Chicago Fire shutout Chivas USA, 1-0

Story courtesy MLS Communications

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (August 2, 2008) – The Chicago Fire edged pass Chivas USA with a 1-0 victory before a sellout crowd of 20,492 at TOYOTA PARK. With a record of (8-5-5, 29 pts.) the Fire maintain third place in the Eastern Conference. With the lost Chivas now has a record of (6-7-4, 22 pts.) which places them in the fourth spot in the Western Conference. Chicago extended its undefeated streak to six games having last lost at Chivas USA (2-0) on June 19, 2008. The Fire also recorded its first victory in Chicago against Chivas USA since the 2005 campaign a span of five games.

Scoring Summary:
CHI – Patrick Nyarko, 1 (Chris Rolfe, 4) 16th

Misconduct Summary:
CHV – Paulo Nagamura (yellow), 30’
CHI – Marco Pappa (yellow ), 50’

Chivas USA Lineup (3-4-3): GK-Zack Thornton, D-Claudio Suarez (Captain) (Bobby Burling, 46’), D-Shavar Thomas, D-Carey Talley, M-Francisco Mendoza, M-Paulo Nagamura, M-Jesse Marsch, M-Lawson Vaughn (Maykel Galindo, 64’), F-Jon Bornstein, F-Keith Savage (Alecko Eskandarian, 73’), F-Atiba Harris.
Subs not used: Jim Curtin, Daniel Paladini, Anthony Hamilton, Dan Kennedy

Chicago Lineup (4-4-2): GK-Jon Busch, D-Brandon Prideaux, D-Wilman Conde, D-Gonzalo Segares, D-Bakary Soumare, M-Marco Pappa (Stephen King, 73’), M-Logan Pause (Captain), M-John Thorrington, M-Justin Mapp, F-Chris Rolfe (Mike Banner, 81’), F-Patrick Nyarko (Andy Herron, 46’).
Subs not used: Nick Noble, C.J. Brown, Lider Marmol, Tomasz Frankowski.

STATISTICS	CHIVAS  	CHICAGO
Shots       		7            	10
Shots on Goal	3           	2
Saves        	1          	3
Fouls        	18          	22
Corner Kicks 	3       	7
Offsides      	2            	3

GAME NOTES

The Fire are now unbeaten in their last 6 games (2-0-4). That is their longest such stretch of the season.

Jon Busch registered his MLS-leading 8th shutout.

Chicago’s Patrick Nyarko and Marco Pappa made their first MLS career starts. Nyarko scored in the 16th minute which was the first goal of his career. He is the 3rd player for the Fire this season to score their first MLS goal (also Tomasz Frankowski and Stephen King). Nyarko’s goal broke a 196 minute scoreless streak for the Fire which was their 2nd-longest of 2008…Nyarko suffered a mild concussion close to halftime and was substituted for in the 46’ by Andy Herron.

Tonight’s crowd of 20,492 was the largest of the season and the first TOYOTA PARK sellout of 2008.

Cuauhtémoc Blanco missed his first game of the season due to a yellow card suspension.

The Fire’s Logan Pause wore the captain’s armband for the first time in 2008.

Marco Pappa was issued a yellow card in the 50th minute of play for dissent.

Chicago is now 8-1-1 when scoring first, tying for the 2nd-most wins in the league in 2008 when doing so (NE, 10 and CLB, 8)…the club is also now 7-1-1 when leading at the half.

The Fire’s next game is Saturday, Aug. 9 at New England (6:30 p.m. CT, My50 Chicago, HDNet, WRTO 1200 AM – Spanish). Their next home game is Saturday, Aug. 16 vs. D.C. United at TOYOTA PARK. Kickoff for that game is set for 7:30 p.m. (My50, WRTO 1200 AM – Spanish).

Chicago Fire – Chivas USA Quotes

Chicago Head Coach Denis Hamlett

On Marco Pappa:
We're very excited to have him, it was his first MLS game and he's got a bright future ahead of him. As long as he continues to develop and work hard good things are going to happen for him

On the depth of the team:
From day one I've said we've got 28 good players. Every time there's an injury or a suspension it's just an opportunity for another guy to step up. Our coaching staff believes in every player. These young guys- Patrick Nyarko, Mike Banner, Stephen King continue to help us when we need them.

On Patrick Nyarko:
He's a little bit dizzy from his collision. The kid has matured a lot in the last 3 weeks and has built confidence. He's a goal scorer. He's always looking around and can make plays because he's also a good passer. He got himself in two good spots tonight. The first was taken away from him and the second he was calm enough to put away.

On the importance of the win:
Every win is important. Tonight we were in attack mode from the first minute and it showed. Every point is valuable especially at this time in the season and to come and get 3 at home is big for us.

Patrick Nyarko

On 1st MLS Goal
I got one in. The other one they called it an offside but I took a look at the replay and I’m not positive it was the right call. The one I did make, I saw I found myself in right position just inside the box. It always feels good to get that first goal in. We got the win with that and that makes it twice as good.

This team is made of great players. I wish to definitely make an impact. Our defense is getting stronger. I’m not known for my defense but coaches are telling me that I really am improving. I need to work on it in order to make our team better.

Marco Pappa

On 1st MLS Start
I’m really content with how the game turned out. This league feels very different. Little by little we learn as players. It was a tough challenge but we look to make the best of each and every opportunity and that’s exactly what we did here tonight.

On Team
I think as a football player you have to try your hardest and do the best you possibly can. It definitely depends on our confidence. It takes working very hard to get what you want out of a season. I haven’t been with this team too long but I can see the team’s progression at practice and I think we all seen it here tonight.

CHIVAS USA QUOTES

Preki

On the Game
First off we were really sluggish, we didn’t play with a lot of energy. They scored a goal, the second half we were better, had more energy, pushing forward, we could have easily got a goal in the box, but for some reason we were not getting any goals. If the guy in the middle doesn’t make it we have to move on. I still felt like we were pushing forward, had energy, we just couldn’t connect.

Second half from the get go we looked even better, we were more dynamic we needed to make a play or two and we didn’t.

Alecko Eskandarian

On the Game
It was a tough game, Chicago played well. We had too many chances, except for the goal. I enjoyed it, it was the first time I played in a while. We are just getting ready for Kansas city next week.