David Accam's first-half strike was enough to guide the Chicago Fire to their third win in a row in the MLS as they defeated 10-man New York City FC 1-0 at Toyota Park.
The home side started the game strongly as Accam found space in the penalty area to drill a shot at goal, only to see his effort clatter off the crossbar and bounce over.
However, Accam did find the net minutes later as he put City keeper Ryan Meara under pressure and won the ball in the penalty area to leave himself with a simple tap-in into an empty net.
Matters got worse for the visitors when Andrew Jacobson was sent off for bringing down Accam as he tried to raid into the box in the 23rd minute.
New York almost found a way back into the match when Mix Diskerud weaved his way through the Fire midfield to send a powerful strike at goal, but Sean Johnson was on hand to make the stop.
In the second half, Harrison Shipp almost doubled Chicago's lead when he collected the ball on the edge of the box, but his strike came back off the post and was cleared to safety.
Accam nearly sealed his side's victory in the dying minutes as the forward headed at goal from close range, but his effort took a deflection off a defender and was saved by Meara.
Simon Sinclair
