DENVER, Co. – The Chicago Fire were undone as a pair of second half goals from Colorado Rapids forwards Omar Cummings and Kamani Hill propelled the Rapids (3-1-0, nine points) over the Fire (1-1-1, four points), 2-0, at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Sunday afternoon.
Entering the match after the first victory of the season, Fire head coach Frank Klopas tinkered with the Starting XI, slotting Fire captain Logan Pause in at right back for an injured Dan Gargan and giving Colombian Rafael Robayo his first starting nod of the young campaign.
The Fire nearly broke through in the 38th minute as Marco Pappa found Dominic Oduro darting into space. The fleet Ghanaian collected the pass in stride before firing a low, driving effort into Rapids’ ‘keeper Matt Pickens. Despite chances on both sides, the first interval finished deadlocked at 0-0.
The home side found the opening tally in the 58th minute when newly acquired midfielder Martin Rivero played a hopeful ball over the top of the Fire defense to Brian Mullan on the right flank. The veteran Rapids midfielder tracked down the ball at the endline before sending a precision pass to Omar Cummings in the box. The Jamaican forward met the pass and buried his shot past Paolo Tornaghi to give the Rapids a 1-0 advantage.
Searching for the equalizer, Sebastian Grazzini played a ball in behind the Rapids defense finding Oduro charging into space. The Fire forward ripped a shot on goal that Pickens punched away in the 68th minute.
The Rapids found a second goal in the waning moments of the match. Hill, making his Rapids and MLS debut, picked up a loose ball at the top of the 18-yard box. The former Bundesliga forward cranked a shot that Tornaghi was equal to only for the rebound to fall directly to the UCLA product who in-turn calmly placed his second effort into the back of the net at the far post in the 92nd minute.
The Fire step outside of MLS action next weekend, but will remain in form with a match against Louisville at the Toyota Park practice field on Saturday, April 7 at 10:00 a.m. CT. The Men in Red return to league play against the Houston Dynamo at Toyota Park on Sunday, April 15 at 6:00 p.m. CT (NBC5.2/Galavision). Chicago Fire Season Tickets are available by calling 1-888-MLS-FIRE (657-3473), via Ticketmaster or by heading to the club’s official website at Chicago-Fire.com.
Notes:
- In his third consecutive start for the Fire, Paolo Tornaghi recorded seven saves.
- Gonzalo Segares appeared in his 150th match for the club.
- The Fire fall to 1-2-3 in matches played at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
- The Fire was held scoreless for the first time in the 2012 season.
- In seven career matches against the Fire, Omar Cummings has tallied six goals.
Chicago Fire 0 – 2 Colorado Rapids
Chicago Fire: Paolo Tornaghi; Logan Pause © (Orr Barouch, 83’), Jalil Anibaba, Cory Gibbs, Gonzalo Segares; Marco Pappa (Federico Puppo, 78’), Pavel Pardo, Rafael Robayo (Daniel Paladini, 61’); Sebastian Grazzini; Dominic Oduro, Patrick Nyarko
Substitutes not used: Sean Johnson, Austin Berry, Hunter Jumper, Corben Bone
Colorado Rapids: Matt Pickens: Kosuke Kimura, Marvell Wynne, Drew Moor, Luis Zapata; Jaime Castrillon (Kamani Hill, 81’), Jeff Larentowicz, Brian Mullan, Martin Rivero (Tyrone Marshall, 87’), Tony Cascio (Well Thompson, 67’); Omar Cummings
Substitutes not used: Steward Ceus, Scott Palguta, Quincy Amarikwa, Joseph Nane
Scoring Summary
COL – Omar Cummings (Brian Mullan, Martin Rivero) 58’
COL – Kamani Hill (unassisted) 92’
Misconduct Summary
CHI – Sebastian Grazzini (caution) 55’
Referee: Chris Penso
Assistants: Chris Strickland, Mike Rottersman
Fourth Official: Yader Reyes
Attendance: 13,152
