Chicago Fire FC II (10-8-9-5, 44 points) shut out Columbus Crew 2 (10-9-8-4, 42 points) 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Historic Crew Stadium. Fire captain David Poreba tallied his league-leading 18th goal of the season, while goalkeeper Patrick Los recorded four saves in a Man of the Match performance and clean sheet.
Chicago flew out of the gates early in the match, looking for a crucial three points in its quest for a playoff berth. In the ninth minute, Javier Casas Jr. threaded a pass to Christian Koffi along the left wing. The French winger dribbled through pressure and played a through pass to Poreba on his left, who angled himself into a right-footed shot that found the far post of the goal.
The Fire outshot the Crew 7-3 in the remainder of the first half, but could not break through before halftime. Instead, Columbus flipped the script to open the second half, threatening to tie the match while outshooting the Fire 7-5. But Los delivered with four crucial saves in the half, including two on the goal line in the 86th minute. The visitors weathered the storm and the whistle blew in stoppage time with three crucial points earned on the road.
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Box Score:
Columbus Crew 2 0:1 Chicago Fire FC II
Goals:
CHI - Poreba (18) (Koffi 5) (WATCH) 9’
Discipline:
CLB - Zengue (Yellow Card) 32’
CLB - Greene (Yellow Card) 41’
CHI - Los (Yellow Card) 90+1’
Chicago Fire FC II: GK Los, D Rochester, D Konincks, D Shannon, D Soudan (Blake, 89’), M Casas (Calle, 79’), M Prpa, M Oregel (Shokalook, 75’), F Koffi (Hlyut, 45’), F Poreba (capt.), F Glasgow
Substitutes not used: GK Stechnij, D Cupps, M Nagle
Columbus Crew 2: GK Lapkes, D Keita, D Zengue, D Randazzo (Su, 65’), M Brown (Williams, 65’), M Greene, M Habroune, M Presthus (Adu-Gyamfi, 85’), F Adams (Mohand, 45’), F Da (Alaouieh, 85’), F González
Substitutes not used: GK Johnson
Stats Summary: CLB / CHI
Shots: 10 / 13
Shots on Goal: 4 / 6
Passing Accuracy: 79.1% / 80.1%
Saves: 5 / 4
Corners: 5 / 5
Fouls: 18 / 9
Offsides: 1 / 0
Possession: 44.4% / 55.6%
Referee: Jaclyn Metz
Assistant Referee 1: Patrick Slane
Assistant Referee 2: Nick Goyette
4th Official: Ali Zolgharnain