MATCH INFO |
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|---|---|
<strong>Matchup</strong> |
Chicago Fire (6-13-5, 23 points) vs. New York (11-6-6, 39 points) |
<strong>Date</strong> |
Wednesday, August 26 • 7:30 p.m. CT |
<strong>Location</strong> |
Toyota Park; Bridgeview, Ill. |
<strong>TV</strong> |
CSN Chicago Plus |
<strong>Radio</strong> |
ESPN Deportes 97.5 FM Chicago (Spanish) |
<strong>Watch</strong> |
<strong><a href=" //www.chicago-fire.com/video/2015/08/25/fire-field-vision-powered-novacare-fire-vs-new-york-red-bulls">Fire Field Vision Powered by NovaCare</a></strong> |
The Chicago Fire (6-13-5, 23 points) play the first of 10 consecutive matches vs. Eastern Conference opponents to close the 2015 regular season Wednesday against the visiting New York Red Bulls (11-6-6, 39 points). The Red Bulls have been among the hottest clubs in Major League Soccer over the last month, going unbeaten in six straight matches with a 5-0-1 mark.
The match, which will be broadcast on CSN Chicago Plus, kicks off at 7:30 p.m. CT at Toyota Park. Chicago looks to extend its home unbeaten streak against the Red Bulls to 13 games, and Fire midfielder Michael Stephens knows it won’t be easy.
“They have a really strong team from a player standpoint,” Stephens said. “They’ve got a really strong midfield. I think Dax [McCarty] and Felipe have done a really good job with Sacha [Kljestan] in front of them. They’ve had some continuity in the back. Some of those guys have been there for a couple years in the back now. I think that they have a really nice game plan of the way they want to play. It’s clear they’re a high-pressing team, a team that likes to get on the ball. They’ll be a tough team to play against and one of the better teams that we’ve played against this year.”
Though the firepower of the players up top tends to grab the most attention, New York’s back line has been extremely impressive in 2015. With names like Chris Duvall, Connor Lade, Kemar Lawrence and Matt Miazga, the Red Bulls have loads of young talent on the back line. It’s a big reason why they’ve only allowed 1.09 goals per game this season.
The club has dealt with plenty of turnover. Fire original and longtime standout Jesse Marsch is the team’s third manager since 2010, but the Red Bulls have still qualified for the playoffs each of the last five years. Now without stars Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill, they remain near the top of the table.
“They’ve done things right as a club,” said Mike Magee, who began his career in New York with 130 appearances and 23 goals for the MetroStars and Red Bulls (2003-08). “Jesse Marsch is a great leader. He was as a player and is as a coach. Then they’ve got some good players over there who are buying into the system. They’re fun to watch as far as getting numbers forward and the way they attack. They seem to play the game the right way.
READ: Fire Brace for Uphill Climb in Season's Home Stretch
“They brought in more guys. Sacha Kljestan, I’m not calling him Thierry Henry, but he’s an incredible player, and he knows league and knows that system. Wright-Phillips is still doing this thing. Dax McCarty is probably one of the most underrated guys in the league. He makes them tick and allows guys to get forward. He sits back and puts out fires. They’re firing on all cylinders at the moment.”
The Fire may have better scoring chances against such a high-pressing team. In Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Colorado, they dominated possession but found it difficult to break through as the Rapids sat very deep.
Certainly one key for the Fire will be to come out strong and avoid conceding an early goal as they did Saturday. As a creative force in the midfield, Stephens wants to see less east-to-west and more north-to-south movement.
“I think we’ll have to be a little more desperate earlier in the game and not be as content to move side-to-side,” he said, “see if we can get it on goal earlier and have a little bit more aggressive approach from the beginning.”
REFEREE: Allen Chapman. AR1 (bench): Anthony Vasoli; AR2 (opposite): James Conlee; 4th: Nima Saghafi
MLS Career: 66 games; FC/gm: 23.4; Y/gm: 3.7; R: 16; pens: 28
SUSPENDED: NYR: Damian Perrinelle (through Aug. 26)
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS:CHI: Eric Gehrig, Chris Ritter, Adailton, Matt Polster, Patrick Nyarko … NYR: Sacha Kljestan, Felipe Martins, Chris Duvall, Mike Grella, Dax McCarty, Lloyd Sam, Connor Lade
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (48 meetings): Fire 25 wins (0 shootout), 80 goals … Red Bulls 13 wins (0 shootout), 59 goals … Ties 10
AT CHICAGO (24 meetings): Fire 14 wins (0 shootout), 42 goals … Red Bulls 3 wins (0 shootout), 21 goals … Ties 7
RETURN MATCHES:
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