BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (March 30, 2019) – The Chicago Fire Soccer Club defeated the New York Red Bulls 1-0 at SeatGeek Stadium on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Fire (1-2-1, 4 points) recorded its first win and clean sheet of the 2019 campaign.
Several Fire players made their first appearances of the season in Saturday’s contest, including midfielders Nicolás Gaitán and Mo Adams and defender Jeremiah Gutjahr.
Gutjahr, a Fire Academy product, made his first professional appearance and start, while Adams tallied his first appearance and start in his second professional season. Gaitán, who joined the Fire on March 28, entered the match in the 63rd minute for midfielder Aleksandar Katai, notching his first career appearance in MLS play.
Leading the Red Bulls (1-2-1, 4 points) in shots on target 4-1, the Fire produced chances early and often throughout Saturday’s contest, including a strong opportunity to take the lead in the 18th minute of play. Following a hard challenge from Adams, who regained possession for the Men in Red, Katai ran at the Red Bulls’ defense before his right footed shot from just outside the box missed to the right of goal (WATCH).
Five minutes later, the Fire produced another dangerous attacking play in the final third. After combining with Katai on the edge of the area, midfielder Przemysław Frankowski slipped the ball into the 18-yard box for Nemanja Nikolić. The forward’s left footed shot inside the box was saved by a sliding Luis Robles (WATCH).
Three minutes into the second half, the Fire took the lead when Nikolić’s shot, that he struck while falling back, rattled off the post. Red Bulls defender Tim Parker tried to clear the ball but accidentally knocked it into his own goal, providing the Fire with a 1-0 advantage (WATCH).
Continuing to press forward late, the Fire produced another dangerous attacking play from a counter attack in the 76th minute. After winning the ball on the edge of the Fire’s 18-yard box, Bastian Schweinsteiger ventured forward and clipped a deep pass for Frankowski. Running at the goal, Frankowski evaded defender Kemar Lawrence and traveled into the box, just missing the target with his final effort from a tight angle on the far right side of the box.
The Fire concluded Saturday’s match limiting the Red Bulls to just one shot on target through 90 minutes of play. The result marked the Red Bulls’ first away loss in the 2019 MLS campaign.
The Fire’s next league match will take place on Saturday, April 6 at BMO Field against Toronto FC. Beginning at 2:00 p.m. CT, the match against Toronto FC will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Match notes:
- Midfielder Nicolás Gaitán made his first career MLS appearance in Saturday’s match, entering the game in the 63rd minute of play.
- Academy product Jeremiah Gutjahr made his MLS debut in Saturday’s match, starting and playing 90 minutes against the Red Bulls.
- Saturday’s match marked the Fire’s third consecutive home game of the 2019 MLS regular season.
- Saturday’s match was the 58th regular season meeting between the Fire and the Red Bulls since 1998.
- With the 1-0 result, the Fire’s all-time regular season record against the Red Bulls stands at 28-18-12, which is the Club’s best regular season record against a single opponent in MLS.
- The Fire’s all-time home regular season record against the Red Bulls is 16-5-9.
- Saturday’s result marked the Fire’s first clean sheet win in 2019.
- Defender Johan Kappelhof recorded his 99th regular season appearance for the Fire, one shy of the century mark. Kappelhof has recorded the most appearances for the Men in Red since 2016.
- Midfielder Mo Adams made his first start of the season and the 11th MLS start of his professional career.
Box Score:
Chicago Fire 1:0 New York Red Bulls
Attendance: 12,013
Scoring Summary:
CHI – Parker (Own Goal) 48’
Misconduct Summary:
CHI – Sapong (Caution) 47’
Chicago Fire: GK Ousted, D Kappelhof, D Marcelo, D Schweinsteiger, D Gutjahr, M Adams, M McCarty ©, M Frankowski, M Katai (Gaitán 63’), M Sapong, F Nikolić (Mihailović 80’)
Subs not used: Cleveland, Campos, Lillard, Bronico, Moreno
Shots: 11 Shots on goal: 4 Fouls Committed: 18 Fouls Suffered: 11 Offsides: 2 Corners: 8
New York Red Bulls: GK Robles, D Murillo, D Parker, D Long, D Lawrence (Lade 81’), M Davis, M Rzatkowski (Jorgensen 71’), M Muyl, M Romero Gamarra, M Royer (Ivan 61’), F Wright-Phillips
Subs not used: Meara, Tarek, Bezecourt, Casseres Jr
Shots: 7 Shots on goal: 1 Fouls Committed: 11 Fouls Suffered: 18 Offsides: 3 Corners: 6
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Assistant Referees: Jeff Hosking, Brian Dunn
VAR: Fotis Bazakos
