Saturday night was hopeful for the Chicago Fire. Coming off strong play (albeit against a reserve NYRB side in Open Cup play) and having just inked a deal with Argentine Sebastian Grazzini this week, Chicago welcomed into town a Portland Timbers side that had not yet won on the road, and who’s away goal differential was an abysmal -12 in 2011 MLS play. Although the Timbers are not a team to be taken lightly, it was safe to say that this game was a winnable one for Chicago. Somehow the exact opposite happened, as the Timbers not only beat the Fire for their first road win of the year, but they shut out the Men in Red as well.
Neither side controlled play in the opening minutes of the match, and Portland found their game plan disrupted early on when center back Kevin Goldthwaite went down in the 10th minute with a knee injury that required him to be subbed out. Minutes later Diego Chara had an early chance for the Timbers that Chicago GK Sean Johnson was equal to.
Chicago would find themselves with numerous chances in the first half, although they could convert none of them, including a Cory Gibbs header off a Daniel Paladini corner kick that found the crossbar. The Fire would ultimately hit the crossbar twice in this game, which would prove to be the difference.
The tide turned early on, and it would prove to be all the Timbers would need, when Gonzalo Segares was whistled by referee Elias Bazakos for an apparent trip in the box of Jorge Perlaza. Perlaza sold the foul, and got the penalty as a result. While it wasn’t a Charlie Davies-level dive, it was apparent, both in person as well as on the replay, that Perlaza felt the contact from Segares, and acted accordingly. The ensuing PK was taken by Timbers captain Jack Jewsbury, and even though Johnson guessed right, Jewsbury’s strike was too strong to prevent, and put the Timbers up 1-0.
The duration of the match would continue to be controlled by Chicago. The Fire would end the match with the advantage in nearly every category, yet failed to put a goal in the back of the net, even as an equalizer. Chicago’s woes only hurt that much more because it was against a team that, while sitting in the standings with more wins, had the same total points going in, and had not won on the road all season. Chicago, earlier this season, came into Jeld-Wen Field and gave Portland their first home win in their stadium opener, falling 4-2. With last night’s loss, Chicago also gave Portland their first road win, as well as their first season sweep of a team in MLS play.
Chicago will now look towards their international friendly against Manchester United this weekend. Their next MLS match isn’t until August 3rd when they welcome the Philadelphia Union to Toyota Park. One has to hope that in the next few weeks, Chicago can collect themselves mentally, get Sebastian Grazzini into match shape, and look to reset themselves for the duration of this season. While a playoff spot isn’t out of the realm of possibility, it would seem more urgent at this point that the team find a way to finish games, become a more viable and regular scoring threat, and try to stem the tide that has them continuing to move in the wrong direction. Time will tell what the result of those issues will ultimately be.
Also worthy to note: It was reported post-game that Mexican midfielder Pavel Pardo was seen exiting last night’s match, escorted by a Chicago Fire Executive. While a potential Pardo signing was frowned upon by many previously, due to Pardo’s age, it’s a prospect that is more welcome in the wake of last night’s game, and may or may not be a move towards some changes in the immediate future.
Image courtesy of Getty Images
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