Chicago Fire gets much-needed home win
The Chicago Fire did something Saturday afternoon it hasn't done enough this season or the past few years. The Fire took care of business at home against one of the weaker teams in MLS.
The Fire (2-2-3, 9 points) lifted its own spirits by defeating the winless Colorado Rapids 4-1 at SeatGeek Stadium in southwest suburban Bridgeview.
"Yeah, very important," midfielder C.J. Sapong said. "I think more so for our own journey and all the things that we've been going through ourselves. We felt like we left a lot of points on the table. For us to get a resounding win and a full 3 points is definitely what we needed."
It was the Rapids' fifth consecutive loss. Colorado (0-6-2, 2 points) has allowed a league-worst 23 goals, and the Fire created more damage.
"We were looking for a game like this," Fire coach Veljko Paunovic added. "We were looking for a game to have a win with multiple goals in favor."
It also was meaningful because the Fire starts a difficult three-game road trip Wednesday at New York City FC, with games at Montreal and Los Angeles FC following.
The Fire got a lift from new midfielder Nico Gaitan, who made the kind of impact the Fire expected from him when he signed with the team a month ago. The playmaking midfielder had 2 assists.
"Yes, I feel much more comfortable," Gaitan said through a team translator. "I feel like I'm getting to know everybody on the team. It was a very, very good game. We started off well. We did let them get into the game, but we solved the game in the second half."
That the Fire would take care of business did not look so certain at halftime. The Fire looked the better team in the first half but still Colorado was even at 1-1.
"I don't think we started well," Paunovic said, noting some frustration at halftime. "I don't think the first half we played the way we wanted. But it helped us to understand what kind of opponent we had in front of us."
The Fire had the bulk of the first-half scoring chances and hit paydirt in the 34th minute. Nemanja Nikolic headed in a Gaitan cross for a 1-0 lead.
Colorado got the equalizer in the 40th minute when Kei Kamara scored off a corner kick.
Sapong put the Fire ahead again in the 53rd minute off assists from Aleksandar Katai and Dax McCarty. Djordje Mihailovic's goal in the 61st minute off Gaitan and Sapong passes gave the Fire some breathing room, always a relief considering the team's history of giving up heartbreaking late goals.
Katai's 80th-minute goal made it 4-1.
Portland Thorns 4, Chicago Red Stars 4:
In Game 2 of a soccer doubleheader in Bridgeview, the Chicago Red Stars drew 4-4 with the Portland Thorns in the Red Stars' National Women's Soccer League home opener.
Yuki Nagasato and Samantha Kerr scored first-half goals for Chicago. Michele Vasconcelos and Nagasato scored in the second half. Christine Sinclair scored a hat trick for Portland.