Chicago Fire Fall 3-1 To Vancouver Whitecaps FC

VANCOUVER, B.C. (Sunday, July 14, 2013) – The Chicago Fire (6-9-3, 21 points) fell 3-1 to Vancouver Whitecaps FC (9-5-5, 32 points) at BC Place Sunday afternoon. After a scoreless first half, the Whitecaps’ Camilo Sanvezzo scored two goals in five minutes and Whitecaps rookie Kekuta Manneh tallied an 84^th minute strike before Patrick Nyarko pulled one back for the Fire in second half stoppage time.
In the fourth minute of the match, Mike Magee received the ball inside the Whitecaps half and sent a long, looping cross to Chris Rolfe inside the 18-yard-box. Rolfe took a touch to settle and with a quick turn, unleashed a left-footed half-volley onto frame but Whitecaps ‘keeper Brad Knighton was able to push it away.
The two sides would trade chances and in the 41^st minute the ball fell to Kenny Miller 25 yards from goal but his left-footed volley went just wide.
Miller would again get a good look on goal just minutes into the second half. The Whitecaps captain received the ball at the top of the arc and nailed his right-footed shot off the right post.
The home side would open scoring in the 66^th minute when Knighton sent the ball downfield to Camilo. The Brazilian danced in towards goal and with a quick, right-footed shot, sent the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal.
The Whitecaps would double their lead in the 71^st minute when Knighton again found Camilo, who broke in towards goal. Paolo Tornaghi got down and was able to push to ball off his foot, but the Brazilian striker regained the ball and tucked his driven, right-footed shot inside the post to double the lead.
In the 84^th minute Manneh would make it 3-0 for the home side. Nyarko blocked his initial shot but Manneh was able to recover and tucked his right-footed shot inside the near post.
Nyarko would tally the Fire’s lone goal of the evening in the 94^th minute. From the left flank, Joel Lindpere lofted his cross to Maicon Santos in front of goal. Santos’ header clanged off the post and fell again to Lindpere, whose cross found Nyarko seven yards out. Nyarko out jumped his defender and sent a looping header just out of Knighton’s reach as the match ended 3-1.
The Fire return to action when they host D.C. United at Toyota Park on Saturday, July 20 at 7:30 p.m. CT (My50/La Ley 107.9). Tickets for the match are available at www.Chicago-Fire.com or by calling 1-888-MLS-FIRE.
Notes:
-With the result, the Fire move to 1-2-1 all-time in MLS Regular Season matches against the Whitecaps
-Fire defender Shaun Francis made his first competitive appearance for the Fire since joining the club on Wednesday, July 10. The Jamaican international started at left back in place of Gonzalo Segares, who was serving a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation.
-Nyarko’s goal in the 94^th minute was his third goal of the 2013 MLS campaign
-Lindpere’s assist on Nyarko’s goal was his third helper of the 2013 season
Quotes:
Frank Klopas, Chicago Fire Head Coach
Thoughts on the match
“I felt that we had a good start to the game and for 45 minutes we had a lot of good opportunities in the final third that I think we should have taken advantage of but the second half was different. In a game like this it’s disappointing for us with I think the way we played and the chances we had in the first half not to walk away with points from here but the game is 90 minutes and I felt that little things in the second half, just seconds balls and those things that kind of turned the game their way and they were able to put their chances away.”
On how the team will respond to losing two successive matches:
“It’s important how you respond from situations like this. We have a tough stretch coming up right now, we have away games and we need to find a way to get results and points. It’s a crucial month and a half with a lot of important games coming up so we need to get points or we’re going to fall behind.”
On losing two goals in quick succession:
“It’s always difficult when you fall behind. The important thing is just getting the next one but three behind makes it a little more difficult. When it’s two you can get that one back; the pressure changes. We let things slip away from us.”
Shaun Francis, Chicago Fire Defender
On Chicago not taking their chances early on:
“It was an away game so we all knew that they were going to come out and put a lot of pressure on us at home. We weathered the storm and we did a good job in the first half and kept it at 0-0. We got a couple of chances and we didn’t make use of our chances.”
On his team making mistakes:
“The game is all about mistakes and who makes the most mistakes and the other team’s going to capitalize on those chances. They capitalized on their chances and scored.”
Patrick Nyarko, Chicago Fire Midfielder
On his goal:
“It came out, we were trying to push at that time, it set up perfectly and I went up to get it.”
On recovering from two goals in five minutes:
“It’s hard, it was definitely hard. I think we let our foot off the gas a little bit for a couple minutes and they punished us and that decided the game.
On outplaying Whitecaps FC in the first half:
“Absolutely, I think we deserved a better result. When you play like that and you end up losing like this it hurts but we shot ourselves in the foot but we got to go back to the drawing board and figure out the mistakes we made.”
Mike Magee, Chicago Fire Forward
On why Chicago lost the match:
“We were good in spurts today, obviously we weren’t good with our attacking chances and they made the most of theirs. The fans are great, it’s a great atmosphere, the field is definitely not easy to get used to. But yeah, obviously they’re a quality team.”
On having several chances either blocked or saved:
“It just wasn’t my day, I tried my best and sometimes they don’t go in.”
Joel Lindpere, Chicago Fire Midfielder
On his contributions as a substitute:
“I tried to play smart, especially when you play away you got to keep the ball and give good passes to your teammates. I think I went in and did good, and did what I’m supposed to do: keep the ball, play good passes to my teammates and got an assist. I had two chances to score myself also, but I was happy I got a chance to play in the middle.”
On Vancouver’s home-field advantage:
“We played a great first half, but for us it doesn’t matter if we’re playing on turf or grass, I mean we played a very good first half, we had to realize in the second half a lot of our players didn’t have the legs after spending so much time attacking in the first. We should’ve played a little smarter, kept possession for a little while, hold back and play smarter.”
On the effects of the midweek friendly versus Club America:
“I played 60 minutes in that match and I would love to play 90 minutes normally. We’ve had a couple of practices since then and I’ve been feeling good so hopefully I get more minutes in these upcoming games. I was hoping to play even more today, it’s not my decision but I’m ready to step in each game as necessary. Hopefully we bounce back at home next week, it’s a crucial end of the month, we have a cup semifinal at home coming up, we need to get our confidence back after these two straight losses.”
Chicago Fire 1 – 3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Chicago Fire: Paolo Tornaghi; Jalil Anibaba, Austin Berry, Bakary Soumare, Shaun Francis; Patrick Nyarko, Jeff Larentowicz ©, Alex (Joel Lindpere 60’), Dilly Duka (Maicon Santos 74’); Chris Rolfe (Quincy Amarikwa 67’), Mike Magee
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Sherjill MacDonald, Hunter Jumper, Michael Videira
Vancouver Whitecaps FC: Brad Knighton; Young-Pyo Lee, Brad Rusin, Johnny Leveron, Jordan Harvey; Nigel Reo-Coker (Daigo Kobayashi 91’), Jun Marques Davidson, Gershon Koffie; Corey Hertzog (Kekuta Manneh 62’), Camilo Sanvezzo (Darren Mattocks 88’), Kenny Miller ©
Substitutes not used: David Ousted, Matt Watson, Tommy Heinemann, Greg Klazura
Scoring Summary
VWFC – Camilo Sanvezzo (Brad Knighton) 66’ 
VWFC – Camilo Sanvezzo (unassisted) 71’
VWFC – Kekuta Manneh (unassisted) 84’
CHI – Patrick Nyarko (Joel Lindpere) 94’
Misconduct Summary
None
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistants: Jeff Hosking, Marco Arruda
Fourth Official: Younes Marrakchi
Attendance: 20,206