| Chicago Fire Defeat NY Red Bulls | ||||
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Today the City of Chicago celebrated Chicago Fire Soccer Day, as the Fire welcomed the New York Red Bulls to Toyota Park in Bridgeview for the home opener. 11,633 people attended the match, and were treated to a 1-0 Fire victory.
Early in the match, the Red Bulls dominated time of possession, but neither team was able to make much of their opportunities. The Fire, twice, watched the ball roll across the face of the Red Bulls goal but lacked the ability to finish. In the fourteenth minute, Macouba Kandji broke through the Fire defense and was tackled hard by John Thorrington, who earned a red card for his efforts. This resulted in a free kick from a few yards outside the box, which sailed harmlessly over the goal. The first real chance for the Red Bulls came in the twenty fifth minute, but Dominic Oduro, who came in for the injured Kandji, sliced a header just wide of goal. Two minutes later Juan Carlos Angel crossed to Oduro, but defender Wilman Conde managed to flip the ball over goal before any damage was done. The thirty first minute saw the Fire’s Designated Player (and Arlington Heights’ favorite son) Brian McBride break on goal, only to be well tackled just outside the box. Two minutes later, Marco Pappa took advantage of poor defending and slid the ball past a horribly out-of-position Danny Cepero. With two minutes left in the first half, the Red Bulls’ Kevin Goldthwaite was handed a yellow card for a late tackle on Pappa, but the free kick resulted in no damage done as it sailed into Cepero’s waiting hands. The most notable face of the first half was the weather. The wind held up balls, which meant teams had a hard time taking advantage of their speed. The wet pitch led to a bit of sliding for both teams. The cold arguably caused lethargic players and referees. The only ones not bothered by the cold were the Section 8 supporters, who sang and cheered the entire half. Late in the fifth fourth minute, some nifty passing created the best Red Bulls chance yet, but Oduro slid a shot just wide. Twelve minutes later, poor clearance by the Fire defenders led to a great chance for the Red Bulls. Keeper Jon Busch showed why the Fire have just resigned him, as he was in great position and made a comfortable save. In the seventy ninth minute, Busch again shows his prowess as he made two fantastic saves from point blank range. The Red Bulls had another golden chance with a free kick one minute later, but the ball sailed well wide. The remainder of the half saw Juan Pablo Angel finally get a solid opportunity, which was wasted and sailed wide. In stoppage time the Fire pushed for the final nail in the coffin. McBride fought a shot through the defense, but Cepero stood his ground and made an athletic save. Soumare and the rest of the defense held firm, and a frustrated Dane Richards earned a yellow card at the end of stoppage time. All things considered, it was a decent effort from the Fire. Fans should keep in mind that the Red Bulls are second from the bottom of the table. Chicago Fire Starting 11: GK: Busch DEF: Ward, Soumare, Conde, Segares MID: Pause, Pappa, Thorrington, Mapp FWD: Nyarko, McBride Subs: Noble, Banner, Blanco, Prideaux (45, Mapp), Robinson, Rolfe (70, Nyarko), Washington (84, Pappa) Coach: Denis Hamlett New York Red Bulls Starting 11: GK: Cepero DEF: Borman, Goldthwaite, Mendes, Hall MID: Smith, Rojas, Richards, Sassano, Kandji FWD: Angel Subs: Duffy, Johnson (62, Hall), Uduro(20, Kandji), Petke, Pietravallo, Ubiparipovic (73, Smith), Wolyniec Coach: Juan Carlos Osorio ATT: 11,633
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