The Chicago Fire snapped a five-game winless run in league play, as they defeated the Houston Dynamo 1-0 on Saturday at BBVA Stadium.
The game kicked off approximately 32 minutes late due to severe weather around the venue. Both sides entered below the playoff line in their respective conferences and in need of wins to breathe life into their postseason hopes.
Chicago dominated play in the first 20 minutes, but could not find a breakthrough, and Houston played their way into the action the rest of the first 45, but they couldn't find a goal, either.
The Fire got on the board deep in first-half stoppage time, as a fantastic ball in from Nicolas Gaitan off a corner kick routine was poked in by Nemanja Nikolic.
It looked as though the Fire would double their lead around the hour mark, but a wild scramble in front of the goal featuring several clear-cut chances and two shots clanging off the post ended in the final attempt sailing wide of the mark.
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Goals
- 45+3' – CHI – Nemanja Nikolic | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: The Fire remain six points below the playoff line, but they are still in the picture with work to be done. This was a disastrous result for the Dynamo, however, in losing their third straight home game, after making their home form the bedrock of their identity in recent years. They aren't totally out of the playoff race, but they can't afford to drop points moving forward.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: In a game with so much on the line and a single tally, it was of course the goal.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Nico Gaitan has had a penchant for floating in and out of games, but with his team's season more or less on the line on the road, he had the moment of magic to set up the game's goal, and put in a rugged shift for the duration for Chicago.
Next Up
- HOU: Thursday, Aug. 8 at NYCFC (7 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; DAZN in Canada)
- CHI: Saturday, Aug. 10 vs. Montreal Impact (9 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; TVAS in Canada)
