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MLS Tickets - United 2, Fire 1
Brian McBride had a chance to tie the game for the Chicago Fire. He received a penalty kick in the second-half and faced United goalkeeper Josh Wicks. McBride was 12 yards away when he hammered a shot on net. Wicks remained calm and collective when he planted his feet, then dropped to his right and blocked away the would-be- game-tying goal and secured a 2-1 triumph over the Fire. The victory pushed United (5-2-7) further up in the Eastern Conference standings. United's Santino Quaranta told the press that Josh came up big with that save. Jamie Moreno gave his team a 1-0 first-half lead with a penalty kick on a call that got the Chicago club "fired" up. Get MLS tickets and see United on the field.
Christian Gomez scored the game winning goal early in the second half on a free kick. Moreno's free kick was the result of a penalty that was drawn by goalkeeper Jon Busch. He received a yellow card for colliding with Chris Pontius at the corner of the goal area. Moreno then drilled the ball past Busch on his free shot in the 24th minute of the game. The loss was Chicago's first on the road. The Fire (5-3-6) had one of the longest starts in MLS history without registering a loss, but have been in a bit of a jam lately. The club has dropped three in a row. Chicago coach Denis Hamlett said the referees made some horrible calls, but otherwise it was a solid game.
The coach expressed his frustration when he told the press the match was a disappointment. He thought his club played a pretty good game, but stated there were three bad calls that affected the outcome. Chicago tied up the game in the 33rd minute. John Thorrington sent a long pass to Tim Ward, who then passed the ball along the top of the box to Marco Pappa. The Midfielder drove a shot from 17 yards out and scored. Gomez would answer that goal when he put United back into the lead with his free kick. It came from 20 yards out, from the top right corner in the 41st minute. The Fire had their opportunities to tie the match, especially in the 49th minute of the game.
Wicks came to the middle of the box to challenge McBride, and both players collided. That reckless foul gave McBride the 12-yard spot for the potential game-tying goal. But Wicks made a stellar save along with four other key saves throughout the match. The goalkeeper said he just wanted to hold his ground as long as he could so he wouldn't give up a goal. He added that when the ball drove towards the net he was fortunate to get a hand on it. Both teams were missing key players; Chicago's Cuauhtemoc Blanco was absent from the match because he played in Mexico's World Cup qualifier and United's Luciano Emilio was serving a red card suspension. As of June 16th, United has a one-point lead over Chicago in the East and will now hit the road for the next three games.
About the Author This article was sponsored by StubHub. StubHub sells MLS tickets, as well as many other kinds of sports tickets, concert tickets, special events tickets and theater tickets.
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