That collective sigh of relief coming from the lakefront Thursday night came courtesy of Fire coach Bob Bradley and his players.
After controlling the match for virtually the entire 90 minutes, the Fire had to sweat through a shootout before defeating the Colorado Rapids 2-1 in front of 12,610 fans at Soldier Field.
Game 2 of the best-of-three Western Conference semifinal series will be Monday in Denver.
Jesse Marsch converted the game-winner in the sixth round of the shootout after Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton snuffed out Peter Vermes’ chance.
“There wasn’t much pressure because Zach had already made the first save,” Marsch said. “If we would have lost it would have been devastating. I had a nightmare last night that we lost and I woke up and said, `That can’t happen.’ “
The Fire outshot Colorado 19-11 and put eight shots on goal compared with just three for the Rapids.
“When you miss opportunities and keep Colorado in the game, you’re living dangerously,” Bradley said.
And the Fire missed opportunities by the basket full. The forward tandem of Ante Razov and Josh Wolff were the main culprits in wasting them.
In the 76th minute, Razov broke in on Colorado keeper Marcus Hahnemann and had two chances, only to come up empty. One minute later Wolff got Hahnemann out of position but his shot was sent inches over the crossbar.
“A lot of chances wasted,” Wolff said. “If we lose that game I would have been sick to my stomach.”
The Fire took a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute on a penalty-kick goal by Lubos Kubik. Colorado’s Adrian Paz made a poor pass that was intercepted by Chris Armas, giving the Fire an odd-man advantage. Armas played the ball into the penalty area to Peter Nowak, who was taken down by the Rapids’ Steve Trittschuh.
Colorado made its first shot on goal count in the 79th minute when Waldir headed home a deflected cross from Paz. Fire defender C.J. Brown deflected the cross with his head over Thornton, leaving the net open for an easy flick from Waldir.
“Our worst stretch was after it was 1-1,” Bradley said. “Once it gets to a shootout I feel sorry for the players because it’s a tough way to lose a game.”
