The Columbus Crew have struggled at home against the Chicago Fire in recent years, but now may be catching them at the perfect time.
The Crew look extend their unbeaten streak to four games on Saturday night when they host the slumping Fire.
Chicago defeated the Crew twice last year, and beat them 3-2 in U.S. Open Cup competition on June 10. The Fire have won four of their last five visits to Crew Stadium, with the only win in that span for Columbus coming in 2004.
But the Fire (6-5-2) are coming off a frustrating June, during which they went winless in four league matches and were held to just one goal and none in their last three. Chicago and San Jose played to a scoreless draw last Saturday, and Fire coach Denis Hamlett told the team’s official Web site that it was a step in the right direction.
“Tonight we half-stopped bleeding,” Hamlett said. “We got a point and a shutout.”
Although the Fire are tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference with 20 points, they’re 4-2-1 on the road. They’ve outscored opponents 12-5 away from home - the largest margin by any team in MLS.
Chicago’s last goal in league play was scored in the 27th minute by Chad Barrett on June 7 in a 2-1 loss to D.C. United.
“In the first games we were scoring goals early,” Hamlett said. “When you do that the game opens up. We’re not quite doing that right now. … We’re making runs. We’re getting shots. We’re just not finishing.”
The Crew, meanwhile, have rebounded from their own recent struggles, going 2-0-1 in their last three matches following a four-game winless streak. That surge has allowed Columbus to move into sole possession of second place in the East behind league-leading New England.
Columbus is coming off a 2-1 home win over Colorado last Saturday. Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored on a penalty kick in the 53rd minute and rookie Emmanuel Ekpo added his first MLS goal to put the Crew back ahead in the 70th minute
The 20-year-old Nigerian signed with the Crew on April 15.
The Crew (8-4-2) have scored eight goals in their last three games after being held scoreless for 370 minutes. Six players have scored during that stretch, with Barros Schelotto and Alejandro Moreno each recording two goals.
“Every team goes through ups and downs, and the more time you can stay up the better because then you don’t have to rebound,” defenseman Danny O’Rourke said, “but that’s what we did. You go through your scoring droughts but we have so many offensive weapons … so we’re a dangerous offensive team.”
The Crew are 5-2-0 at home this season.