The Fire achieved a rare feat Thursday night–it chased an opposing goalkeeper.
San Jose Clash keeper David Kramer, who recorded a season-high eight saves in the Clash’s shutout victory over the Fire in April, was under seige in the Fire’s 5-2 victory in front of an announced crowd of 7,598 at Soldier Field.
The victory extended the Fire’s winning streak to six games, the second-longest streak in Major League Soccer this season. The Clash dropped its fourth straight.
As in last Saturday’s victory over Columbus, the Fire scored quickly. Ante Razov scored his third goal of the season in the game’s fourth minute. It was the fastest goal of the season for the team. The play started with a corner kick from Peter Nowak. C.J. Brown volleyed a shot off the corner, which was blocked. The ball went right to Jerzy Podbrozny, who laid a pass that Razov buried in the top corner of the net.
It was another example of improved play between Razov and Podbrozny.
“Jerzy is a good player,” said Fire coach Bob Bradley. “He brings good qualities. He’s a good passer, and he sees things on the field.”
The assist was the first of three for Podbrozny in the contest.
The Fire scored its second goal in the 33rd minute. Kosecki worked a give-and-go with Razov and gave Nowak a perfect through-ball. Nowak dribbled into the penalty area and didn’t give Kramer a chance.
Despite being up two at the half, the Fire was a bit disappointed.
“We got a goal early,” said Bradley. “It came too easy, and there’s a tendency to think the rest of the game will come easy. We had to pick things up in the second half.”
It did. The Fire put the game away with two goals in the first 7 minutes of the second half. Nowak scored his second of the game in the 49th minute, and Richie Kotschau chipped home a perfect cross from Kosecki in the 52nd minute. The fourth goal sent Kramer to the bench, although he couldn’t be blamed for any of them.
Andy Kirk replaced Kramer. He was victimized by Josh Wolff in the 74th minute to make it 5-0. The Clash scored twice in the final 14 minutes, breaking Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton’s shutout streak at 254 minutes.
