Chicago Fire Defeat Toronto FC 2-0
Posted May 16, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Second-half goals by Chris Rolfe and Brian McBride gave Chicago a 2-0 win over Toronto FC on Saturday, while ending the Fire’s single-season MLS record of five straight ties
Toronto had a string of chances after conceding Rolfe’s goal in the 59th minute, but could not find the target – or beat goalkeeper Jon Busch. Failure to convert in front of the goal has become a chronic problem for Toronto this season.
McBride made them rue that failure, tapping in a second goal from close range in the 81st minute after Stefan Frei had made a diving save but could not get the ball to safety. It was the Chicago captain’s sixth goal of the season and the 73rd of his MLS career.
Rolfe, who came on at the start of the second half, beat Frei to a ball sent in from the Chicago half and stroked it in for the first goal. It was the 32nd of his career for the Fire.
Chicago (3-0-6) remains the only unbeaten team in MLS and leapfrogged Toronto in the Eastern standings with the win. Prior to Saturday, the Fire’s last victory was April 5 against the New York Red Bulls.
Toronto (3-3-4) had its six-game unbeaten string snapped (two of those games were in the Canadian Nutrilite Championship) before a sellout of 20,006 at BMO Field. The home side had not lost since a 3-2 setback April 19 in Dallas.
A wide-open second half helped erase memories of a snoozy first 45 minutes.
Played in cloudy, blustery conditions following a pre-kickoff downpour, the game was anything but a thing of beauty early on. The first half was long on giveaways and short on anything close to excitement as neither team managed a shot on target.
First-half offence for Toronto consisted of a shot high by Amado Guevara and one wide by Chad Barrett. Chicago had a Wilman Conde header go over the bar in the dying seconds off a corner.
The sun came out at halftime and the soccer brightened too. Chicago threw on Rolfe in a bid to bolster its offence.
Toronto substitute Kevin Harmse had a chance in the 54th minute off a scramble following a free kick but poked the ball straight at Busch.
Barrett sent a header just wide in the 66th minute and Guevara rattled the bar off a free kick in the 71st. Busch parried another Barrett blast in the 76th minute.
Star Mexican midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco played in an advanced role for the Fire and had a quiet game. With a guaranteed salary of US$2,943,702, he makes more than eight times than Dwayne De Rosario, Toronto’s top earner at US$357,000. Blanco earned some of that when he chipped the ball ahead for Rolfe on the opening goal.
He didn’t do much else. At 36, Blanco runs like he is in need of a hip replacement and he was clattered by Toronto pretty much every time he touched the ball.
McBride, denied any kind of service, also had little to do for most of the game.
