Photo: Windy City Soccer
by Jordan Cuff, Chicago
Heading into their match with Portland this week, Chicago had gained a little bit of confidence following last week’s win.
After going on a 3 match losing streak, the Fire took a decisive 1-0 victory in Houston. Portland had other thoughts though, coming off a 4-2 Cascadia beat down over the Whitecaps.
While most probably wrote off the Fire to start the game, the score remained leveled through the opening 18 minutes.
A blunder on defense by Rodrigo Ramos lead to a Diego Valeri goal bring the Timbers up 1-0.
Chicago came back with a flurry, and tied the game at the 20’ min mark following a goal from David Accam. The Fire’s change over to a 4-3-3 formation gave Portland problems all night.
“They ran a 4-4-2 diamond….. and for the most part we managed it well.” Caleb Porter commented after the match.
Even with the possession advantage (56%/43%) most of the night, the Fire had numerous chances, including late in the game. The last 30 minutes, Chicago had 7 shot attempts, compared to Portland’s one.Kennedy Igboananike had 4 shots, with 2 being on target but still couldn’t come up with the decisive goal.
Portland easily could have lost 3 points, but are grateful for taking one point ahead of their showdown with San Jose next week:
“We’re showing to be a resultant pro team.” Porter said.
Next week, Portland takes on the 6th place San Jose in an inter conference match. Currently the Timbers sit 4 points out of the last playoff spot, which is currently held by the Earthquakes.
“I think it was one of the best performance we’ve had this season. I think we keep getting better.” Veljko Paunović said.
”The only thing is that I think you get what you deserve. We can say we had a great game, but you have to win the game. We need to learn how to do that.”
Chicago has a week off before taking on the first place Colorado Rapids on June 18th.
Chicago Fire
Portland
