Frustrated Fire comes up empty again at home
It has been two months since the Fire won a home game. It will be at least another month until the team wins an MLS game at Toyota Park again.
After winning three games on the road, the first-place Fire (5-2-6, 21 points) suffered its second home shutout loss this week, falling 1-0 Friday night to the Houston Dynamo at Toyota Park. The team also lost 3-0 to FC Dallas on Sunday.
"Great disappointment in that you had such good results in the first part of the season, and most of them are on the road," veteran defender C.J. Brown said, "so you want to come back and give the fans something they deserve because they've come on the road with us and seen us win games.
"And when we come back home we don't give them the same thing we've given them on the road."
The Dynamo (6-2-3, 21 points) got its goal early, catching the Fire defense napping in the fourth minute.
While Kei Kamara possessed the ball to the right of Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch after tracking down a long ball to the corner, midfielder Stuart Holden made a diagonal run toward the near post, flicking Kamara's pass past Busch from 4 yards with the outside of his right foot as he ran by.
"What I saw was something that we worked on all week, and it was a classic Houston play," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. "- Disappointing on our part because it was the one shot they had on goal, and it was in the fourth minute."
Brown took the blame for the goal.
"This game it's one letdown in the corner with me," Brown said. "- You can't fault the effort of the guys today. They worked their butts off."
The Fire had its best chances to score in the first half but couldn't convert. It was not credited with any shots after the 47th minute.
"We had some good chances the first half to get that equalizer," Hamlett said. "We made a great push. The second half we probably didn't create as much, probably a result of them dropping in a little deeper.
"But tonight we created enough chances to get a goal, and we didn't. Sometimes that's how it goes. We have to be a little more clinical in our final third."
The Fire goes on the road next weekend to D.C. United. Its next MLS home game is July 11 against Columbus. The only remaining home games in June are SuperLiga matches.