Chris Brady made four saves as the Chicago Fire put together a complete performance in a 3-0 shutout of Minnesota United FC on Saturday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
Chicago (13-11-6, 45 points) put the match away in the 70th minute when Philip Zinckernagel received a pass at the top of the 18-yard box, took on a defender with a stutter step, faked a shot and then drilled the ball right under the crossbar. The goal gave Zinckernagel 14 on the season and 27 goal contributions overall.
The Fire had two set pieces in the first half in nearly identical positions that both ended with the ball going past the goal line. The first came in the 26th minute when Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair (six saves) saved a headed effort by Sam Rogers that fell to the feet of Joel Waterman, who sent a shot across the face of goal and into the right side of the netting to give the Fire the lead.
Chicago had another free kick from the area in the 41st minute. This time the ball did not need a second-chance effort when Dje D’Avilla leapt toward the pass and headed the ball past St. Clair.
The win helps the Fire keep pace with the New York Red Bulls, who also won Saturday night, to stay in the ninth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Chicago outshot Minnesota 18-10, had five more shots on goal than the home side (9-4) and out-possessed the Loons 59.2 to 40.8 percent.
Down 2-0 at that point of the second half, Minnesota United (15-7-9, 54 points) thought they cut their two-goal deficit in half in the 68th minute when Mamadou Dieng tapped in a loose ball created from a Brady save. As the lights in the home stadium went off to celebrate, the side referee’s flag went up to call offside, which was confirmed by a VAR review.
Minnesota’s defeat was its second this week after the Loons fell to Austin FC 2-1 on Wednesday in the US Open Cup.
In the 87th minute, tempers flared between the two sides after St. Clair saved a penalty shot by Chicago’s Hugo Cuypers. The play ended a late frustration push from Nicolas Romero, which started a pushing match between the sides with the game securely in Chicago’s favor. Romero and Chicago’s Jack Elliott received yellow cards.
–Field Level Media
