Fire earns 1-0 win at Columbus
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Sept. 8) The Chicago Fire took a giant step towards earning a Major League Soccer playoff berth with a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Crew before a rain-soaked crowd of 19,983 at Crew Stadium. The victory enabled the Fire (8-10-5, 29 points) to move past the Crew (6-8-10, 28 points) in the chase for the eighth and final playoff spot with six weeks left in the season. The other team in the wildcard picture, Colorado (7-9-7, 28 points) played a late game at Los Angeles Saturday evening.
Forward Paulo Wanchope broke a scoreless game in the 65th minute when he snuck in alone on goalkeeper Will Hesmer and buried a low shot for his second goal of the season. Newly-acquired defender Wilman Conde made the scoring play possible with a long pass from the left flank that led Wanchope into space behind the Crew defense. Conde was cleared to play by MLS on Friday after signing with the Fire on Aug. 20.
Goalkeeper Matt Pickens recorded five saves to log his eighth shutout of the season, third-best in MLS and one shy of the club record.
"This was a massive game for us. All week we worked hard on the tactical side of things because we knew this could be a decisive game for us," said Chicago head coach Juan Carlos Osorio. "It was a well-deserved three points for our team."
The Fire returns to TOYOTA PARK next Saturday (Sept. 15) to host the New York Red Bulls.
Notes:
· Bakary Soumare received his fifth yellow and will miss next Saturday's game.
· Play was suspended for 32 minutes in the first half due to heavy rain and lightning.
· Columbus lost its leading scorer, striker Guillermo Barros Schelotto, with a hamstring injury in the 10th minute.
Scoring Summary:
CHI Paulo Wanchope (Wilman Conde) 65
Chicago Lineup (3-4-3): GK-Matt Pickens, D-Dasan Robinson, D-C.J. Brown, D-Wilman Conde, MF-Bakary Soumare, MF-Logan Pause, MF-Diego Gutierrez (Mike Banner 62), MF-Chris Armas, F-Cuauhtémoc Blanco, F-Paul Wanchope (Chad Barrett 72), F-Chris Rolfe (Calen Carr 82).
Columbus Lineup (4-4-2): GK-Will Hesmer, D-Frankie Hejduk, D-Rusty Pierce (Ezra Hendrickson 19), D-Marcos Gonzalez, D-Stefani Miglioranzi, MF-Danny O'Rourke, MF-Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Ricardo Virtuoso 10), MF-Duncan Oughton, MF-Eddie Gaven, F-Alejandro Moreno, F-Jacob Thomas (Kei Kamara 71).
Discipline Summary
CLB Guillermo Barros Schelotto (caution) 8
CHI Dasan Robinson (caution) 27
CLB Frankie Hejduk (caution) 37
CLB Duncan Oughton (caution) 68
CHI Bakary Soumare (caution) 78
Referee: Jozef Batko Referee Assistants: Michael Salyers, George Gansner
Contact: Daniel Jankowski / 708.921.6504 / djankowski@chicago-fire.com