Using a lineup heavy with reserves, the Chicago Fire played their way to the verge of semifinals of SuperLiga 2009 with a 1-0 win against visiting Chivas USA Tuesday at Toyota Park.
Justin Mapp scored in the 35th minute and the Fire held on to record their second consecutive shutout in SuperLiga play. The victory gave the Fire a 2-0-0 record (six points) in group play. Chivas dropped to 0-2-0 in the international tournament combining teams from Major League Soccer and the Mexican FMF Primera Division.
The Fire played their second consecutive SuperLiga game without center back Bakary Soumare, who returned this week from Africa after participating in World Cup qualifying for his home country, Mali. Fire coach Denis Hamlett put C.J. Brown in his spot, and moved seldom-used defender Austin Washington on the right side in place of starter Tim Ward, who was on the substitutes list for the game.
The Fire midfield was severely altered, with Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Marco Pappa and Chris Rolfe out and Mapp, Baggio Husidic and Mike Banner in. The forwards were also changed, with rookie Stefan Dimitrov and second-year occasional starter Patrick Nyarko in the lineup, and Brian McBride out.
Washington, Husidic, Banner and Dimitrov have not started an MLS game yet for the Fire this season.
After losing the tournament opener against Tigres, Chivas USA coach Preki also altered his lineup, putting veteran Shavar Thomas in on defense in place of Claudio Suarez. Jorge Flores got the start in place of Jesse Marsch at midfield, Michael Lahoud got a start at midfield while Bojan Stepanovic was inserted as a forward along with Alecko Eskandarian.
Chivas USA was without leading scorer Eduardo Lillingston as well as two other starters. Defender Jonathan Bornstein and midfielder Sacha Kljestan are in South Africa with the U.S. national team for Wednesday's semifinal game against Spain in the Confederations Cup.
Playing in oppressive mid-80s heat and high humidity, the first 15 minutes presented one real scoring chance. On a Chivas corner kick, Thomas was at the far post and sent a header that hit the right post.
In the 15th minute, Brown left the game with a right hamstring strain and was replaced by Brandon Prideaux.
In the 21st minute, Chivas defender Mariano Trujillo pulled up with a left hamstring strain and was replaced by former Fire defender Jim Curtin.
The Fire took a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute when Patrick Nyarko stole a back pass and dribbled toward the right side of the box. He sent a cross to Mapp, but it bounced off the feet of two Chivas defenders before laying at Mapp's left foot for a 16-yard shot over Chivas goalkeeper Zach Thornton.
For the second half, Chivas sent Chukwudi Chijindu, Jesse Marsch and Maykel Galindo into the game in place of Jorge Flores, Pablo Nagamura and Lahoud.
Washington broke up a great scoring chance for Chivas in the 52nd minute. A through ball found Galindo alone on the right side well behind the defense. With Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch running out toward him, Galindo sent a cross to Chijindu, who momentarily lost control of the ball, allowing Washington to get back and disrupt his shot.
In the 54th minute, Banner sent a shot from the deep left side that Thornton punched out directly in front of himself. Chivas cleared the ball before a Fire player could get a scoring touch on the ball.
In the 69th minute, Hamlett sent Marco Pappa into the game for Mapp, and put defender Tim Ward in to play for Dimitrov.
In the 73rd minute, Eskandarian left the game on a stretcher but stayed on the sideline receiving treatment. The Red-and-White had already used their four allowable substitutes for the game at that point, but Eskandarian was able to return four minutes later.
In the 80th minute, during a Fire scoring chance, Ante Jazic hit the ground and stayed there, and with the Chivas players calling for a stoppage of play, the Fire regrouped and Wilman Conde connected with Pappa down the right side for a clear scoring opportunity. Pappa's eventual shot was saved by Thornton, and a minor melee ensued as players argued over the events.
In the 89th minute, Hamlett used his last substitution, sending Chris Rolfe into the game for Husidic.
If Tigres defeats San Luis in the second game of the doubleheader, then the two semifinalists from Group A will be set, with both the Fire and Tigres advancing. If the game ends in a draw, then the Fire are guaranteed to be one of the two semifinalists. If San Luis wins, the group will come down to the final day of play on Saturday.
Kent McDill is a contributor to MLSnet.com
