Chicago Fire 2-3 Houston Dynamo
BRIDGEVIEW, IL–Houston didn’t want to let one get away in the final minutes like their last match in Vancouver. The Dynamo maintained a composure down to the final whistle and pulled out three points in its favor.
Alberth Elis scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season leading Houston (4-3-3, 15 points) back with a come-from-behind victory over the Chicago Fire 3-2 at Toyota Park on Sunday afternoon. Romell Quito scored the other goal for the Dynamo.
“We’ve been chasing these wins throughout the season and it has been slipping through our hands,” Houston head coach Wilmer Cabrera said. “The last five minutes, ten minutes, last minute, last second of the games. Even though we started out very well. We cannot relax for a moment. After we scored, (Chicago) attacked twice and scored on us putting them ahead very early in the first half.
“It was a game with a lack of concentration and we cannot relax, but it was a very good reaction by us. Especially in the second half, we were solid and administrating the ball much better. We had good chances and good enough to score two more goals to win the game. We feel it was a solid performance at the end. We did good enough to win the three points that we needed.”
Chicago (3-6-2, 11 points) had held a 2-1 advantage entering the second half, but the Dynamo had the advantage with the wind at their backs and they were pressuring the Fire from the start of the half.
The Dynamo’s Mauro Manotas making a run into the penalty area for the ball had his legs taken out by the Fire keeper Richard Sanchez. Houston was awarded a penalty kick which Alberth Elis tied the game at 2-2 in the 57th minute.
Then, Elis on the run on a counter-attack received a ball from Boniek Garcia. He made a moved with his speed and beat the keeper Sanchez for the game-winning goal in the 74th minute and 3-2 margin.
“I was more controlled in the second half,” Elis said. “That counter-attack play, I was able to get past the defense and score.”
Down to the final minutes, the Fire was pressing and nearly had a couple of chances of getting the tying goal. In the final minutes of stoppage time substitute, Alan Gordan had a header that Dynamo keeper Joe Willis had to snare off the line preserving the game.
“We suffered in our last game against Vancouver that we played away (a draw),” Cabrera said. “We analyzed that and new that at the end if we were having a good result. We were practicing, we were ready and were prepared for what was coming.”
The Dynamo started out scoring first in the fourth minute of play when Romell Quioto took a low rolling service from Tomas Martinez beat a Fire defender and then finished a breakaway shot past keeper Sanchez.
Chicago stormed back with a pair of goals a few minutes apart. Nemanja Nikolic redirected a kick into the goal after taking a feed from Aleksandar Katai in the 14th minute for the tying goal.
Then Diego Campos scored his first Fire goal off a pass from Nikolic through the middle for the 2-1 lead in the 16th minute.
What looked good for Chicago for a half didn’t turn out to be the result that they wanted. Also playing without an injured Dax McCarty in the midfield has changed the plans on the field for a few games. Along with a few other injuries in recent games.
“Our plan like every plan as always has to be adjusted and we will always adjust,” Chicago Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic said. “We will work with the group right now and try to get the best of them. If the summer comes if were still alive we’ll see what happens.”
SCORING SUMMARY:
HOU-Romell Quioto (Tomas Martinez) 4
CHI-Nemanja Nikolic (Aleksandar Katai) 14
CHI-Diego Campos (Nemanja Nikolic) 16
HOU-Alberth Elis (PK) 57
HOU-Alberth Elis (Oscar Boniek Garcia) 74
BOOKING SUMMARY:
CHI-Mohammed Adams (caution, unsporting behavior) 38
CHI-Mohammed Adams (caution, unsporting behavior) 38
HOU-Oscar Boniek Garcia (caution, unsporting behavior) 67
HOU-Romell Quioto (caution, unsporting behavior) 79
HOU-Alberth Elis (caution, delay of game) 80
CHI-Richard Sanchez (caution, reckless foul) 83
CHI-Rafael Ramos (caution, unsporting behavior) 92
HOU-Joe Willis (caution, delay of game) 95
CHICAGO FIRE (4-3-3): #45-Richard Sanchez; #15-Grant Lillard, #5-Kevin Ellis (#27-Rafael Ramos 87), #4-Johan Kappelhof, #3-Brandon Vincent; #19-Mohammed Adams (#21-Alan Gordon 73), #12-Tony Tchani, #31-Bastian Schweinsteiger, #10-Aleksandar Katai (#20-Daniel Johnson 60),#23-Nemanja Nikolic, #17-Diego Campos.
Subs not used: #13-Brandt Bronico, #32-Patrick McClain, #16-Jonothan Campbell, #25-Jorge Corrales.
HOUSTON DYNAMO(4-2-3-1): 23-Joe Willis, #11-Andrew Wenger, #7-DeMarcus Beasley, #2-Alejandro Fuenmayor, #3-Adolfo Elis, #10-Tomas Martinez (#12-Arturo Martinez 88), #17-Alberth Elis, #6-Eric Alexander, #27-Oscar Boniek Garcia, #31-Romell Quioto (#13-Luis Gil 85), #9-Mauro Manltas (#22-Leonardo 78),
Subs not used: #8-Memo Rodriguez, #25-Eric Bird, #18-Chris Seitz, #14-Adam Lundqvist.
TOTAL SHOTS: CHI 6-13 HOU
SHOTS ON GOAL: CHI 3-5 HOU
FOULS: CHI 10-11 HOU
OFFSIDES: CHI 2-1 HOU
CORNER KICKS: CHI 3-10 HOU
SAVES: CHI 2-1 HOU
SHOTS ON GOAL: CHI 3-5 HOU
FOULS: CHI 10-11 HOU
OFFSIDES: CHI 2-1 HOU
CORNER KICKS: CHI 3-10 HOU
SAVES: CHI 2-1 HOU
Referee: Sliviu Petrescu
Assistant Referees: Peter Balciunas, Charles Morgante
4th Official: Alejandro Mariscal
VAR: Alex Chilowicz
Weather: Cloudy and 50º
Attendance: 14,206
Man of the Match: Alberth Elis (HOU)
Assistant Referees: Peter Balciunas, Charles Morgante
4th Official: Alejandro Mariscal
VAR: Alex Chilowicz
Weather: Cloudy and 50º
Attendance: 14,206
Man of the Match: Alberth Elis (HOU)
Chicago Fire
