Behind Johan Gomez’s second-half goal, the visiting Chicago Fire pulled out a 1-0 victory over Charlotte FC Saturday night.
With the win, Chicago (12-8-6, 42 points) is now just one point behind Charlotte (12-8-7, 43 points) with a game in hand as the two sides battle for a top-four spot in the Eastern Conference. Chicago outshot Charlotte 18-9, including a 9-2 edge in shots on goal.
Charlotte keeper Kristijan Kahlina made eight saves, while Josh Cohen, making his first start with Chicago, saved one shot.
Gomez put Chicago ahead in the 58th minute after a corner kick. Kahlina couldn’t punch out Philip Zinckernagel’s corner and was caught out of position. The ball bounced off Jack Elliott’s shoulder to Gomez. He struck at close range past a stunned Kahlina and into the bottom right corner for his first MLS goal.
Tyger Smalls and Charlotte launched a quick counter-attack after the referee restarted play. Although Smalls scored after rebounding another missed shot, the referee waved the goal off for offside. The goal would’ve been Smalls’ first in MLS.
Chicago’s Jonathan Bamba had the game’s first serious chance in the 18th minute when Maren Haile-Selassie sent him a squared pass inside the box. Bamba curled his effort past Kahlina, but it slammed off the outside of the post.
Chicago dominated possession and the tempo throughout the first half and initially enjoyed the better opportunities. Gomez and Haile-Selassie both tested Kahlina from range, while Pep Biel and the Charlotte attack were muted.
However, Charlotte fought hard after conceding, launching rapid counter-attacks and testing the Fire defense with some well-placed shots. Allan Saint-Maximin forced a diving save from Cohen in the 73rd minute, and Mbekezeli Mbokazi had a brilliant goal-line clearance to preserve Chicago’s clean sheet.
Smalls won possession inside the box after successfully pressing a Chicago defender and faced Cohen one-on-one in the 86th minute. However, instead of laying the ball off to an open Ashley Westwood yards away, he launched a shot that was comfortably stopped by Cohen.
Tim Ream earned a yellow card eight minutes into stoppage time after a physical tackle and was sent off seconds later after a second yellow for dissent. As a result, Ream will miss Charlotte’s next match against FC Dallas on Oct. 10.
Archie Goodwin, filling in for Toklomati at striker, had to be helped off the field just after halftime with an apparent right leg injury.
–Field Level Media
