead, he was shipped back to his club, where he undoubtedly made the grade with Fire coach Dave Sarachan on Sunday.
Mapp started Chicago's first goal in the 11th minute and finished his club's away victory with individual brilliance in the second minute of second-half stoppage time, lifting the Fire to a 2-1 triumph before a sell-out crowd of 27,000 at The Home Depot Center.
Looking for an extraordinary effort while trying to find a winner in the dying moments, Mapp started a run into the left side of the penalty area 35 yards from goal and weaved through Cobi Jones, Peter Vagenas, Tyrone Marshall and Ugo Ihemelu before cutting back a left-footed shot on Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman that nestled just inside the far post.
The Fire (13-10-3), who had only won one of their previous six, played their first league match in 16 days without the services of holding midfielder Chris Armas and striker Lubos Reiter, on international duty with the United States and Slovakia, respectively. Yet, those absences paled in comparison to the Galaxy's.
The Galaxy (10-11-5) dropped their second home match of the season. Serving as host for the first time in six weeks, they were missing Landon Donovan and Chris Albright to the U.S, team, midfielder Guillermo "Pando" Ramirez, who scored Saturday in Guatemala's defeat to Trinidad and Tobago, and Michael Umana, a substitute entry in Costa Rica's 3-1 win over Panama.
Additionally, central midfielder Paulo Nagamura had his impressive run of form interrupted with a right knee sprain.
Sarachan readjusted his lineup to include Barrett up top with Chris Rolfe with Thiago dropping into the attacking midfield role, which allowed Jesse Marsch to sit back in the middle of the park and assume Armas' normal stance.
Chicago couldn't be criticized for going into a shell on the road as it played the Galaxy straight-up and consistently sent numbers forward in the attack. Thiago's free kick minutes into the game was headed out by Galaxy left back Todd Dunivant just outside the 6-yard box, but it was a foreshadowing of events to come.
The match had nice flowing rhythm with action from end to end. The Galaxy would have been firmly in control if not for poor finishing combined with a few crucial saves from Fire 'keeper Zach Thornton.
The Galaxy got behind the Chicago defense in the fifth minute, using Marshall's long ball 15 yards inside his own half. Joseph Ngwenya ran past Fire left back Ivan Guerrero to receive the ball and walked in on goal from the right side of the penalty area only for Thornton to go to ground and block the 7-yard shot out for a corner.
Mapp helped set up the match's opening goal on Chicago's first shot. He penetrated up the middle of the Galaxy's last third and, in forcing the defense back on its heels, played ahead to Barrett 25 yards from goal.
Barrett drifted left and instead of making the more obvious play of sending a running Thiago into the area along the left flank, he side-stepped around the ball and cut back a nifty pass with the outside of his right boot to Rolfe. Rolfe settled from straight-away atop the box and calmly struck a left-footed shot that curled around diving Hartman inside the left goalpost.
Hoping for a potential letdown in the wake of Chicago's goal, the Galaxy surged ahead. Ngwenya was tackled from behind and won a free kick near the left edge of the area. Jovan Kirovski sent the 13th-minute kick to the far post for Herculez Gomez's header, but Thornton had the post covered and pushed the header out for a corner.
The Galaxy broke through in the 24th minute with the equalizer once again set up by the feet of Barrett. Barrett checked back into midfield to receive the ball and in trying to settle possession, he made an inadvertent pass back towards Guerrero in the middle of the Fire half.
Ned Grabavoy easily ran onto the ball, took a touch before playing Gomez alone into goal, and Gomez made no mistake in rolling a point-blank shot from the top of the area to Thornton's left and inside the foot of the right post.
Chicago slightly had the better of the play in the last 20 minutes of the half. Marsch laid off for Thiago's first-time, curling right footer that eluded the diving Hartman but swung two yards away from the left post in the 28th minute.
Barrett had separate chances in the 42nd and 44th minutes, but the former attempt was blocked out for a corner and the latter was blocked by a sprawling Hartman after Barrett weaved his way past a couple defenders and dribbled near the top, left edge of Hartman's box.
A lack of composure in finishing cost the Galaxy a lead in first-half stoppage time. Grabavoy made a brilliant individual effort in dribbling past Gonzalo Segares, nutmegging Marsch and playing Ngwenya into the area behind Guerrero. Instead of looking for the shot, Ngwenya squared to the onrushing Vagenas.
Vagenas tried to power a point-blank shot past Thornton from the penalty spot but wound up blasting high of the top, right corner.
The Galaxy came out of the interval as the aggressor. Poor defending gave the Galaxy another opportunity from a long ball out of the back a minute in. Pablo Chinchilla found Grabavoy behind Logan Pause on the left side of the area, but Grabavoy's first-time shot was well wide of the near post.
Ten minutes later, the Galaxy kept possession in tight space above the Fire area. Vagenas threaded a pass between central defenders to Gomez, who may have been surprised by how open he was. It led to a rushed shot from 11 yards right into the hulking frame of the sprawling Thornton.
Chicago looked much more prone to sitting back in the final half and counterattacked in the last 10 minutes.
Centerback Samuel Caballero, who won a key header to deny Gomez of a headed shot in the 15th minute, won another header to clear danger away and, minutes later, knocked the ball away from Gomez as the last defender, thus denying Gomez entry to goal as the last defender by knocking the ball away.
Will John came on for John Thorrington in the 86th minute and preserved the opportunity for Mapp's winner by kicking clear over the endline after Galaxy substitute Michael Enfield ran onto an errant header that Jack Stewart played back for Thornton and touched the ball by Thornton.
MLSnet.com Man of the Match: Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire)
Damian Secore is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
