The Chicago Fire will look for redemption for May’s back-to-back defeats at the hands of the Philadelphia Union when they close out the regular season series at PPL Park Saturday night (6:30pm CT on My50).
Five Things You Should Know About Tonight’s match…
Sean Johnson Back Between the Sticks
Fresh off winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup with the U.S. Men’s National Team, Fire starting goalkeeper Sean Johnson makes his return to the Men in Red Saturday night in Philadelphia.
Johnson’s return comes after understudy Paolo Tornaghi performed admirably, making two very key saves in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw away to Houston.
LISTEN: What did Sean Johnson do with his Gold Cup medal?
Despite going back to the bench, Tornaghi was complimentary of Johnson’s month away and said the experience gained as part of the regional championship team will help the duo’s competition going forward.
Bakary Soumare Returns to Philly
Though he didn’t play much for the Philadelphia Union, Fire defender Bakary Soumare makes his first return to PPL Park since his trade return to Chicago last May.
The Malian international made just four appearances in less than a season for Philadelphia, three of which came against the Fire. Before joining the Fire on May 24, Soumare played in the Union’s back-to-back 1-0 defeats of the Men in Red that month.
Do You Anangonó?
On Thursday the club announced that new Designated Player Juan Luis Anangonó had officially been added to the Fire roster after receiving his P1 visa and international transfer certificate.
But since his arrival last week, Fire head coach Frank Klopas has said that despite his DP tag, the Ecuardorian forward would still have to earn his place on the field.
EDITORIAL: The Designated Player Question
So will he make his debut tonight? Anangonó had his first full week with the team this week but is said to have experienced tightness in his hamstring leading up to Saturday night’s game. We shall see.
Chris Rolfe meets Ante Razov
Should he appear in tonight’s game, Fire second all-time leading goal scorer Chris Rolfe will equal the all competitions appearance number of the club’s first all-time leading goal scorer Ante Razov at 196 games.
Having racked up 55 goals and 24 assists, Chris Rolfe has no doubt done well in his seven seasons with the Men in Red but tonight’s mark points to just how good Ante Razov was as a goal scorer for the Fire. The retired forward sits firmly in first place on the club’s goal scoring charts, a clear 40 goals ahead of Rolfe at 95 on the club’s all-time list.
Tonight’s Pre-Game Features…
As mentioned above, coverage for tonight’s game begins at 6:30pm CT on My50 with pre-game segments on Sean Johnson’s return to the Fire, Mike Magee talking his first MLS All-Star experience, interviews with Patrick Nyarko and Frank Klopas and former Fire forward Josh Wolff talking his memories from the 2000 U.S. Open Cup semifinal win over LA.
