BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (June 13, 2013) – The Chicago Fire defeated the Columbus Crew 2-1 to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Originally scheduled for Wednesday evening at Toyota Park but postponed due to severe weather in the Chicagoland area, the match kicked off under ideal weather conditions Thursday afternoon. Konrad Warzycha opened scoring for the visitors but goals from Mike Magee and Patrick Nyarko led the Men in Red to victory.
The Fire will host USL-PRO side Orlando City SC in the quarterfinal round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Toyota Park on Wednesday, June 26 at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets for the match will go on sale on Friday, June 14 at noon CT via Ticketmaster and by calling 888-MLS-FIRE. The match will serve as Bonus Game 3 for Fire Season Ticket Holders.
Just nine minutes into Thursday’s match, Crew head coach Robert Warzycha was forced to make an early substitution when Glauber went down after a collision in the Crew penalty box and had to be replaced by former Fire man Dominic Oduro.
The move would make an immediate impact as in the 14th minute, Oduro received the ball and went racing into the penalty box and chipped the ball over Johnson, but his shot sailed over the cross bar.
In the 22nd minute the visitors would get on board first when the Crew won a free kick 20 yards from goal. Crew Homegrown forward Ben Speas drove in the ensuing free kick and found Konrad Warzycha, who rose above his defender and headed the ball into goal just out of reach of Fire ‘keeper Sean Johnson.
It didn’t take long for the Fire to find the equalizer. Costa Rican left back Gonzalo Segares dribbled into the box and played a low, driven cross to Mike Magee at the top of the penalty area. Magee coolly slotted his one-time shot past Crew ‘keeper Andy Gruenebaum to level the score in the 29th minute.
With both teams searching for a winner, the Fire would come close in the 67th minute when Maicon Santos played the ball down in to countryman Alex, but the Brazilian blasted his point-blank shot straight at Gruenebaum.
The home side would find the game-winner in the 77th minute. Forward Chris Rolfe served a perfectly placed cross into the box to Patrick Nyarko. With a snap header, the Ghanaian winger redirected the ball into goal to give the Fire the eventual game winner.
The Fire have the weekend off from MLS play before returning to action when they host the Colorado Rapids at Toyota Park on Wednesday, June 19 at 7:30 p.m. CT (My50/La Ley 107.9 FM). Tickets for the match are available by calling 888-MLS-FIRE or by visiting www.Chicago-Fire.com
Notes:
-With the win, the Fire improve to 32-10-4 all-time in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play.
-Mike Magee’s strike in the 29th minute was his fourth goal in his first four consecutive games for the Fire.
-The Fire moved to 4-0-0 all-time against the Columbus Crew in Open Cup play.
Chicago Fire 2 – 1 Columbus Crew
Chicago Fire: Sean Johnson; Jalil Anibaba, Bakary Soumare, Austin Berry, Gonzalo Segares; Patrick Nyarko, Alex (Jeff Larentowicz 81’), Logan Pause © (Daniel Paladini 59’), Dilly Duka (Maicon Santos 46’); Chris Rolfe, Mike Magee
Substitutes not used: Paolo Tornaghi, Hunter Jumper, Michael Videira, Sherjill MacDonald
Columbus Crew: Andy Gruenebaum ©; Kevan George, Glauber (Dominic Oduro 9’), Eric Gehrig, Tyson Wahl; Konrad Warzycha, Bernardo Anor, Tony Tchani (Aaron Schoenfeld 82’), Ben Speas (Federico Higuain 70’); Justin Meram, Ethan Finlay
Substitutes not used: Matt Lampson, Chad Barson, Danny O’Rourke, Matias Sanchez
Scoring Summary
CLB – Konrad Warzycha (Ben Speas) 22’
CHI – Mike Magee (Gonzalo Segares) 29’
CHI – Patrick Nyarko (Chris Rolfe) 77’
Misconduct Summary
CLB – Konrad Warzycha (caution) 71’
CHI – Mike Magee (caution) 71’
CHI – Patrick Nyarko (caution) 82’
CHI – Bakary Soumare (caution) 90+’
CLB – Bernardo Anor (caution) 90+’
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
Assistants: Anthony Vasoli, Kevin Klinger
Fourth Official: Dimitar Chavdarov
Attendance: 2,006
