Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images North America
Chicago Fire were held scoreless for the first time in the MLS 2012 season as Colorado Rapids netted two second half goals from the likes of Kamani Hill and Omar Cummings. Fresh off a strong win from last week, Fire had coach Frank Klopas switched around the starting XI, putting Logan Pause in place of the injured Dan Gargan and giving Rafael Robayo his first playing minutes in this fresh season.
The Fire appeared to be on the verge of scoring in the 38th minute when Marco Pappa found Dominic Oduro in open space. Oduro drilled a low effort towards goal, but Rapids’ Matt Pickens kept the Ghanaian’s shot away.
Though both sides were goalless in the first half, Colorado opened up the scoring in the 58th minute. The Rapids pulled together a string of passes which ended with a precision pass coming from Brian Mullan on the right flank which found Omar Cummings in the box. The Jamaican came up to the pass and pushed it past Paolo Tornaghi, putting the Rapids up 1-0.
The Fire came back looking for a response with all cylinders firing. In the 68th minute, Sebastian Grazzini knocked a ball past Rapids defense, finding Oduro charging down field. He once again ripped a shot at Matt Pickens, but he skillfully punched the attempt away.
The Rapids nailed the coffin shut in the 92nd minute when Kamani Hill, who enjoyed his Colorado Rapids debut this game, drilled home a rebounded shot past Tornaghi.
Despite a hard loss on the road, the Fire will be looking to improve over their week off from MLS play. They will match up against Louisville in a practice match in preparation for their showdown against Houston Dynamo.
By Matthew Sinacore
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