Playing a third straight game on the road, Chicago Fire FC (6-11-5, 23 points) picked up a 1-0 win over the New York Red Bulls (6-10-4, 22 points) at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night. Chicago is just the third team to win at Red Bull Arena this season (Supporters’ Shield leaders New England Revolution and Western Conference side Sporting Kansas City being the other two teams).
The Fire broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute when forward Robert Berić bagged his third goal of the season. Defender Carlos Terán’s long throw-in created a difficult moment for the home side, deflecting off several Red Bulls players, before falling for Beric who blasted his shot into the top corner (WATCH).
The Designated Player was initially forced to delay his goal celebration as he was ruled offside on the play. However, after going to Video Review, referee Victor Rivas overturned the call due to the deflection prior to Berić’s shot (WATCH).
Maintaining the 1-0 lead going into the halftime break, the Fire continued its resolute defensive performance as a unit in the second half to hold off a strong push from the Red Bulls. Of the Red Bulls’ 20 shots, only two landed on target and both were comfortably saved by goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth.
After weathering the storm in the second half, Chicago nearly doubled its lead in the 83rd minute when midfielder Álvaro Medrán came within inches of scoring with his first touch of the game. Forward Chinonso Offor created the opportunity with a clever nutmeg on his defender, before laying the ball off for Medrán, who fired a first-time effort off the post. Medrán’s effort would serve as the final clear-cut chance of the night as the Fire picked up their second straight win over the Red Bulls.
NEXT GAME: The Fire will have a break in its regular season schedule next weekend due to the FIFA international window. Following the bye weekend, Chicago will resume league play against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, Sept. 11 at Children’s Mercy Park, continuing its stretch of six straight games on the road. The match against Sporting KC will begin at 7:30 p.m. CT on WGN-TV, CFFC Live and Latino Mix 93.5 FM.
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NOTES:
- The result was the Red Bulls’ first home loss since July 31 and their third of the season (5-3-2).
- Tonight’s match was the third and final meeting between the Fire and NYRB this season, with the Fire winning two of the three matches (2-1-0).
- The Fire have won more regular season games against the Red Bulls than any other opponent in the league. Chicago leads the head-to-head regular season series against NYRB with a 30-20-13 all-time record.
- The 1-0 win marked the first time either the Fire or the Red Bulls have won consecutive games over the other in the same season since the Fire did it in the 2014 campaign. Prior to tonight’s match, Chicago recently defeated the Red Bulls 2-1 at Soldier Field on Aug. 8.
- The Fire notched their fifth shutout of the season.
- Chicago is four points below the playoff line with several matches still to be played during Week 22.
- Midfielder Brian Gutiérrez earned his fifth professional start tonight and his first since June 19. Earlier this season, the Chicago native became the youngest Homegrown Player to start a match in Club history in the team’s away fixture against D.C. United on May 13.
Box Score:
New York Red Bulls 0:1 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
CHI - Berić (3) (WATCH) 32’
Discipline:
NY - Reyes (Yellow Card) 73’
NY - Duncan (Yellow Card) 78’
CHI - Terán (Yellow Card) 81’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Shuttleworth, D Terán, D Pineda, D Bornstein ©, M Sekulić, M Herbers, M Giménez, M Stojanović (M Medrán, 83’), M Navarro, M Gutiérrez (Offor 59’), F Berić (F Collier 83’)
Subs not used: GK G. Slonina, D Kappelhof, D Omsberg, D Espinoza, D Calvo, F Ivanov
New York Red Bulls: GK Coronel, D Gutman, D Nealis, D Reyes (D Tarek 77’), D Edwards (D Duncan 64’), M Tolkin, M Davis ©, M Clark (M Amaya 72’), M Klimala (M Royer 64’), M Carmona, F Fábio
Subs not used: GK Meara, D Egbo, M Fernandez, F Barlow, F Harper
Stats Summary: NY / CHI
Shots: 20 / 9
Shots on Goal: 2 / 4
Passing Accuracy: 73.5% / 65.1%
Saves: 1 / 1
Corners: 2 / 3
Fouls: 13 / 11
Offsides: 1 / 1
Possession: 58.4% / 41.6%
Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistant Referees: Adam Garner, Brian Dunn
Fourth Official: Guido Gonzales Jr.
VAR and AVAR: Carol Anne Chenard, Gjovalin Bori
Chicago Fire FC Quotes
Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Raphael Wicky
On what it means to the team and to him, personally, to get a road victory…
“Well, I think it's a big win. It's a big team win. I'm proud of the guys and proud of everyone who is here, of the way they approached this game. Guys starting, guys not starting, guys being on the bench, not playing a minute, but pushing each other and helping each other. It was, from the beginning to the end, a team win.
Obviously, it feels really good to have an (away) win. One-and-a-half years almost, or so many games, is a long time. We (have) had, for sure, prettier games on the road. We (have) had, for sure, games where we played much better football, where we created way more chances.
But this was just a great team fight and the team showed a great mentality and spirit and I think it was very hard to break down and that's why it's a deserved win.”
On how important it was for Robert Berić to score such a big goal for the team…
“Yeah, it's very, very important for him, of course. Look, we all know that strikers, they live and breathe from goals. Robert had not many goals this year, and so it's very important for him, but he's very happy for the team. He's very happy that we won, actually. Of course, then, that we win with the goal he scored is for sure very, very good for him.
But look, we have spoken about that a lot - Robert has often chances. He had chances this year to score more goals, (but) somehow they didn't go in. Tonight there weren't many chances. It wasn't really pretty but you have to be there as a number nine. I'm sure that he will have chances again in the following games, in the games coming. It's just very important that we all keep working hard, that he keeps working hard and believing. That's most important.”
On how the team can turn this road win into a consistent run…
“The most important thing is that we limit our mistakes. This league is so tight and really anyone can beat anyone. You go into a game and you know you have a chance but you also know going into every game if you are not 100 percent and you make more mistakes and silly mistakes that you may lose this game. That doesn't happen in many leagues, back in Europe, for example. So this league is different.
So, for us, we had many good road games where we played decent football and where we create a lot of chances and where we were up games but at the end of the day it's about limiting mistakes, and I think that's going to be crucial for us. How good of a balance can we find of playing good football and attractive football with some risk, but also, then, in certain moments say ok it’s not about being pretty. I think that's going to be crucial in the future.”
On Francisco Calvo being on the game day roster but not starting or playing…
“That was a tactical choice of mine, nothing else. I chose tonight to go with some other players, and Francisco accepted that, was very positive and was a good captain in the locker room before the game, during the game, and yeah, nothing else. I just chose to go with some other players tonight.”
Chicago Fire FC Forward Robert Berić
On how much he needed that goal, personally, and how much the team needed to get a win on the road…
“I think I needed a goal, the same like we needed a win away. We are really happy and it's a relief, finally, for me and the team that we succeeded; me to score and finally to win away, and yeah, let's work hard and let's try to keep this momentum going.”
On whether he is looking forward to making a push for the playoffs given that the team is within a handful of points of the playoff spot...
“I mean, let's just try to keep going from game-to-game. It's difficult to think about playoffs now. I would like to say that we have to try to fight every game like that, like we (fought) today, and let's just make points every game, and we will see where we are going to finish the season.”
On what has been different for him as a striker this year compared to last year, and whether this goal could spark him forward...
“I hope so. I try to do my best every game and I try to score every game. That's my job at the end of the day. But yeah, you know how it is, sometimes when you fall in this gap, and you simply cannot score, it also becomes a mental thing. It's not easy but yeah, let's hope with this win and with this goal that we try to keep the momentum like I said before. Yeah, that's it.”
On how the team keeps the momentum and good feelings going during the international break…
“I mean, we have now two weeks to have good trainings and to prepare, and to prepare ourselves to enjoy, most of all, to enjoy football. Yeah, we just have to keep this energy at trainings. We have to work hard and prepare for the next game, and yeah, keep going.”
Chicago Fire FC Defender Jonathan Bornstein
On how much it means to the team to finally get that win on the road…
“Yeah, I think more than anything, just extremely proud of the team, the way we handled that whole situation. You know, we never put our arms down, heads down, even though we've had some struggles on the road, we've continually, I think, been getting better and tonight was a demonstration of all the hard work that's been put into trying to get that win on the road.
We are very happy but there's always something to build on and always things we can improve on. But also, we got to enjoy this one. It's a big three points for us, and continue to keep this kind of train rolling and get the results on the road.”
On how proud he is of the team’s performance as they come away with three points and a clean sheet…
“Yeah, I mean, I already said it. I'm extremely proud of my team. Everyone who was on the field left it all out there. You know, obviously in games where it's 1-0 on the road, the home team is going to come with a lot of pressure, a lot of attacking moments. And I thought we did a great job of absorbing that pressure, winning a lot of the crosses that came in, being tuned in at all the right moments, and so you've got to shake the hands of all the defenders and all the forwards.
It was a team effort today so I think we got to enjoy it. Again, things to work on but you know, I think we did a great job of not allowing a goal. Bobby did a great job tonight organizing us, coming up big in the moments he needed to, and it was a great team effort.”
On his thoughts that only four points separate the rest of the standings to the seventh and final playoff spots…
“We take it game by game to be honest. You know, we obviously -- our goal is to make the playoffs and how do we do that? Winning game by game. Next game, we have a little bit of a break before we can work on a lot of things in training, and prepare ourselves for the next game.
Obviously these three big points help us to get to where we want to get. But I think the mentality is take it game by game, and we've got to be gaining points and closing that gap to get to the playoff picture. There's enough points out there for us to accomplish that goal, and so that's kind of what we have in the back of our minds and that's how we prepare ourselves for each weekend or each game.