Chicago Fire thrash Orlando City at Toyota Park
The Chicago Fire routed Orlando City SC 4-0 at Toyota Park on Saturday, extending their home winning streak to seven games – the second-longest streak in club history.
David Accam earned Man of the Match honors while recording a hat trick and tacking on an assist and Nemanja Nikolic also scored, upping his season haul to a league-leading 14.
In the game in Orlando at the start of June, the Fire couldn’t beat a resilient 9 man Lion’s side but back on familiar territory it didn’t take them long to open the scoring as Accam netted his first of three just three minutes into the match. Bastian Schweinsteiger fed Matt Polster on the right hand side and Accam had all the time in the world to back-heel the ensuing cross into the net to cap an impressive 18-pass sequence that split the Orlando defence wide open.
It was a goal that was symptomatic of more tinkering by Orlando Head Coach Jason Kries as he changed the whole balance of the left hand side by insisting on rotating his squad from the team that earned a point in Seattle as PC and Luis Gil came in for Donny Toia and Matías Pérez García. Will Johnson also got the nod ahead of Giles Barnes.
Earlier in the move PC had allowed himself to be drawn out of position which meant Jonathan Spector had to cover the run by Luis Solignac. Solignac turned back inside fed Schweinsteiger who then released Polster for the cross and Accam had the simplest of task to score as Tommy Redding deserted him to cover the front post. It was poor defending all around.
Accam added a second five minutes later as Bastian Schweinsteiger was given time and space to loft a glorious long pass from 10 yards inside his own half over Orlando City’s backline and directly to the Ghanaian speedster, whose run left him free on goal. Played onside by a static Spector who was trying to organize Gil into the correct area, Accam dribbled into the box, circled Orlando keeper Joe Bendik and finished neatly into an open net.
Chicago should have made it 3-0 in the 14th minute as they carved Orlando apart again. PC failed to mark Solignac properly and Accam put him through on goal but the midfielder fired a tame shot straight at Bendik. A minute later a better touch by Accam might have sealed his hat-trick as he found himself behind the Orlando defence again. This time the front man could only knock the ball out for a goal kick.
The game was being dominated by the home side and Orlando offered next to nothing. It only looked a matter of time before the Fire compounded the Lions misery and leading goalscorer Nikolic should have converted in the 31st minute when he found himself all alone to get on the end of a cross he could only hit straight at Bendik.
As half time approached Orlando summed up their night as they won a 37th minute free kick 10 yards inside the Chicago half. It was a perfect opportunity to launch the ball into the penalty area in the hope of grabbing a goal back at such an important time in the match. Instead Scott Sutter chose to launch the ball across to the other side of the field to PC who was quickly closed down and Orlando then lost possession.
In the 40th minute PC managed the only shot on goal for the visitors in the first half as Antonia Nocerino found him gallivanting free in the middle of midfield. Instead of using the ball more wisely and passing the ball to the open Johnson wide on the left, the Brazilian chose to shoot from 35 yards and his shot went well wide of the left hand post.
Chicago managed to create another opportunity two minutes before half time as a quick throw in caught the Orlando back line napping and Accam raced in but couldn’t quite get his strike right as he half hit it and Bendik saved comfortably.
A few seconds later, PC was caught in possession and Solignac got down the right hand side. His cross was met by Nikolic but the striker could only fire into the crowd. Half time came with the home side recording 11 shots and 58% of the possession and Orlando could only be grateful the scoreline wasn’t far greater than it was.
Half Time: Chicago Fire 2 Orlando City 0
Accam was in the mix once again for the Fire’s third goal in the 51st minute as he slipped a delightful ball between PC and Spector meeting Nikolic in stride. The Hungarian striker neatly slipped his shot past goalkeeper Bendik, making it three games in-a-row with a goal. The goal was also Chicago’s 900th in MLS regular season history.
In the 57th minute Kreis finally made a couple of changes as Christian Higuita and the ineffective Luis Gil were replaced by Garcia and Barnes. Orlando then enjoyed a little more of the ball but Chicago won a penalty in the 61st minute as Sutter collided with Accam as he tried to get into the six yard box to convert Solignac’s excellent run down the right hand side.
Accam scored his third of the night from the penalty spot as he finished to the top left corner as Bendik dived the wrong way. The hat trick gave Accam 10 goals this season, tying his career high with the club.
In the 67th minute Orlando actually had the ball in the back of the Fire net but it was correctly ruled offside as Nocerino had carelessly strayed in front of the ball. A minute later Nikolic should have made it five. Dax McCarty played in Solignac down the right hand side yet again and he crossed to an unmarked Nikolic who somehow blasted over the bar with just Bendik to beat.
In the 75th minute Carlos Rivas found himself through on goal. He flicked the ball away from Fire keeper Matt Lampson who then caught the striker on his left ankle as he raced clear. It was a clear red card but all the forward got for his efforts was a ride off the field on a stretcher to end his game. It left Orlando down to 10 men for the last 15 minutes as Kreis had already used his third substitute in the 64th minute when Richie Laryea came on for a less than impressive Kaká.
It would have been interesting to see what the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) would have made of the challenge as the system was being soft tested during the game. Unfortunately for Orlando, the testing had no impact on the match or decisions made by the referee.
Full Time : Chicago Fire 4 Orlando City 0
Chicago’s home form is among the best in club history. In addition to their seven-game winning streak at Toyota Park, the Fire extended their home-unbeaten streak to 12. The Fire’s two goals allowed during the current home winning streak is also the lowest amount conceded over a seven-game home span in club history.
Additionally, the Fire now have two double-digit goal scorers in the same season for the first time since 2003 when Ante Razov had 14 and Damani Ralph had 11.
The last time the Fire won by a four-goal margin was May 25, 2008 with a 5-1 result against the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium. The last 4-0 win came in that season against the New England Revolution on April 3, 2008.
After the game Orlando Head Coach Jason Kries said : “First half we didn’t have enough energy. You could just see it looking at the guys. The reactions, the way they were holding themselves, the inability to move for each other both with and without the ball. It was always going to be a difficult night for us playing against a team that was fresh. I’ve said many many times it’s extremely difficult because the travel takes so long to get to places. It took forever and a day to get to Seattle. Our guys put out a courageous battle to get the point they got there and it took us a while to get from Seattle to Chicago. We’re changing time zones twice and all these things have effects on bodies and it’s about time the league starts to pay attention to how they schedule teams because they’ve put us at a competitive disadvantage for the second time against the same team where we’ve had to play them coming off three days rest when they come into the game entirely fresh.”
Orlando City closes out the three-game road trip when it visits Real Salt Lake on Friday, June 30 at 9:30 p.m. ET. The Lions return to Orlando City Stadium on July 5 to host Toronto FC. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Lineups/Substitutions:
Chicago Fire – GK Matt Lampson, D Brandon Vincent, Joao Meira, Johan Kappelhof, Matt Polster, M Dax McCarty, Bastian Schweinsteiger (Djordje Mihailovic 73’), David Accam (Arturo Alvarez 80’), Michael de Leeuw (Juninho 59’), Luis Solignac, F Nemanja Nikolic
Substitutes Not Used: GK Stefan Cleveland, D Jonathan Campbell, M Drew Connor, Daniel Johnson
Orlando City SC – GK Joe Bendik, D PC, Jonathan Spector, Tommy Redding, Scott Sutter, M Luis Gil (Giles Barnes 57’), Antonio Nocerino, Cristian Higuita (Matías Pérez García 57’), Will Johnson, F ⓒ Kaká (Richie Laryea 64’), Carlos Rivas
Substitutes Not Used: GK Josh Saunders, D Donny Toia, José Aja, M Servando Carrasco
Attendance: 20,000
More photos at FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
