Loan watch - Extra time triumph for Grant

Grant Ward put in an extended shift to help Chicago Fire reach the quarter-finals of the US Open Cup on Wednesday night (Thursday morning, UK time).

The Fire beat MLS rivals Columbus Crew 4-2 after extra time in the fifth round of the competition, with our on-loan midfielder retaining his place in the starting XI and going on to see out the full 120 minutes.

Playing at their Toyota Park home – a venue we’ll visit as part of this summer’s tour of the USA and Canada – it was Fire who took the lead in the first half through Patrick Ianni.

Goals from Jairo Arrieta and Bernardo Anor turned the tie in Crew’s favour after the break, but Juan Luis Anangono equalised in the 83rd minute to send the match into extra time.

Quincy Amarikwa and Anangono then completed the job for Chicago, booking a quarter-final date with the Atlanta Silverbacks in a fortnight’s time.

Grant tweeted after the game: “Tough game tonight, great team performance and good to come away with the win after 120 minutes, on to the quarters #usoc2014 #cf97”

The Fire return to MLS action next week with a home game against Toronto.