Chicago House Athletic Club were beaten once again on Thursday night as they lost 1-0 to the Los Angeles Force at the Championship Stadium.

A hideous contest throughout, the lone goal came via a set-piece when Christian Chaney headed home a loose ball following a free-kick whipped into the area. Chicago did have two men sent off by the time the game was done, with one being player Musa Morris, and the other being head coach C.J. Brown.

All in all, it was a rough night for everyone, but at least LA were able to pick up the win and all three points.

Story of the match

Chicago nearly opened the scoring within the first four minutes. A superb cross from Matteo Kidd picked out Derek Huffman in the area, but his header was saved by Brandon Gomez

They came very close once again a little bit later. Wojciech Wójcik did very well to create the chance, settling a pass before dribbling past a defender to open up some space for himself. His work would be for naught, though, as his eventual effort hit the post before the danger was cleared.

The rest of the first half was quite boring, although an audacious bicycle kick attempt from a Los Angeles player a bit before the break was a highlight, even if it didn’t really test the goalkeeper.

Things were more of the same to start the second half, but something finally happened past the hour mark when the Force took the lead. A free-kick whipped into the area wasn’t defended properly, which allowed Christian Chaney to head home from close range.

Chicago’s night went from bad to worse with about ten minutes to go, as they went down a man. Musa Morris went hard into a challenge and failed to win the ball, which led to the referee showing him a red card. However, it was almost certainly the wrong decision since the tackle didn’t even look that bad on the replays shown by the broadcast team. Even the home commentators didn’t agree with the call.

It very well should have been 2-0 after a careless turnover at the back by Michael Kafari. The initial shot was saved, though, and then the rebound hit the bar, keeping the House in the game by the thinnest of margins.

C.J. Brown, the head coach of the visitors, was then sent off as well. It wasn't clear what happened, but it looked like he was shown a red for complaining too much.

A late save from Mike Novotny kept it a one-score game, but Los Angeles were ultimately able to hold to the win and all three points. 

Takeaways

What in the world is going on with Drew Conner? Chicago’s most notable player hasn’t even been in the matchday squad the last two games, and there’s been no news of an injury. Has there been a lack of info on his health, or is something more going on behind the scenes? Either way, it is a worry, and fans will just have to hope that he returns sooner rather than later.

This was one of the worst games I’ve ever seen in my life. Other than Chicago’s two early chances and Los Angeles’ goal, neither team managed to create real opportunities. The ball just seemed to bounce around aimlessly throughout, and the only goal of the contest was quite an ugly one. Whether or not this is NISA’s standard of play or a bad night at the office for both remains to be seen, but what is certain is that the match sucked to watch.

Man of the match - Christian Chaney

Christian Chaney scored the winner, so he deserves the nod here.

That’s it. That's literally all I have. No one else did much of note, so there’s nothing else to write about.

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