Arturo Alvarez certainly didn’t appear travel-weary in the opening minutes of Saturday’s match.
With the Chicago Fire coming off their trying eight-day road trip and a late-night return Wednesday, the Men In Red knew they’d need to dig deep to be at their best for their fourth game in 11 days at home to a well-rested Houston Dynamo side. The 30-year-old Alvarez was given the night off in the road trip’s final leg against the Red Bulls -- his only absence from Chicago’s starting XI through the first 10 matches -- and hoped to drive the action Saturday with the Fire in need of three points.
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“It hasn't been an easy two weeks, a lot of traveling,” Alvarez said. “But I think the group has shown good character. It was tough, and a lot of guys were tired, I was tired myself. But sometimes, that's what it takes to win, and we got it done today."
Playing an advanced role in Veljko Paunovic's 4-3-3, Alvarez dialed up the energy in the game’s third minute, sprinting into the box to latch onto a hopeful ball by Gilberto. Alvarez converged on the ball along with Houston’s DaMarcus Beasley and Tyler Deric, putting in a timely touch to slide home his first goal as a member of the Fire.
"I know Gilberto was getting ready to make a cross, and felt like maybe if I can sneak in there, the ball could bounce and I can sneak in there and beat Beasley, and it did,” he said. “Sometimes, you kind of guess and it falls for you. I thought the goalkeeper was going to clean me out, but I kind of just stuck with it and fortunately it went my way."
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The strike also marked the first MLS goal in nearly six years for Alvarez, who after 10 years in the league took his game overseas from 2012-15. That his first MLS goal since July 10, 2010 came against his hometown Houston Dynamo was not lost on the Space City native.
"In the past, I've scored a few times against Houston, so it's always good to score, especially when you play sometimes against some of your friends,” said Alvarez, who now has four goals and three assists in 19 career appearances against Houston. “But the most important thing to do was getting three points at home after a long, hard road trip."
