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Second round of Wednesday night MLS games is upon us. Fire coming off a trip to DC on Saturday night where they managed to come away with a tie, welcomed Orlando City SC to Soldier Field on Wednesday night for a midweek clash.
Was it going to be doomsday from the start for the Fire? In the 4th minute there was an ugly melee in the box, where several Fire players couldn’t clear the ball and Orlando couldn’t get a shot off, until Orlando’s Facundo Torres got a weak touch on the ball as it rolled slowly past Fire keeper Chris Brady, as he painfully watched the ball roll past the goal line. One of the the sloppiest and ugliest goals you’ll see, 1-0 Orlando.
More bad news for the Fire early on, team stalwart Andrew Gutman goes down and needs to be subbed out. Unfortunate situation for a player who has been a recent bright spot for the club.
Fire are trying anything these days to make something happen. Case in point, when Carlos Teran winds up with a lost ball and instead of pushing it ahead or starting a breakaway, he attempts to catch the opposing goalie offline and sends a uninspiring line drive kick from three-quarters of the field that barely gets to the opposing third. This is where things are. Desperate attempts to make anything happen. Can’t fault the guy, but this is a capsule moment of where this team is currently at.
Orlando had opportunities to lead by several goals, but missed chances still kept the game at 1-0 through 30 minutes of play. Every time Chicago had an opportunity, it squandered it. Arnaud Souquet, who subbed for Gutman earlier on, got a clean shot on goal but missed it badly over the top.
Right before the half, Federico Navarro split a few City defenders and hit a quality shot from the side that was saved by the extending Orlando goalie Pedro Gallese.
A controversial moment in the dying seconds of the three additional minutes of stoppage when Orlando’s Dagur Thorhallsson got past Brady and Navarro seemingly ran into him from behind. Orlando immediately contest the no-call. A VAR review concluded no foul, just a corner for Orlando. Dangerous situation for the Fire that they dodged heading into the half, still down one.
Halftime 1-0 Orlando. In summary of the first half, Orlando was quicker to the ball and more affective getting opportunities, but still a lot more to be desired for them.
The start of the second half saw three quick yellows. One for Orlando coming out of the half, followed by two for the Fire, Navarro and Gutierrez. Chicago showed some life in the second half, but still no dice.
The push finally paid off when the Fire had a beautifully orchestrated give-and-go (can’t believe I’m writing this) with Souquet’s pass to Maren Haile-Selassie to Hugo Cuypers who put it away calmly with a professional touch that went between Gallese’s hands. Fire tied it at 1-1 in the 70th minute.
Orlando was close to regaining the lead when City SC striker Luis Muriel’s header in the box ended up pinned by Brady at the knees. Good awareness Brady.
Some chances for both teams in the final minutes and stoppage but that would be it. A 1-1 tie on the night. Fire get their second consecutive tie. Orlando picks up a point to stay in the playoff race. Not the worst result for them for a midweek game on the road. No Disney magic for either team on this night.
On the other end, something positive can be taken from Frank Klopas’ squad over. Collecting points the last two games and seeing some improvement. Not to be forgotten how this team was on a scoreless streak for multiple weeks. Small steps in the positive direction for a club that desperately needs something to hold onto.
Next up, quick turnaround as the LA Galaxy come to town to face the Fire on Saturday night. Galaxy have been a pleasant surprise this season, after getting off to a hot start, they have cooled off, but remain in the playoff hunt in the west. Can the Fire continue to collect some points off a tough opponent?
Notes:
- Chicago’s record against Orlando City SC in regular season action now stands at 5-7-7.
- With a goal in the 70th minute, Chicago has now scored eight times between the 60-75th minutes versus Orlando, which is the most Fire goals in a 15-minute interval in the head-to-head series with the Lions.
- Forward Hugo Cuypers remains the only player to start all 16 of Chicago’s matches so far in the 2024 regular season and leads the team with four goals in 2024.
- Tonight’s match also marked the second time this season that Cuypers has registered goal contributions in back-to-back games for the Fire.
- Defender Arnaud Souquet registered his first assist of 2024 on Cuypers’ goal, and his fourth overall for the Men in Red.
- Midfielder Maren Haile-Selassie also recorded an assist on Cuypers’ game-tying goal. Haile-Selassie, who led the Fire in goals scored in 2023 (six), now has the team-lead in assists (three) this season.
- Defender Andrew Gutman made his seventh-straight start, and eighth start overall. Gutman, who had started every match in which he has played for the Men in Red so far in 2024, left the field in the 12th minute due to injury. He was replaced by Souquet.
- Defenders Allan Arigoni (yellow card accumulation), Chase Gasper (leg) and Tobias Salquist (leg); and midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri (international duty) were unavailable for today’s match.
NEXT MATCH: Chicago will return to Soldier Field for a weekend encounter with Western Conference opponent LA Galaxy on Saturday, June 1. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass and transmitted locally via wlsam.com (English) and WRTO 1200 AM (Spanish).
