Chicago Fire score 3 goals in first 30 minutes
Good teams take advantage of bad teams. On Sunday at Toyota Park, the Chicago Fire was very good — at least for 89 minutes.
The Fire scored 3 goals in the game’s opening 30 minutes to claim a 3-2 victory against a mistake-prone New England side.
Suddenly the team that forgot what a victory felt like is as hot as its nickname, winning four of its last five MLS games to keep its playoff hopes on life support. The Fire (6-8-15, 33 points) is 6 points behind New York for the 10th and final playoff spot, with D.C. United, Portland and Chivas USA ahead of them also. Five MLS games and the U.S. Open Cup final remain on the Fire schedule.
“There was a lot on the line, do or die for both clubs, and I think for us we came out and had a very good start to the game,” interim coach/technical director Frank Klopas said.
Patrick Nyarko earned a penalty kick when he was fouled by New England goalkeeper Matt Reis, and the Fire led 1-0 after Sebastian Grazzini’s fifth-minute penalty kick.
A Grazzini through ball in the ninth minute sent Dominic Oduro behind the Revolution defense, and he deked Reis and shot into the open net for his 11th goal of the season.
Then, Nyarko scored his first goal of the season in the 30th, winning a long ball Oduro from Reis, who was slow to come out, then shooting into the open net.
“It was a great first half, probably our best first half of the season,” Nyarko said. “The second half I thought we controlled it a little bit, but we get to the end we just let our guard down.”
The only problems with Sunday’s win were Grazzini leaving in the 25th minute when he felt another twinge in his problematic left hamstring and the 2 late Ryan Guy goals allowed.
“A key lesson for us in a game like this is to learn it’s not over until it’s over,” Klopas said.
This hot streak means it’s not over yet in the playoff race, either, though time is short. The Fire travels to league power Real Salt Lake on Wednesday and Eastern Conference leader Houston on Saturday needing 3 points from each match.
“It’s crucial now, every game for the rest of the season,” said goalkeeper Sean Johnson, who kept busy with 8 saves. “It’s kind of been our mentality this last push.”
Follow Orrin Schwarz on Twitter @orrinsoccer.