There was only one team putting forth any kind of offense in the second half Saturday, and that was Chivas USA.
The Red-and-White, trailing 1-0 at halftime, put three shots on goal in the second half but could not breach the best defense in the league and dropped a 1-0 road decision to the Chicago Fire before a sellout crowd at Toyota Park.
Chivas coach Preki watched from the press box because of a suspension resulting from a red card in the last league game for the club, the 1-1 tie with the LA Galaxy on July 10.
"We were a little sluggish to start," Preki said. "We didn't play with a lot of energy like I expected. We make one mistake and they scored a goal.
"In the second half, we were better, and we had a little more energy, we were pushing forward," he said. "I felt we could easily have had one or two calls go our way in the box, but for some reason we are not getting any calls when it comes to penalty kicks. Seventeen games and no penalty kicks. The guy in the middle doesn't make the call and now we move on."
The loss dropped Chivas to 6-7-4 overall (22 points) and gave the Red-and-White a 1-4-3 road record this season.
Using a patchwork offense because of multiple injuries, Chivas had little offensive thrust in the first half. They were credited with two shots, neither on goal. But they also played solid defense, with the Fire getting only two shots on goal out of five shots in the first 45 minutes.
Unfortunately, one of those shots got through.
Off a corner kick, the ball bounced into the box and Chivas twice tried to clear it out. The second time, the ball ended up on the foot of Fire forward Chris Rolfe, who sent a dribbler to Patrick Nyarko inside the box and Nyarko curled the ball up and over the head of Chivas goalkeeper Zach Thornton, who just joined the team this week to replace England-bound Brad Guzan.
Thornton's last MLS game was in 2006 for the Colorado Rapids. He was with the New York Red Bulls this season but played only in reserve games and a U.S. Open Cup contest.
"I don't think I saw too many chances, except for the goal," Thornton said. "The ball was bouncing around, and they happened to get there first and got a shot off. It was one of those unlucky things."
Thornton, who played with the Fire from 1998-2005 (with one year off in Portugal) faced no shots on goal in the second half.
The Chivas injury report listed 10 players, including forwards Maykel Galindo, Alecko Eskandarian and Ante Razov. Galindo and Eskandarian were second-half substitutions and Chivas was more dangerous then, especially when Galindo entered the game in the 64th minute.
"We threw a couple of guys in (Galindo and Eskandarian) and looked more dynamic," Preki said. "But when we needed to make a play or two, we couldn't do it."
In addition to the injuries, Sacha Kljestan was unavailable because he is with the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing and midfielder Jorge Flores was with the U-20 national team.
"We haven't made excuses for guys not being available," said midfielder Jesse Marsch said. "This is our group, from 1 to 30, and we like our team. Different guys have contributed on different days. I think the team we put out there tonight was a good team but we couldn't find the upper hand."
There could be another injury blow from the contest. In first-half stoppage time, captain Claudio Suarez and Nyarko collided, and Suarez had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. Bobby Burling replaced Suarez in the lineup at the start of the second half.
Team officials reported Suarez was hit in the back of his head and was dizzy at halftime. There was no post-game report on his condition.
Chivas had not played a league game since the July 10 1-1 SuperClasico draw with the Galaxy. While they were the home game that day, the Red-and-White had not played an MLS game away from The Home Depot Center since playing at New York June 5. Their last league loss came the next weekend, June 14 vs. Real Salt Lake.
After the break, Chivas put three shots on target. But the Fire and goalkeeper Jon Busch held firm for their league-leading eighth shutout of the season.
"They did a good job of knowing what our strengths are and knowing that we like to pass," Marsch, also a former Fire player. "They were pressuring us in the midfield. It made it difficult for us to find a lot of space. I think we had a good second half and fought hard, but just couldn't quite make that play to get us back in the game."
Kent McDill is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
