With a heavy dose of fortune of luck that had been missing in other games, the Chicago Fire notched their first victory of the season by defeating the Columbus Crew, 1-0, at Toyota Park, in front of 11,023 brave spectators who defied the cold temperatures that still remain in this Chicago spring.
“These three points should help us regain our confidence. This is definitely not a game we’re going to remember, but nothing except the win and three points,” said head coach Veljko Paunovic after the match.
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“The guys did a fantastic job, and I’m grateful for their effort all 90 minutes, not just for the physical effort, but also the mental and even emotional effort. We all suffered today against one of the best teams that we’ve seen here. But we’re happy because we got three points that can help us to take off, even there’s still work to be done.”
The most important players of the game were the two young, talented goalkeepers who were influential in the final result.
Chicago’s Richard Sanchez saved the team from defeat with multiple great saves. The 24-year-old Mexican-American proved very reliable in goal, making the right decision and being the best player of the game.
“It was a much needed victory. We managed to take the three points, and personally I felt good. I prepared well and, as the games go by, I am gaining confidence and experience,” said Sanchez, who also revealed he does not rely on any charm for luck during his match.
“It’s only work. You don’t get luck without work. But it’s like the saying goes, ‘a goalkeeper without luck is not a goalkeeper.’ Today I got lucky to not concede, and I thank the defense for its good work. They also had a good game.”
On the other side, 23-year-old United States international Zack Steffen had a peformance to forget. An errant pass ended up in the 27th minute as an inexplicable giveaway to Nemanja Nikolic at the edge of the box, which he put in the back of the net in what was the decisive goal that gave Chicago the victory.
The Crew were the better team, controlling the ball and the game in its entirety. But when luck is not on your side, you are met by an inspired goalkeeper and miss the unmissable, making it impossible to win.
That was the case for Columbus on Saturday, although what stays with you in the end, as head coach Gregg Berhalter said, is that “the Fire won 1-0.”
Columbus finished with 64.7 percent of possession, 15 total shots, two of them denied by the posts, and up to five clear chances to score. Meanwhile, the Fire only managed one shot on goal (thanks to Steffen’s error), and ended up taking the three points. That is how miserable and great soccer can be.
Additionally, Bastian Schweinsteiger was the leader of the Fire defense once again, and rookie midfielder Diego Campos got his first start, putting on a good performance for 70 minutes as one of the beneficiaries of Paunovic’s tactical revolution of sorts inspired by the team’s recent run of negative results.
Meanwhile, the main victims of said changes were Aleksandar Katai and Christian Dean, who went from the starting lineup to the bench and the stands, respectively. But as Paunovic warned last week, difficult decisions were coming, and they were the first examples.
With the victory, the Fire escaped last place in the Eastern Conference with four points, going up to the eighth spot, while the Crew stay in fourth place with ten points.
Chicago’s next opponent is none other than the Los Angeles Galaxy, led by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the Dos Santos brothers, who will visit Toyota Park next Saturday, April 14. It is set to be the first sell-out of the season, and the Fire need to improve significantly and offer its best version if it wants to earn its second victory of the season.
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