BRONX, N.Y. (April 24, 2019) – Playing its first midweek contest of the 2019 season, the Chicago Fire Soccer Club (2-3-3, 9 points) fell 1-0 to New York City FC (2-1-5, 11 points) at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night. The result marked the Fire’s first loss in league play since March 16, snapping the team’s four-game unbeaten streak.
The Fire fell behind against the run of play in the ninth minute of play when NYCFC managed to convert its only shot on target in the first half. The goal stemmed from a ball into the box from forward Héber, who found forward ValentÃn Castellanos for a sliding finish from the edge of the six-yard box.
Responding to the home side’s early goal, the Men in Red created a dangerous chance in the 34th minute when midfielder Djordje Mihailović found a pocket of space in the final third and received a pass from defender Bastian Schweinsteiger. After turning and attacking the goal, Mihailović struck an effort from distance that skipped just wide of the near post (WATCH).
Four minutes into the second half, the Fire came close to leveling the score when Schweinsteiger slipped the ball in behind the defense to forward Nemanja Nikolić. Streaking in behind the backline, Nikolić played the ball across the 18-yard box to midfielder CJ Sapong, who produced a comfortable finish from close range. However, the goal was called off by the assistant referee, who determined that Nikolić was offside on Schweinsteiger’s initial pass.
With the Fire pressing forward in search of the equalizer, the home side nearly doubled its lead when forward Maxi Moralez earned a penalty kick in the 91st minute of play. However, Fire goalkeeper David Ousted produced a strong diving save to his right to deny Moralez of his first goal of the season (WATCH).
Next up, the Fire will continue its three-game road swing when the team travels to face the Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo on Sunday, April 28. Beginning at 11:30 a.m. CT, the match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and transmitted locally on Univision Radio 93.5 Latino Mix.
Match notes:
- Ousted made the eighth penalty kick save of his MLS career.
- Wednesday’s match marked the Fire’s first midweek contest of the 2019 season.
- The 1-0 result was the Fire’s first loss since March 16, ending the team’s four-game unbeaten streak in league play.
Box Score:
Chicago Fire 0:1 New York City FC
Scoring Summary:
NYC – Castellanos (2) (Héber, Moralez) 9’
Misconduct Summary:
NYC – Chanot (Caution) 7’
NYC – Ring (Caution) 16’
CHI – Adams (Caution) 16’
NYC – Tinnerholm (Caution) 37’
NYC – Castellanos (Caution) 67’
CHI – Mihailović (Caution) 75’
CHI – Schweinsteiger (Caution) 90’
Chicago Fire: GK Ousted, D Campos, D Marcelo, D Schweinsteiger, D Gutjahr (Corrales 73’), M McCarty ©, M Adams (Moreno 61’), M Sapong, M Mihailović, M Gaitán, F Nikolić (Frankowski 76’)
Subs not used: Sánchez, Lillard, Bronico, Martinez
Shots: 6 Shots on goal: 0 Fouls Committed: 12 Fouls Suffered: 16 Offsides: 4 Corners: 4
New York City FC: GK Johnson, D Chanot, D Sands, D Callens, M Tinnerholm, M Ring ©, M Ofori, M Matarrita (Sweat 31’), F Castellanos (Ibeagha 70’), F Héber (Parks 89’), F Moralez
Subs not used: GK Stuver, M Medina, M Rocha, F Tajouri-Shradi
Shots: 4 Shots on goal: 2 Fouls Committed: 16 Fouls Suffered: 12 Offsides: 2 Corners: 3
Referee: Robert Sibiga
Assistant Referees: Gianni Facchini, Gjovalin Bori
Fourth Official: Lorant Varga
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 21,791
