Despite a strong first-half performance that saw the Black & Gold jump out to a 1-0 lead just seven minutes into the match, the Columbus Crew (5-6-5, 20 points) fell to Eastern Conference rival Chicago Fire (5-7-3, 18 points) on Saturday night at Crew Stadium.
“Sometimes the fortune is not going right,” Crew head Robert Warzycha stated. “We were so successful for so many years winning the games at home. We have to build our fortress again. We have to make sure we don’t lose the game here.”
The 19,624 fans in the building surpassed last week’s season-high attendance mark, with the Crew unable to put together back-to-back wins following a June 15 win over Eastern Conference-leading Montreal.
The Fire completed a second-half comeback behind goals from former Crew midfielder Dilly Duka and forward Mike Magee. The goals were two minutes apart, with Duka striking in the 52nd minute and Magee in the 54th. Chicago’s Joel Lindpere assisted on both strikes with service from the left wing. Former Fire striker Dominic Oduro kick-started the Crew attack just six minutes into the contest, earning a penalty after being fouled inside Chicago’s area by goalkeeper Sean Johnson. Captain Federico Higuain converted the penalty – his fifth strike of the season – but it was not enough to capture a win.
“We kind of dropped off after we scored and you can’t let that happen,” Crew defender Tyson Wahl commented. “I think at home we have to keep pushing and go for the second goal and I think it came down to a couple plays in the second half and we just weren’t good enough in those plays.”
The Crew regroups this week before heading on the road once more for a two-match swing at Sporting Kansas City on June 29 (8:30 p.m. ET / FOX Sports Ohio) and at Los Angeles on July 4 (10:30 p.m. ET / FOX Sports Ohio).
