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Chicago Fire 2 - Columbus Crew 0: game in brief

The Columbus Crew's late-game skid continued on Friday night as the team lost 2-0 on the road to Chicago. Patrick Nyarko provided assists to both Peter Lowry and Brian McBride as the Chicago Fire celebrated the 13th anniversary of their unveiling as a franchise.
 
Coach Robert Warzycha made six changes to the starting lineup from Tuesday's Open Cup Final. Eric Brunner and Gino Padula replaced Andy Iro and Shaun Francis in the back, while in the midfield Adam Moffat and Robbie Rogers were favored over Kevin Burns and Emmanuel Ekpo. Andres Mendoza also earned his first league start. 
 
With the loss, the Crew's winless streak in league play reaches five games. Their last victory came on the road to DC United in early September, a result which left the team tied with Los Angeles for the best record in Major League Soccer. Since that day, the Crew have posted an 0-3-2 record with losses to the Galaxy, Sounders and Fire removing the team from contention for the Supporters Shield.
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Columbus has two games remaining in which to regain their early-season momentum, or else they risk a second consecutive early exit from the post-season.
 
Game timeline
 
15' Kwame Watson-Siriboe replaces Dasan Robinson
25' Caution, Adam Moffat (reckless tackle)
30' 0-1 Peter Lowry (Patrick Nyarko)
37' Caution, Eric Brunner (foul tackle)
42' Caution, Steven Kinney
45' Kevin Burns replaces Adam Moffat
53' 0-2 Brian McBride (Patrick Nyarko)
58' Caution, C.J. Brown
62' Emmanuel Ekpo replaces Eddie Gaven
77' Calen Carr replaces Patrick Nyarko
80' Steven Lenhart replaces Andres Mendoza
83' Baggio Husidic replaces Marco Pappa
87' Caution, Peter Lowry
 
Lineups
 
Columbus Crew:
William Hesmer, Frankie Hejduk, Chad Marshall, Eric Brunner, Gino Padula, Brian Carroll, Eddie Gaven (Emmanuel Ekpo 62'), Adam Moffat (Kevin Burns 45'), Robbie Rogers, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Andres Mendoza (Steven Lenhart 80')
 
Unused Subs:
Andy Gruenebaum, Andy Iro, Duncan Oughton, Jason Garey
 
Chicago Fire:
Andrew Dykstra, Dasan Robinson (Kwame Watson-Siriboe 15'), C.J. Brown, Bratislav Ristic, Steven Kinney, Logan Pause, Marco Pappa (Baggio Husidic 83'), Peter Lowry, Patrick Nyarko (Calen Carr 77'), Freddie Ljungberg, Brian McBride
 
Unused Subs:
Alec Duffy, Nery Castillo, Corben Bone, Collins John
 
Up Next
 
Columbus will have an eight days off before their next game, the longest break they have had since early August. They will return to action on Saturday, October 16th at BMO Field in Toronto. The team's next home game will come in the regular season finale, Sunday October 24th against Philadelphia.
 
Chicago faces a quick turnaround, playing host to Kansas City this coming Tuesday as they chase an improbable dream of a playoff berth with three games remaining in their schedule.

, Columbus Crew Examiner

Matt Bernhardt has followed the Columbus Crew since late 1995, and has covered the team for a variety of electronic and print publications for over 10 years - including the official team website, the unfortunately defunct Matchnight Network, and Hunt Park Insider. He also contributed to the...

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