The Chicago Fire picked up a much-needed victory on Wednesday night as they defeated Toronto FC 2-0 at Soldier Field.
A Jhon Durán double proved to be the difference between the two sides, as he scored twice early on to give Chicago a big lead. The hosts were able to deal with everything Toronto threw at them for the rest of the contest, ultimately securing a clean sheet and three potentially big points in the process.
Story of the match
It only took three minutes for someone to shoot themselves in the foot. Toronto lost the ball in midfield, and everyone had pushed up for some reason, which left acres of space for Jhon Durán to run into. His finish was actually a pretty poor one, as he hit it right at the goalkeeper, but the ball managed to fly through him and into the back of the net anyway.
The away side kept playing a high line, and they were made to pay for that about ten minutes later. A brilliant flick from Brian Gutiérrez got the ball to Durán, and he blew by his marker before flying through on goal. This finish was a lot more convincing, as he slotted home from close range to make it 2-0.
Chicago controlled proceedings after that, but they weren’t able to create a clear cut chance. The next opportunity actually fell to Toronto, but Gabriel Slonina was able to punch away a decent strike from Mark-Anthony Kaye.
The second half developed a very clear theme early on, as the Canadian side pushed bodies forward in search of a goal, while the Fire sat back and looked to hit on the counter.
Despite all their possession, Toronto just weren’t able to carve out any real openings. It was all too easy for Chicago, to be fair, who stayed solid at the back to secure a pretty important victory.
Takeaways
I know the attendance was so low because this was a midweek game between two woeful teams, but man did Soldier Field look cavernous. Leaving Bridgeview still hasn’t paid off yet, and occasions like this make the move seem even worse.
At one point Jonathan Bornstein took a throw-in and threw the ball off the back of Xherdan Shaqiri, which allowed the former to settle it right away. An excellent little play there, not gonna lie.
What in the world was Toronto thinking when it came to their high line? Pushing bodies forward while trying to play the opposition offside is one thing, but what they did was self-destruction at its finest. They didn’t change when they realized they were up against a pacey forward, and they didn’t even change after conceding the opener. It was only after the second goal that they finally dropped back a little, but by that point, it was too late.
Saying this win has saved Chicago’s season is going too far, of course, but at least they’ve now given themselves a chance again. A victory this weekend against the Seattle Sounders would put them right back in playoff contention, and even though that will be a much tougher task, stranger things have happened in this league.
Man of the match - Jhon Durán
Even though Toronto were arguably the architects of their own downfall, Jhon Durán still deserves plenty of praise for his performance on the night.
He made the most of what was given to him, using his blistering speed to devastating effect. The Colombian took off at every opportunity, and even though he was caught offside sometimes, he was able to break free on a few occasions. Two of those occasions came early in the contest, and they both lead to crucial goals.
The finish on the first one may not have been great, but Durán’s strike on the second goal was absolutely lethal. It was the sign of a confident player, and showings like this one should only fill him with more confidence going forward.
His impact went beyond the scoresheet as well, as his constant running made him a nuisance for the opposition defense, and it also opened up loads of space for his teammates. The 18-year-old has taken some time to get going in Chicago, but he might now be starting to show why his signing was such a promising one after all.
Key quotes
Chicago Fire head coach Ezra Hendrickson: "But that football tonight, that's how we want to play. We want to get on teams early, get up early, but keep leads, not give them away. We don't want to be a team that's known to give up leads, give away games in the second half; that's not our identity. It was good."
"This team was going to take on my personality, and that's to never say never, that's to never die. Always be determined, always fight. And it's getting there, we're getting better and better, but that consistency is something we have to build on. And that comes in training, how we train, how we train is how we're gonna play. We have to just continue to train hard, work hard, and they'll show up in games."
Chicago Fire attacker Jhon Durán: “It’s work that we put in during the week, we worked hard on pressuring and attacking the spaces. I think that was more conviction, wanting to score and score goals. For the other part, I'm happy to start scoring again to help the team.”
“I thought about my dad whose birthday is today and dedicating this game to him, and well, you think about your family, how they should be, how they might be feeling in Colombia and basically that was it.”
Chicago Fire attacker Xherdan Shaqiri: “It was the most important thing, I think, to bounce back and to show a positive reaction. It was a good win, important win. We have to keep going. Consistency is important in football and these guys have to learn to be consistent. That’s what we have to learn from these games. We hope we can continue now to win more and more games in a row."
“I talked to the guys, coach did also, that we have to keep going and to stay focused on the game and to stick to our game plan until the end of the game. That was the key today. We didn’t concede, that was also very good. That, defensively, we stay strong and, yeah, two-nil, two-zero, a perfect day for us.”