Winless on the road no more.
David Accam’s goal gave the Chicago Fire its first road win of the season in a 1-0 game at D.C. United on Saturday.
After a scoreless first half, Accam beat the offside trap to break free on a Luis Solignac long ball. Accam curled the shot past Bill Hamid in the 52nd minute for his sixth goal of the season. It was Accam’s sixth goal of the season.
The Fire (6-3-3, 21 points) won for the third straight game during the team’s crowded schedule of three matches in eight days. D.C. (3-6-2, 11 points) has been shutout and beaten in three straight home games.
Matt Lampson earned the shutout in goal without having to make a save in the first 80 minutes. He finished with two saves.
Lampson’s counterpart, Hamid, kept D.C. in the match with six saves. Hamid’s best was a diving save to deny Nemanja Nikolic in the final 10 minutes.
Bastian Schweinsteiger took a bit of a beating in the match and at one point in the first half went down holding his right shoulder, but finished the match. He was denied an eye-popping assist in added time when he weaved through a few D.C. defenders after stalling in the corner. Schweinsteiger got free and set up Nikolic in front, who skied the shot over the bar.
The win moved the Fire up to second place in the Eastern Conference after the game ended. The Fire went winless on the road in 2015, had one win on the road in 2016 and were winless through five road matches to start this season.
The three teams the Fire have beaten during the winning streak are the bottom team in the East (D.C.) and the bottom two teams in the West (Seattle and Colorado). The schedule will get tougher, starting Thursday with undefeated FC Dallas coming to Toyota Park.