Michael de Leeuw scored his first MLS goal, and the Chicago Fire made it stand up for a 1-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City on a stormy Wednesday night at Toyota Park.
A thunderstorm moving through the area forced kickoff to be delayed by 1 hour and 48 minutes. Once the match finally got under way, the Fire withstood a second-minute scare that saw a set-piece header from Sporting's Dom Dwyer wiped out by the offside flag.
De Leeuw, acquired in mid-May from Dutch side FC Groningen, opened his account in the 19th minute. After a quick restart from Brandon Vincent following a foul on the left flank, Razvan Cocis sent in a low cross that de Leeuw tapped in from four yards out, giving Chicago all the offense they needed to run their home unbeaten streak to seven matches across all competitions.
Box Score
- 19' -- CHI -- Michael de Leeuw (Razvan Cocis, Brandon Vincent)
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Three things
SEANJOHN WITH THE CLUTCH STOPS: Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson made two key saves down the stretch to preserve the clean sheet. He made a diving stop on Brad Davis' free kick in the 80th minute, then got down to deny Dwyer's header in the 87th. They were his only saves of the night.
ALL THE POSSESSION, NONE OF THE GOALS: After scoring six total goals in their two previous matches, Sporting were shut out despite holding 67.8 percent of possession, completing 81 percent of their passes and outshooting the Fire 19-2. Only two of those shots were on target, though, with seven of them denied by the Fire's tightly-packed defense.
NUNO OUT AGAIN FOR SKC: Sporting's main center back tandem of Matt Besler and Nuno Coelho started together for the first time since Besler left for US national team duty at the Copa America Centenario -- but it didn't last long. Coelho, who had missed four matches with thigh and hamstring problems before returning last weekend as a sub, pulled up lame early in Wednesday's match and had to be replaced by Ike Opara.
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