BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – With two wins on the board and a move to 10 points, the Chicago Fire are hoping their hard-fought 1-0 victory against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday can be a turning point and give them something to build on moving into the second third of the season.
The Fire returned to Toyota Park following a grueling three-game spell on the road that resulted in three defeats in Vancouver, New England and New York hoping to end their drought. They earned their victory, out-shooting the Dynamo 20 to 10, despite enjoying just 37 percent of the possession. The result leaves Houston without a road win since July 10, 2015.
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Back on home soil, the Fire got off to the brightest of starts as Arturo Alvarez deftly poked home a stunning Gilberto through-ball in the third minute, and held firm defensively to claim a much-needed three points to remain in touch of the playoff places.
“I think it’s very important,” Dutch defender Johan Kappelhof told reporters of the impact of this victory. “We needed this win, we’ve worked hard for a few games and we didn’t get the points, but we stick together as a team and for the feeling of the team it’s very important that we win this match.”
Head coach Veljko Paunovic recognized the resilience of a backline that has conceded just 13 goals in 11 games, as the return of Sean Johnson the lineup for his second game in four days saw the Men in Red earn their fourth clean sheet of the campaign.
“We have just two wins, but we are very tough to play against, very tough to score goals against,” Paunovic said. “That’s our identity at this point so we build on that. The guys are aware of that and for me that was a good defensive performance today, but I think we also performed very well in attack. Overall, I am happy with three points, I am very happy with the performance and character that the guys had today.”
Johnson produced three saves to keep Owen Coyle’s men at bay in what was a battle of the bottom between each conference’s worst team to date. That the Fire came out on top was as much to do with Johnson’s steady presence between the posts as Alvarez’s opportunist finish.
“I think we have to build on this win,” Johnson insisted. “Any type of positivity in this time you have to grab and you have to run with.”
Having been a frustrated spectator for much of the season through injury and non-selection, Johnson turned in an assured performance to remind Paunovic that he will not concede the goalkeeper’s jersey to Matt Lampson without a serious fight.
“It’s good to be back, back fighting on the pitch with the guys and I think this result tonight was massive,” Johnson added. “It comes at a tough time for us, we’ve been through a lot, but we’ve stuck together through the entire thing, so I’m happy for everybody that stepped on the field, and everybody on the team that gave their all so support everybody. It was a win for the organization today.”
Shane Murray is a contributor to MLSsoccer.com
