Somewhere, Dave Dir must have a knowing smile. The Dallas coach predicted that at some point the Fire would face adversity. Then the league would see what kind of team it has, he said.
Adversity now has introduced itself officially to the Fire.
It began when starting goalkeeper Zach Thornton suffered a concussion Monday, and it snowballed Thursday night when Peter Nowak and Jerzy Podbrozny were lost with hamstring injuries. The result was a 3-0 Columbus Crew victory that ended the Fire’s winning streak at 11 games.
The loss was the most one-sided of the season for the Fire (13-6) and the first time it had been shut out since a 1-0 setback to the MetroStars on April 17.
Columbus got on the board in the eighth minute when Stern John slotted home his 10th goal of the season. The goal was scored unassisted after Jason Farrell’s cross was deflected by both Lubos Kubik and C.J. Brown before settling at the foot of John. Fire keeper Scott Coufal, playing while Thornton remained in Chicago, didn’t have a chance.
“The first chance they had ended up in the net,” Fire coach Bob Bradley said. “From our end it’s been a difficult stretch, and when you play in Columbus you know it’s going to be a difficult game.”
Part of the reason for that is the field at Ohio Stadium. It’s far smaller than any other in the league.
“(The field) is harder for our team because we like to pass the ball around and we were all near one another,” Brown said.
The Crew added its second goal in the 40th minute when Rob Smith took a Farrell pass and found room along the left side. His shot nicked Coufal but still had enough pace to go into the net.
Arlington Heights native Brian McBride closed out the scoring in the 68th minute with a beautiful sidewinding goal from about 5 yards out off a corner kick.
