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On a Cinco de Mayo weekend on Star Wars Night, the weather made a much bigger appearance and impact than the Chicago Fire did on this night. The New England Revolution was in town to face the Fire. The night got off to a rough stars before the game kicked off, a big storm came through the area and delayed the start by an hour.
Once things kicked-off near 8:30 pm central time, it was noticeably a wet and slippery start to the game for both teams. The first opportunity of the game came in the 13th when Kellyn Acosta’s free kick into the box resulted in a melee and a missed opportunity for the Fire to go up early.
Fire kept up the attack, five minutes later, getting another free kick from outside the box that resulted in a corner. The corner turned to a Brian Gutierrez shot outside the box that went well over the head of the Revs keeper.
The Fire regained possession shortly after and clear shot from distance by Andrew Gutman ended up being way off the mark. The first yellow card of the game was issued to Henry Kessler of the Revolution in the 22nd.
The next big opportunity followed the yellow card and it was a breakaway by Gutierrez, who crossed the ball to Hugo Cuypers, who stalled for a moment and took a late shot that was blocked by the sliding Revs defender. A big missed opportunity for the Fire to take the lead.
New England got their first opportunity on a cross from Nick Lima to Tomas Chancalay who just got a tip of the ball but it went straight into Fire keepers Chris Brady’s hands.
In the first half additional stoppage time Guti laid off a pass in the box to Allan Arigoni and he shot it wide of the goal. The missed opportunities continue for the Fire as they head to halftime outshooting the Revs 10 to 5. Plenty of missed opportunities for the Fire. They should have put away at least one, if not, two goals, but it’s 0-0 at halftime.
Revs started the second half strong with a quick attack that resulted in a dangerous header that Brady dove to save. Lima was called for a yellow card when he collided with Gutman who was on the verge of creating a situation on the wing.
On the counter, Revs nearly took the lead with a shot on goal that Brady dove again to save. Carles Gil tried testing Brady with a deep shot on target that went past the side goalpost.
New England came out with energy and confidence in the second half, taking more shots on goal from outside the box and in the 62nd they were rewarded. Tomas Chancalay ripped a shot that saw little resistance from the Fire defense that went past Brady, who had no chance, 1-0 New England.
Fire coach Frank Klopas shared his thoughts on the Fire’s struggles, “We are going through a difficult moment, I know that, we’ve been working on that on the pitch.”
Shaqiri and Barlow came onto the game after the goal, replacing Mueller and Koutsias in the 65th.
Chantalay received a yellow for a take down a few yards outside the top of the box. Shaqiri got the first shot on target from a free-kick, saved by the Revs diving keeper Aljaz Ivacic.
In the 79th, Fire II winger Omari Glasgow made his MLS debut subbing for Gutierrez.
Frustration began mounting for the Fire, Arigoni picked up a yellow card jumping on top of a Revs player. Chicago had a chance to equalize but Cuypers missed a header a few feet wide of the goal in the 88th. A minute later Cuypers had a chance to redeem himself with a cross from Aragoni into the box, but Cuypers kicked it straight at the goalie.
That was all. The Fire looked like the better team, especially in the first half. The numbers didn’t justify what happened on the pitch. The Fire had a total of 15 shots, but only 2 on target, while the Revs had 11 shots but 4 of them on target and one at the back of the net. Both teams managed a split with possession, 50/50.
Disappointing loss for the Fire to a struggling, desperate team. Bright spot was Glasgow’s debut. He looked like he belonged and added some juice to the attack. Hey, at least Star Wars Night was fun!
“It’s not about pointing fingers, we are in this thing together,” were the words on Klopas shared with the media postgame after the loss.
Let’s hope that’s the case, they will need to stick together because the schedule isn’t getting easier and teams are moving up and past the Fire in the table.
Next up, the Fire will look to rebound on the road against St. Louis City for Rivalry Week.
Notes:
- Midfielder Fabian Herbers wore the armband for the second game in a row and the fourth time this season.
- Chicago Fire FC II winger Omari Glasgow made his Major League Soccer debut, coming on as a substitute for Homegrown midfielder Brian Gutiérrez in the 79th minute. Glasgow was signed to a short-term loan agreement prior to the match, before becoming the first-ever Chicago Fire FC II player to feature for the First Team in MLS regular season action.
- Midfielder Brian Gutiérrez returned to the starting lineup after coming in as a second-half substitute against Atlanta last week. The team-leading scorer so far in 2024, Gutiérrez is just two appearances shy of becoming the second Homegrown Player in Club history to reach 100 games played with the Fire.
- Javier Casas Jr. (lower leg), Chase Gasper (upper leg), Maren Haile-Selassie (lower leg) and Tobias Salquist (upper leg) were unavailable for today’s match.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago will head back on the road for a Rivalry Week match against St. Louis CITY SC on Saturday, May 11. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT at CITYPARK, and the match will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass
