The Chicago Fire fell 1-0 on the road against the Portland Timbers on Friday at Providence Park, despite limiting their opponent to just two shots on-goal.
A broken play was the difference in a match that featured few golden chances for either side. Fanendo Adi tapped in from close range three minutes into the second half after a Diego Valeri cross was deflected at the near post for the game's loan goal.
Match Highlights | MLS Matchcenter
Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson wasn't troubled the rest of the match, calmly parrying away the Timbers' only other shot on-goal. Still, Chicago was unable to breakthrough for an equalizer despite several quality looks late in the game.
One of those chances came in the 87th minute after Shaun Maloney played Kennedy Igboananike into the box. Igboananike wound up to take his shot, but appeared to get clipped from behind. The ball sprung loose and to the feet of Razvan Cocis, who uncorked a shot from just inside the top of the box. Portland goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey was well positioned and smothered the attempt.
READ: Postmatch Quotes
The Fire will now set their sights on Philadelphia for their Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinal against the Union at PPL Park. The match kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Aug. 12 with a livestream available at Chicago-Fire.com.
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MLS Regular Season
Chicago Fire (6-12-4, 22 pts.) 0:1 Portland Timbers (10-8-6, 36 pts.)
Aug. 7, 2015 - Providence Park
Attendance: 21,144
Scoring Summary:
POR - Fanendo Adi (unassisted) 48
Misconduct Summary:
CHI - Matt Polster (caution) 44
POR - Lucas Melano (caution) 71
Chicago Fire: Sean Johnson, Lovel Palmer, Eric Gehrig, ©Jeff Larentowicz, Joevin Jones, Harry Shipp, Razvan Cocis, Matt Polster, Shaun Maloney, David Accam (Patrick Nyarko 43), Jason Johnson (Kennedy Igboananike 68).
Shots: 13; Shots On Goal: 3; Saves: 1; Fouls: 9; Corner Kicks: 3; Offsides: 1.
Portland Timbers: Adam Kwarasey, Alvas Powell, Nat Borchers, Liam Ridgewell, Jorge Villafana, ©Will Johnson, Diego Chara, Darlington Nagbe, Diego Valeri (Jack Jewsbury 90), Rodney Wallace (Lucas Melano 68), Fanendo Adi (Dairon Asprilla 86).
Shots: 15; Shots On Goal: 2; Saves: 3; Fouls: 15; Corner Kicks: 8; Offsides: 6.
