Kamara Leads Wizards to 2-2 Draw against Fire

KANSAS CITY, KS - May 15, 2010 - Julio Martinez and Brian McBride scored to give the Fire a 2-0 advantage, however, it wasn’t enough to propel the Fire to a road victory as Kei Kamara tallied two goals, including one in the 89th minute, to erase the Fire’s lead and tie the game at 2-2 after 90 minutes of play at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, KS. 

The Fire (2-3-3, 9 points),who have only lost once in their last five matches, tied for the third time this season as Martinez opened his MLS account and McBride notched his 77th career MLS goal.

The “Men in Red” broke the early deadlock in the 14th minute when Logan Pause sprung Marco Pappa with a perfectly weighted through ball on the left side. The fleet Guatemalan took one touch and sent a cross into the six-yard box where a charging Martinez outpaced Wizards defender Roger Espinoza for the inside track and with a sliding effort powered the ball over the goal line and past Kansas City Wizards goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen for his first career MLS goal.

The Fire deflected danger in the 25th minute as the Wizards peppered Dykstra’s goal with five consecutive shots from within the 18-yard box. Dykstra mishandled the initial corner kick, but recovered to save Espinoza’s rebound attempt. Conde and Pappa were credited with goal line clearances as Dykstra saved shots in succession from Jimmy Conrad and Jack Jewsbury to preserve the Fire’s one goal advantage. With eight saves on the evening, Dykstra increased his save total for the year to 31 on the season.

Entering in the 48th minute, McBride made his presence felt immediately. Patrick Nyarko found space on the right side and sent a deft pass to a cutting McBride who turned and slotted the ball inside Nielsen on the near post to give the Fire a two goal lead.

Kamara rallied the Wizards and snatched a goal back in the 50th minute when his deflected shot found the back of the net, past a frozen Dykstra. The Sierra Leone product pulled the Wizards level with an opportunistic goal in the waning moments of the match. In the 89th minute, Teal Bunbury’s tight-angle shot on goal was saved by Dykstra, only for the rebound to carom to Kamara who gently tapped the ball over the line to tie the match at 2-2.

The Fire return to TOYOTA PARK for a four-game home stand, beginning with a match against Paris Saint-Germain in the first match of the Chicago Sister Cities International Cup on Wednesday, May 19 at 7:00 PM CT, and will play against either Legia Warsaw or Red Star Belgrade in the final round of the Sister Cities International Cup on Saturday, May 22. Brimstone Cup rivals FC Dallas come to TOYOTA PARK on Thursday, March 27 (7:00 PM CT, ESPN2) just three days before the Fire host AC Milan at TOYOTA PARK on Sunday, May 30 at 7:30 PM CT. For tickets please call 1-888-MLS-FIRE (657-3473) or head to the club’s official website at www.Chicago-Fire.com.

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