Fire can’t hang on after Navarro ejected
ST. PAUL, Minn — The Fire had allowed a league-low two goals in seven games entering their match Saturday.
But playing down a man for the final 13 minutes, the Fire lost to Minnesota United 3-0, allowing two goals after midfielder Federico Navarro received his second yellow card.
Emanuel Reynoso scored first in the 72nd minute, and Kervin Arriaga and Robin Lod added goals in the final six minutes for Minnesota (4-2-2). Dayne St. Clair stopped all four shots he faced.
“We just made some bad decisions tonight, especially in the first half,” Fire coach Ezra Hendrickson said. “I thought, especially in the first half, when we defended and we won the ball, we just gave it away too easily, sometimes not even under pressure. We weren’t very technical on the night. But these are things we can improve, and we just have to keep working.”
Hendrickson didn’t have a chance to review Navarro’s second yellow card, which he received after preventing Lod from getting through on goal. But Hendrickson thought the referee might’ve had a quick trigger.
“I have to look at it again before I could even comment on that,” he said. “At the end of the day, we shouldn’t put ourselves in that position to have to make that tackle. So we can’t really blame the refs for anything tonight.
“Once we went down a man, though, it changed the game because you’re on the road trying to play a man down just like we did in Orlando, and it’s very difficult. Our two losses have come when we’ve had to play short, and that’s difficult to do, especially on the road.”
United outshot the Fire 8-5 with a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. Gabriel Slonina stopped two shots for the Fire (2-2-4).
Fire midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri started and played 82 minutes after missing the last two games because of a calf injury. Midfielder Fabian Herbers missed his third consecutive match with a hip injury.
The Fire return to Soldier Field next Saturday to face the New York Red Bulls (7 p.m., Ch. 9).