The Chicago Fire scored goals on both sides of halftime and that was enough for them to defeat the New York Red Bulls 2-1 at Soldier Field.
Tom Barlow scored his first goal of the season and Georgios Koutsias notched his second finish in as many MLS matches to give the Fire three points at home.
The win ensures that the Fire (7-8-14, 29 points) will remain in the Eastern Conference playoff picture with only five regular season matches remaining.
The Fire were without Andrew Gutman and Brian Gutiérrez as both had leg injuries despite not being on the availability report ahead of the match. Rafael Czichos was injured during warmups and was replaced in the starting 11 by Wyatt Omsberg and Carlos Terán left the match with an apparent leg injury.
The Fire jumped ahead in the first half thanks to Tom Barlow’s first goal in a Chicago Fire uniform. Hugo Cuypers had his initial on-target effort in the 31st minute saved by RBNY goalkeeper Carlos Coronel but the rebound fell perfectly to a wide-open Barlow, who tapped it in to give his side a 1-0 lead that they took into halftime.
RBNY brought on Dennis Gjengaar and Dante Vanzeir after halftime and the two combined for a goal less than two minutes later. Vanzeir hit a lovely cross in from the right side to Gjengaar in front of Chicago’s goal and the RBNY No. 2 had no problem knocking into the net to tie the match at one.
The Fire had their own instant-impact substitution in the 72nd minute when they brought on Georgios Koutsias and Kellyn Acosta .
Koutsias won the Fire a corner kick after his shot was saved by Coronel and Chicago capitalized on the ensuing corner kick. The ball was played short and over to Acosta, whose cross flew perfectly into the RBNY 18 for Koutsias to head it into the net to secure three points at home for the Fire.
The win snaps the Fire’s six-match winless streak in all competitions and their four-match winless streak in Major League Soccer.
Match Observations
RBNY had the first chance of the match and it came from very little in the third minute. Lewis Morgan had the ball in Chicago’s half of the pitch and threaded a perfect pass to Peter Stroud, who had just snuck in behind the right side of the Fire’s backline. Stroud had a step on his defender but blasted his shot over the net, keeping things easy for Chris Brady in goal.
It wasn’t pretty but the Fire nearly scored after some chaos in RBNY’s penalty area. Ariel Lassiter made a run down the left wing before swinging a cross that was deflected to Gastón Giménez 22 yards from goal. The Fire’s captain smashed his shot into the ground but the ball bounced to Hugo Cuypers, but his effort went into the side-netting.
The Fire continued to create chances off of deflections and once again came within inches of taking the lead. Maren Haile-Selassie had the ball in RBNY’s penalty area and his cross attempt was deflected right to Tom Barlow. The former Wisconsin Badgers standout took a few dribbles before hitting a left-footed strike that flew just above the crossbar, narrowly missing out on his first goal of the season in only his third start of 2024.
Barlow finally got that evasive first goal of the season, giving the Fire the 1-0 lead in the 31st minute after an RBNY mistake. Noah Elie hit a horrible header that fell perfectly for Hugo Cuypers to collect that ball in RBNY’s half and make a run toward goal. The Fire’s No. 9 ripped an on-target effort that was saved by Carlos Coronel but the rebound fell right to the wide-open Barlow for the tap in. The goal is Barlow’s first with the Fire and first as a professional outside of the New York Red Bulls organization where he spent his first six pro seasons.
Barlow’s goal was enough for the Fire to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. The only two on-target efforts of the first half came on the Fire’s goal-scoring sequence and Chicago outshot RBNY seven-three overall.
RBNY brought on Dennis Gjengaar and Dante Vanzeir after halftime and it took less than two minutes before they combined to tie the match at one. Vanzeir evaded Carlos Terán on the right wing and hit a cross to Gjengaar right in front of the net. RBNY’s No. 2 had plenty of space and had zero issues tapping in the point-blank effort. Carlos Terán left the match with a right leg injury a few moments after Gjengaar’s goal and it looked like that injury hampered the Fire’s center back when trying to defend Vanzeir in the build-up.
The Fire tried to respond quickly and forced RBNY goalkeeper Carlos Coronel into making a save in the 55th minute. Fabian Herbers had the ball just inside RBNY’s half of the pitch and changed fields with a cross to Chris Mueller on his left. Mueller carried the ball, cut to his right, and fired an effort that was saved by the diving Coronel to the goalkeeper’s right.
Mueller continued to come close to scoring and the Fire’s winger will wish he hit the target with his header in the 67th minute. RBNY did a poor job of clearing their penalty area and the ball fell to Fabian Herbers, who immediately hit the ball to Hugo Cuypers on his left. Cuypers took a dribble before hitting a cross to Mueller, but the winger’s header flew wide of the target. It was a great chance from very little and Cuypers deserves credit for the solid cross.
Chris Brady had to fully extend himself to maintain the match’s 1-1 scoreline in the 68th minute. Dennis Gjengaar had the ball at the edge of the Fire’s penalty area and played a lovely entry pass to Cameron Harper on the left side of Chicago’s 18. Harper fired a shot that was heading into the far corner of the net before Brady leaped to his left and parried the effort out of play, collecting his lone save of the match in the process.
Georgios Koutsias came on the pitch as a substitute in the 74th and made an immediate impact. The Fire’s Greek striker made a fabulous 40-yard run down the left wing before hitting a shot that was saved by the diving Carlos Coronel, earning the Fire a corner kick. Kellyn Acosta, who came on at the same time as Koutsias, hit the perfect cross after the corner was played short and Koutsias headed it home to give the Fire the 2-1 lead on the lakefront. Koutsias has now scored in consecutive MLS matches and scored with Greece U21 earlier this week against Faroe Islands U21 while on international duty.
Koutsias was thrilled to score and win each match he played this week.
“It's very important for me that both my teams have won, and I scored for both of them,” said Koutsias. “I'm really happy with both results. We need to [keep] pushing. We need to have more games like that. And yeah, hopefully we continue like this, work hard and get some more games like that.”
Tom Barlow finally got his first goal in a Fire jersey in only his third start with the club in MLS.
“It feels great,” said Barlow. “It's been a long year, and to finally see it hit the back of the net, obviously, as a forward, there's nothing better in the world. So, it felt good to get one tonight. And then, more importantly though, the three points.”
Chris Brady made a point of commending Barlow while speaking with the media after the match.
“Big props to Tom [Barlow]. I wanted to commend him because although he may not always be first choice, he's always putting himself in the best situations, metaphorically and literally tonight by his work rate. So, throughout games, this guy is running through a brick wall for our team. And I just really wanted to say ‘thank you’ to him. It gets me fired up, it gets me going, I hope that's how the other guys feel, but I really respect the type of player he is.”
The Fire’s Homegrown goalkeeper was noticeably emotive towards the Fire supporters after the final whistle blew.
“It was a relief for me, because I know the results haven't really been going that way, but it's nice to get one tonight. Big step in the right direction and I was happy for the fans behind me. I can see it on their faces as well, how happy they were that we got the three points. So, I mean, it's always nice to see the joy in other people's faces for the result that we've got. It's very fulfilling.”
Rafael Czichos was initially in the Fire’s starting 11 but sustained an injury during warmups and was replaced at center back by Wyatt Omsberg.
Brian Gutiérrez and Andrew Gutman were omitted from the matchday lineup with ‘leg’ injury designations despite not being listed on the Fire’s pre-match availability report. Gutiérrez practiced fully yesterday while Gutman was a limited participant on matchday -1. Fire head coach Frank Klopas said post-match that Gutiérrez had a groin issue that got worse overnight and Gutman had an MCL issue.
Gastón Giménez made his 100th start with the Chicago Fire and played the entirety of the match in his usual defensive midfield role while rocking the captain’s armband.
What’s On Tap Next?
The Fire will be on the road Wednesday to take on Nashville SC. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 PM CT and will air on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
Follow @soccer_ontap on X for more Chicago Fire news and updates!
Local News
Comments / 0