Big crowd savors Chicago Fire’s best game of season
There was something different about the Chicago Fire’s 3-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls.
“Surprisingly, we didn’t go down a goal today,” said Fire midfielder Patrick Nyarko. “We are accustomed to going down a goal and that wakes us up. We need to change that.”
Nyarko and second-half substitute Chris Rolfe played key roles in changing that Sunday.
The Fire played its best game of the season in front of its biggest home crowd of the season, 18,526 enjoying a beautiful day at Toyota Park. Nyarko got it started right, his fourth-minute header off a nice Sebastian Grazzini chip pass across the penalty area giving the Fire a 1-0 lead.
“We had a great start,” Fire coach Frank Klopas said. “The first 15-20 minutes I thought we were very good.”
It was the kind of effort that helped the Fire go 7-2-1 to finish the 2011 season, but it was the kind of effort that has been mysteriously lacking in 2012.
“We had a rough patch going into the break and so it was very necessary coming out here, especially at home, to get the 3 points,” Nyarko added.
The Fire (6-5-3, 21 points) lost some momentum later in the first half, but the team regained it midway through the second half. In the 63rd minute of a 1-1 game, Rolfe, making his first Toyota Park appearance in almost three years, sent forward Dominic Oduro behind the New York defense with a perfect through ball. Red Bulls goalkeeper Ryan Meara slowed the Oduro shot just enough for defender Wilman Conde to sweep it away. Replays showed the ball crossed the goal line, but all the Fire got was an Oduro yellow card for arguing.
Still, the play set the tone for the rest of the game.
Five minutes later defender Gonzalo Segares cleaned up a loose ball in the penalty area, a shot hit so hard it seemed energized by the blown call.
The score went to 3-1 in the 81st minute when Nyarko found Rolfe making a back-post run, sliding a pass across the goalmouth for Rolfe to tap in.
“I thought Chris came in and obviously changed the game,” Klopas said of his new/old forward. “You can see the class that he has. He’s got really technical abilities. Very clean feet, very good with the ball.”
The only blemish on the day was Dax McCarty’s goal off a Mehdi Ballouchy corner kick in the 55th minute. Still, Klopas was pleased with the job his defense did against MLS scoring leader Kenny Cooper, especially young center backs Austin Berry and Jalil Anibaba.
“Overall from start to finish it’s better, our focus, our concentration, our mentality, the work that has to be finishing games off like this,” Klopas said. “Not giving up, getting the next goal. All that’s important. Now we’ve got to continue to build and not relax because it’s on to the next game.”
That would be Saturday night at Toyota Park against Columbus.
Follow Orrin on Twitter @orrinsoccer