Chicago Fire 1-2 Columbus Crew
CHICAGO, IL—It is an extremely difficult time to be a fan of the Chicago Fire (and has been for the last 13 years). It seems they keep finding ways to turn three points into one and/or one point into zero week after week. Saturday’s match saw yet another way of the latter as Lucas Zelarayan scored from just behind the halfway line as the Columbus Crew defeated the Fire, 2-1.
The Fire are now 2-2-7 in their last 11 home matches in league play dating back to last season, winless in their last six in league play, and finish this brutal stretch of 11 games in 36 days with a record of 3-5-3.
After a goalless first half with each team mustering just one shot on goal, Columbus got on the board first in the 59th minute as Cucho Hernandez’s shot deflected off Federico Navarro and past Spencer Richey for the opening score.
For a while, it did not look likely the the Fire would get an equalizer, but they would get one in the 89th minute through Xherdan Shaqiri as he received a cross from Miguel Navarro. It was Shaqiri’s first goal of the season.
However, in the third minute of stoppage time, Lucas Zelarayan shot from just behind the halfway line catching Richey off his line and scoring to give the give the Crew the win and the Fire yet another demoralizing loss.
For Fire Head Coach Frank Klopas, the message to his players is look forward and keep on working.
“The message is the same. We have the next game to look forward to,” said Klopas. “I think it gives us an opportunity to work on things that we didn’t have the luxury to do so with the amount of games, so I think that’s going to be helpful and beneficial. And then it’s just the next opponent. I think there’s got to be a commitment – and there is – a mentality with the guys that, you know, we need to do whatever it takes to try to reach the goals. There’s a lot of games left; you put two or three wins together and it changes everything in this league.
“But we just got to manage moments in games a little bit different, because if you look at tonight, the goals that we gave up and then the goals we scored and the opportunities we have, sometimes doesn’t add up. But that’s the game. I know it’s a difficult one for all of us tonight and even our fans, but you know, I know one way, and I think the team, and that’s just to look forward and keep working.”
After 11 matches in 36 days, the Fire will get 11 days before their next match which will be away to Portland. Kickoff is at 9:30pm CT on Apple TV+. The Fire are now at the halfway point of the regular season, and find some way to rescue their season which to many already seems lost.
SCORING SUMMARY:
CLB-Cucho Hernandez (Nagbe) 59
CHI-Xherdan Shaqiri (M. Navarro) 88
CLB-Lucas Zelarayan (Morris) 90+3
BOOKING SUMMARY:
CLB-Malte Amundsen (caution, reckless foul) 20
CLB-Sean Zawadski (caution, tactical foul) 29
CLB-Mo Farsi (caution, reckless tackle) 81
CHI-Fabian Herbers (caution, tactical foul) 89
CLB-Lucas Zelarayan (caution, excessive celebration) 90+5
CHICAGO FIRE (3-4-2-1): #18-Spencer Richey; #2-Araund Souquet (#24-Jonathan Dean 78), #5-Rafael Czichos, #22-Mauricio Pineda; #7-Maren Haile-Selassie (#20-Jairo Torres 78), #30-Gaston Gimenez (#21-Fabian Herbers 80), #31-Federico Navarro, #6-Miguel Navarro; #10-Xherdan Shaqiri, #17-Brian Gutierrez (#19-Georgios Koutsias 63); #23-Kei Kamara (#11-Kacper Pryzbylko 63)
Subs not used: #25-Jeffery Gal, #27-Kendall Burks, #16-Wyatt Omsberg, #3-Alonso Aceves
COLUMBUS CREW (3-4-2-1): #28-Patrick Schulte; #25-Sean Zawadzki, #31-Steven Moreria, #18-Malte Amundsen; #23-Mo Farsi, #6-Darlington Nagbe, #8-Aidan Morris, #14-Yaw Yeboah; #17-Christian Ramirez (#20-Alexandru Matan 80), #10-Lucas Zelarayan; #9-Cucho Hernandez
Subs not used: #24-Evan Bush, #19-Jacen Russell-Rowe, #13-Kevin Molino, #27-Max Arfsten, #94-Jimmy Medranda, #16-Isaiah Parente, #2-Philip Quinton
EXPECTED GOALS: CHI 0.56-1.07 CLB
TOTAL SHOTS: CHI 7-12 CLB
SHOTS ON GOAL: CHI 2-4 CLB
FOULS: CHI 10-11 CLB
OFFSIDES: CHI 7-2 CLB
CORNER KICKS: CHI 1-1 CLB
SAVES: CHI 2-1 CLB
Referee: Mark Allatin
Assistant Referees: Chris Elliott, Mike Rottersman
4th Official: Matther Corrigan
VAR: Sorin Stoica
AVAR: TJ Zablocki
Weather: Cloudy and 77º
Attendance: 18,892
Man of the Match: Lucas Zelarayan (CLB)
