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Hot, muggy, late July night at Soldier Field in Chicago, where the New York Red Bulls come in for big eastern conference table seeding clash. Red Bull enter the match in the 9th and last playoff position, while the Fire sit right behind them at 10. Huge match for the standings and playoff implications.
A crowd of 27,000 plus was on hand for the match and a postgame Chance the Rapper concert. Nice turnout.
Slow start to the game. Both teams feeling each other out. Not an unusual way for the Fire to start a game. Both teams not attacking aggressively. Fire getting the first chance, Brian Gutierrez takes a shot in the box but misses wide. Gotta convert on big chances like that.
Fire defense holding up nicely, getting back Carlos Teran has been a big boost to a somewhat shaky defense. Red Bulls did get a quality shot at goal that went off the post. For a team that has potential to erupt offensively, the Red Bulls been quiet for most of the first half.
In the final minute leading up to stoppage time Hugo Cuypers gets deep inside the box and tries to swing the ball towards goal or draw a corner, as he runs out of room in bounds. A sliding tackle by the Red Bull defender ends up giving the Fire a lifeline. Penalty check for a handball. Shortly after a VAR check, it’s a penalty for the Fire.
Cuypers steps up and puts it away easily to the corner of the net. Fire take a 1-0 lead into first half stoppage time. A big break for Chicago. Harsh penalty for New York. The Fire will take it any way they can though.
Going into the half, the Fire did earn a goal and lead. They created more chances and were more aggressive in the first half. New York, playing timid. Will the Red Bulls wake up in the second half? Can the Fire hold up the momentum?
The start to the second half looks livelier for New York. Fire are trying to play keep-away from New York. Focusing more on the counter game. The game seems to have settled back into the slow paced possession match it was at the start of the game.
For some reason Red Bulls are lacking urgency on the night. The later the game is progressing the more the Fire are sitting back and relying on counters, with a lead already, that’s sound strategy. Red Bulls did have a few scoring opportunities in the second half, but stellar play by Jack Elliott and the back line kept any serious threat away from Brady.
The Fire were able to hold on and secure a big win and three points. With the victory they moved ahead of the Red Bulls into the 9th and final playoff spot. Two consecutive wins and six points out of their last two games gives the Fire 35 points on the season.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH:
Jack Elliott is in fantastic form and he just keeps getting better as the season gets goes. He’s been a captain and leader on and off the pitch, really instrumental in keeping that backline stable with so many injuries and changes. Elliott was a big reason the Fire kept a clean sheet and got the victory.
Notes:
- Hugo Cuypers tallied a team-leading fifth game-winning goal this season. His five game-winning goals are the third-highest tally in a single season for the Fire, tying Andy Herron (2006) and Nemanja Nikolić (2017). Two more goals of a similar kind would tie the Fire’s single-season record, set by Ring of Fire member and all-time leading scorer Ante Razov in 1999.
- With 14 goals this year, Cuypers has scored the fifth most goals in a single Fire season, tying Razov (1999, 2002, 2003) and David Accam (2017). His 24 total goals through two seasons in Chicago rank seventh all-time in Fire history, just two behind the totals of Peter Nowak and Marco Pappa in sixth place.
- Goalkeeper Chris Brady recorded his third clean sheet of the season and 15th of his career Saturday night. The Homegrown goalkeeper also posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2024, when he and the Fire blanked New York City FC and FC Cincinnati on July 13 and 17, respectively.
- Chicago won its 10th game of the season with 10 remaining on the calendar. The Fire reached the mark for the first time since 2023 and for the third time since 2017, when the team won 16 matches en route to a playoff appearance.
NEXT MATCH:
Chicago will enjoy a week off before hosting Los Angeles FC at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill. on Saturday, August 9. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
