Chicago 2-1 Road Win vs Red Bulls
HARRISON, N.J. (April 21, 2018) – The Chicago Fire (2-3-1, 7 points) earned their first road points of the season with a 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls (3-3-0, 9 points) at Red Bull Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Fire opened scoring in the 30th minute when defender Brandon Vincent sent in a corner kick that was headed out by the Red Bulls defense. The ball fell to Aleksandar Katai just outside the penalty area and the Serbian unleashed a left-footed volley past Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles for his second goal of the season.
Katai would factor in to the Fire’s eventual game winner, earning a penalty kick in the 68th minute after he was dragged down in the box by Robles. Reigning MLS Golden Boot winner Nemanja Nikolić stepped up and buried the ensuing penalty for his fifth goal of the season.
The hosts pulled one back in the 81st minute after Bradley Wright-Phillips pounced on a loose ball in the box but the Fire held on for the full three points.
Rookie midfielder Mo Adams made his professional debut on Saturday, featuring for the full 90 minutes. Adams is the fifth Fire rookie to play in a league match this season.
Next up the Men in Red face defending MLS Cup champions Toronto FC at BMO Field on Saturday, April 28 at 2 p.m. CT (ESPN+/Univision Deportes Chicago 1200AM).
Quotes:
Veljko Paunović, Chicago Fire Head Coach
On the importance of the win:
“Definitely very important win for us. Very proud of the guys and the job they did. We stuck to our plan and we adjusted every time Red Bulls changed. So fantastic reaction. Fantastic win and especially after the sloppy start we had this season, I think this win helps us to boost our confidence, to build on top of this and face the next phase of the season with a different perspective.”
On the willingness to sit back and absorb pressure from the Red Bulls:
“I think it’s very important that more than the opponent, it’s more important the dynamics you create or the counter dynamics for your opponents. I think that’s what we created today. I think we surprised them with our setup. Also, with our offensive alternatives we had, and that’s something that especially in the first half, it was a surprise for them. So, I think it’s important that you have a plan. It’s important that you know what you want to do and it’s important that you play according to the plan and try to stick with it even when in the moment that it’s not working. That’s why I’m very proud of the guys. They showed me today they can play mature, mature soccer. Tactics, they can put the heart there and use the brain. Ultimately when you have to execute, I think we were sharp. So very proud, again. Very important, and we move forward.”
On what accounts for the slow start this season as opposed to last year:
“I think we had some late additions…I actually don’t want to give any excuses. The point is there are a lot of circumstances that you have to deal with during the new season and during the preseason. We didn’t have good circumstances but then we lost the confidence because of that start and we need to really grind and work hard to get back, to actually have the opportunity like we had today, to play against one of the best teams in the league, play in a disciplined manner and be very consistent with our plan, and then, you know, we had a prize that we won the game, difficult game. It was very hard, really, but at the end, these are the moments that you are looking for and I think we have a very, very good situation now where we can start building the next win streak that we are looking for.”
On the importance of having veteran leadership when the season is off to a slow start:
“It’s very important. There’s a huge importance because they are the ones that will either kill you or help you. In our case, it’s the second thing. They are calm. They are experienced. They know that we are working towards the solutions and that’s very important. That’s very important that you can rely on, not only the veteran players, but they are good guys.”
On the strong individual performances from Mo Adams and Richard Sanchez:
“When the team works like we played today, when the team works together, you can always see the qualities in individual players and you will see always that somebody stood out. Today, you mentioned some of them, but for me, I saw many more. I actually saw everyone from the first one, from Richard until the last one in the game from Jonathan Campbell. That mentality and that team spirit that we had, it was shown today. It was excellent and I think that’s what we need. That’s what we have to keep doing.”
On Richard Sanchez:
“I think he’s growing, same as the team. I think he’s following the pace, or as he’s growing, the team is growing, too. It’s very important, the position of the goalkeeper. It’s something that gives the team confidence. It gives security at the back line and just the organization. As he is growing, the team is getting better, too. It goes together. It’s important but we have also to know that we still have a long way to go and we have to still keep building, we still have to get better, but we have to improve in our performance overall, and that means that every single player, every single one in our coaching staff has to get better.”
On the importance of winning the physical battles today:
“It’s very important. As I said, the team is growing. The team is learning to play against different opponents and this is for us a huge step forward because we played against, as I said before, one of the best teams in the league, the team that is very well known for a great attacking style, and also very physical, very physical in terms of they cover a lot of ground. They have a very sharp, very narrow style, and you have to match that. I think that was very important for us, and winning against a team in playoff position, the second playoff team this year, no matter how sloppy was our start, it’s actually another positive that we can add.”
Dax McCarty, Chicago Fire Midfielder
On the win:
“Yeah, it’s a really important result. I, more so than most, know how hard is to win here when you’re on the opposing team. It’s a gutsy performance, a really gritty performance and basically it was one that we needed and a result like this doesn’t paper over all the cracks and all the things we want to get better on as a team, but it certainly gives the team confidence and I can’t tell you how much respect I have for that team over there, the Red Bulls, the talent and ability they have in that locker room. To come into their building where they’ve been unbeaten, virtually unstoppable at home this year. To be able to grind out a win, you know that speaks volumes to the character we have in this locker room so I’m really proud of the guys.”
On sticking to the plan
“Well, we had a game plan and I think the game plan worked very well today. You’re never going to have more possession than the Red Bulls here at Red Bull Arena. The way that they press, the way that they want to play, they want you to try and have possession. They say that they want the other team to have possession, so they can press and win the ball and go to goal and spread other teams out. We didn’t want to give them that. We wanted to force them to be on that and break us down and to make sure we weren’t giving them anything easy, so I thought it was a great performance from the backline today, obviously Richard Sanchez made some huge saves so it’s a really, really important game.”
On the performances of the rookies:
“I thought Mo Adams was fantastic. His first game as a pro in the middle there with me where the Red Bulls sometimes have three, four, five or six players coming through the middle at times, I thought he was brilliant. He knew his role, he broke up a lot of plays. He tried to play simple, he was very effective, and I thought he was a really, really good performer on the day, same with Grant Lillard, you know he won a lot of his battles. He had a little bit of a shaky touch in the first half and I told him to calm down, but I thought he was brilliant for most of the game.”
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Chicago Fire Defender
On the importance of winning the physical battles:
“Against Red Bulls, it is always very physical. We tried to think of an intense game plan for them. When we win the ball, we made it very difficult for them as well, and I think we had in both halves very good situations for transitions to create good chances, even if we know that Red Bulls will have more of the ball and possession than us. But at the end, it worked.”
If the team used any tape from the Red Bulls’ CONCACAF Champions League matches:
“We were watching some clips of that game, it’s true. But, we were also watching different types of clips. You know that Red Bull is a team that always tries to push forward. You have to find a way out of it. I can’t tell you other secrets, because we will play against Red Bull again. But, I am very glad that it was working even if the Red Bulls had some chances to score goals, but we had a very good goalkeeper today as well.”
On Richard Sanchez’s performance:
“I think you can see improvement in him a lot. Especially today, he was very helpful for us. He came out of the goal, saved balls, very good from him today. I hope he is going to be in the MLS Team of the Week, because he deserves it.”
On the importance of beating teams towards the top of the conference:
“I think it is very important to win against the Eastern Conference teams. We beat Columbus at home, and now we beat Red Bulls, two playoff teams from last year. But still, we are not so satisfied with our results before, so we could have done it better. There are still some pieces in our game, but at the moment I have to say it is more important to get results than perform at the highest level.”
Chicago Fire 2:1 New York Red Bulls
April 21, 2018 – Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 18,784
Scoring Summary:
CHI – Aleksandar Katai (unassisted) 30′
CHI – Nemanja Nikolić (penalty kick) 69′
NYRB – Bradley Wright-Phillips (unassisted) 81′
Misconduct Summary:
NYRB – Louis Robles (caution) 68′
CHI – Mo Adams (caution) 90+2′
Chicago Fire: Richard Sánchez; Kevin Ellis, Johan Kappelhof, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Grant Lillard, Brandon Vincent; Mo Adams, Dax McCarty ©; Elliot Collier (Alan Gordon 75′), Nemanja Nikolić (Jonathan Campbell 89′), Aleksandar Katai (Diego Campos 83′)
Subs not used: Patrick McLain, Drew Conner, Tony Tchani, Jon Bakero
Shots: 4; Shots On-Goal: 3; Fouls: 11; Saves: 9; Offsides: 5; Corners: 4.
New York Red Bulls: Luis Robles ©, Tim Parker, Kemar Lawrence, Aaron Long, Michael Murillo, Daniel Royer, Marc Rzatkowski (Sean Davis 57′), Alejandro Romero Gamarra (Vincent Bezecourt 77′), Florian Valot (Derrick Etienne 69′), Tyler Adams, Bradley Wright-Phillips
Subs not used: Benjamin Mines, Alex Muyl, Aurelien Collin, Ryan Meara
Shots: 22; Shots On-Goal: 11; Fouls: 5; Saves: 1; Offsides: 2; Corners: 7.
