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D.C. United and Chicago Share Spoils in 1-1 Draw
Each side owned a half and a goal as D.C. United and the Chicago Fire drew 1-1 in RFK Stadium.
Mar 29, 2009 12:05:52 AM
In a game that was the tale of two halves, it was only right that D.C. United and the Chicago Fire shared the spoils, as it ended in a 1-1 draw. Luciano Emilio's solo effort in the 7th minute put DC United ahead 1-0, but Patrick Nyarko equalized for Chicago in the 53rd minute.
Both teams were forced into two changes from their opening games last week. Due to World Cup qualifiers, CJ Ward and Daniel Woolard came into the side to replace Bakary Soumare and Gonzalo Segares. Meanwhile, injuries to Devon McTavish and Greg Janicki allowed Jamie Moreno and Marc Burch to find their way into coach Tom Soehn's lineup for United.
United came out strong in the first half, cheered on by a small but energized crowd of 15,895. As D.C. applied early pressure on the Fire, they were rewarded with a goal in the seventh minute, courtesy of Emilio's first goal of the season. Emilio picked up a loose ball near midfield, and with no pressure being applied, moved his way up the middle of the field. With time and space, Emilio then hit a left footed shot from outside of the box that beat Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch for the opening goal.
United continued to be the dominant side in the first half, as Chicago was unable to create any real goal scoring chances. The back line for United, which struggled last week, was up to the challenge in the first half, and was effective in cutting down most of the chances that Chicago tried to create through forwards Patrick Nyarko and Brian McBride.
Chicago were also forced into an early change, as CJ Brown went down in the 13th minute, with an injury to his right quadracep. Dasan Robinson came on to replace him, but the move did not change the tide of the game.
With Clyde Simms and Ben Olsen controlling the middle of the field, United was able to possess the ball, and were not reliant on long ball tactics. The duo was also responsible for disrupting Chicago's attempts to connect passes together.
But when the teams came back out for the second half, the roles reversed, and Chicago immediately took hold on the momentum of the game. United escaped several bad turnovers in their own half early in the half, as Nyarko twice failed to finish after some dangerous play by United in the back.
Momentum had switched sides, and with the pressure came a goal for Chicago, as Nyarko equalized the game with his first goal of the season in the 53rd minute. Pappa played a through ball for the 23-year-old, who collected the ball and made his was into the box with United defender Dejan Jakovic closely marking him. But Nyarko held off Jakovic's challenge, and slid his shot past the onrushing goalkeeper Josh Wicks for the equalizer.
United almost immediately found another goal, two minutes after the Chicago goal. Jamie Moreno played a long ball into the box for rookie Chris Pontius, who was able to chest the ball down before firing his shot right at Busch, and the Fire defense was able to clear the ball from there.
As the game progressed, though, Chicago was creating the chances, and looked more likely to find the go-ahead goal. In a complete reversal of the first half, Chicago was able to control the game and connect the passes together, while United was on the back foot, and looking for a way out via the long ball.
Chicago had two chances right at the end of the game to win it, but Wicks came to United's rescue twice. In the 89th minute, Tim Ward's shot from outside of the box was spilled by Wicks, and McBride was able to pounce on the rebound. McBride's shot was on target, but Wick's was able to push the shot over the bar for a corner. From the resulting corner, the ball eventually fell to substitute Chris Rolfe, and he fired a shot destined for goal, that was pushed over the bar by Wicks for another Chicago corner.
Nothing resulted from the corner, and without any more dangerous chances, the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Steven Streff, Goal.com
Both teams were forced into two changes from their opening games last week. Due to World Cup qualifiers, CJ Ward and Daniel Woolard came into the side to replace Bakary Soumare and Gonzalo Segares. Meanwhile, injuries to Devon McTavish and Greg Janicki allowed Jamie Moreno and Marc Burch to find their way into coach Tom Soehn's lineup for United.
United came out strong in the first half, cheered on by a small but energized crowd of 15,895. As D.C. applied early pressure on the Fire, they were rewarded with a goal in the seventh minute, courtesy of Emilio's first goal of the season. Emilio picked up a loose ball near midfield, and with no pressure being applied, moved his way up the middle of the field. With time and space, Emilio then hit a left footed shot from outside of the box that beat Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch for the opening goal.
United continued to be the dominant side in the first half, as Chicago was unable to create any real goal scoring chances. The back line for United, which struggled last week, was up to the challenge in the first half, and was effective in cutting down most of the chances that Chicago tried to create through forwards Patrick Nyarko and Brian McBride.
Chicago were also forced into an early change, as CJ Brown went down in the 13th minute, with an injury to his right quadracep. Dasan Robinson came on to replace him, but the move did not change the tide of the game.
With Clyde Simms and Ben Olsen controlling the middle of the field, United was able to possess the ball, and were not reliant on long ball tactics. The duo was also responsible for disrupting Chicago's attempts to connect passes together.
But when the teams came back out for the second half, the roles reversed, and Chicago immediately took hold on the momentum of the game. United escaped several bad turnovers in their own half early in the half, as Nyarko twice failed to finish after some dangerous play by United in the back.
Momentum had switched sides, and with the pressure came a goal for Chicago, as Nyarko equalized the game with his first goal of the season in the 53rd minute. Pappa played a through ball for the 23-year-old, who collected the ball and made his was into the box with United defender Dejan Jakovic closely marking him. But Nyarko held off Jakovic's challenge, and slid his shot past the onrushing goalkeeper Josh Wicks for the equalizer.
United almost immediately found another goal, two minutes after the Chicago goal. Jamie Moreno played a long ball into the box for rookie Chris Pontius, who was able to chest the ball down before firing his shot right at Busch, and the Fire defense was able to clear the ball from there.
As the game progressed, though, Chicago was creating the chances, and looked more likely to find the go-ahead goal. In a complete reversal of the first half, Chicago was able to control the game and connect the passes together, while United was on the back foot, and looking for a way out via the long ball.
Chicago had two chances right at the end of the game to win it, but Wicks came to United's rescue twice. In the 89th minute, Tim Ward's shot from outside of the box was spilled by Wicks, and McBride was able to pounce on the rebound. McBride's shot was on target, but Wick's was able to push the shot over the bar for a corner. From the resulting corner, the ball eventually fell to substitute Chris Rolfe, and he fired a shot destined for goal, that was pushed over the bar by Wicks for another Chicago corner.
Nothing resulted from the corner, and without any more dangerous chances, the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Steven Streff, Goal.com
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