Blanco goal, assist and Chicago wins

July 18, 2009

As a starter, Cuauhtemoc Blanco is an exciting player. As a reserve, he might be more dangerous.Blanco, the Chicago Fire's first Designated Player, set up a Patrick Nyarko goal in the 82nd minute then added one of his own with a sublime shot in stoppage time to lead the Fire to a 2-0 win against the visiting San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday at Toyota Park.
Blanco had entered the game in the 60th minute after getting some rest after playing the full SuperLiga game against New England on Wednesday.

Forward Chris Rolfe chased a ball into the right corner against an Earthquakes defender, who in his rush to release the ball sent it out to Blanco in the midfield. Blanco set himself up for the pass over the defense to Nyarko, who sent a one-touch shot past Earthquakes 'keeper Joe Cannon from close range.

Blanco scored himself in stoppage time, taking advantage of a poor clearance by the Earthquakes defense. Wilman Conde raced forward to intercept the ball, playing it to Blanco right on the edge of the area. Blanco stood on the ball before lifting a subtle chip that Cannon could barely get a finger on, the ball just looping over him and settling into the back of the net.

The victory lifted the Fire to a 7-3-7 record (28 points) and kept them in first place in the Eastern Conference. It was only the Fire's second home win in eight games this season. The Earthquakes (3-10-4, 13 points) saw their road record fall to 0-7-2 this season.
Coming off their exhausting SuperLiga game Wednesday in Foxborough, Mass., the Fire started Saturday's game with a much-altered lineup. While Jon Busch remained in goal, the defense in front of him included regular starters Tim Ward and Bakary Soumare along with Daniel Woolard and Dasan Robinson, who has played in only four games and has had two previous starts.
Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop promised a change in the lineup after an embarrassing 3-1 loss to Toronto last week. Joe Cannon remained in goal, and the back line was the same. Antonio Ribeiro returned to the starting lineup in the midfield, and Chris Wondolowski got only his second start at forward.

The game was unusually chippy from the start, and bodies were flying all over the Toyota Park field. Jason Hernandez and Wondolowski of the Earthquakes each received a yellow card in the game's first five minutes.
Blanco finally connected with Nyarko in the 82nd minute to put the Fire into the lead. In the 84th minute, Hamlett used his last substitution to send Conde into the game for Mapp. Yallop followed by sending Quincy Amarikwa into the game for Wondolowski.
The Fire hit the road next week, traveling to Seattle to take on Sounders FC at Qwest Field. The Earthquakes will return home where they will face D.C. United.



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