RECAP: Fire Sink to Home Defeat Against FC Cincinnati, 3-2
The Chicago Fire’s struggles at Soldier Field this season continued on Saturday evening.
FC Cincinnati got the better of the hosts in an eventful game, 3-2.
The defeat brings Chicago to a 3-3-3 mark for the season, with zero wins from four home fixtures.
Referee Mishap Highlights High-Scoring First Half
Everything that could have possibly happened in the first half did happen. The Fire looked bright to start, but went down 1-0 after a bizarre sequence in the 10th minute. A Chicago attack was cut short by a collision between Mauricio Pineda and referee Lorenzo Hernandez. Cincinnati took possession and proceeded to score off the counter-attack through Evander. Fire players swarmed Hernandez in frustration, but their words and the fans’ jeers were to no avail.
PHOTO: Albert Cesare/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK
After Carlos Teran barely hobbled off the pitch with an injury in the 21st minute, it looked to be a bleak evening for the Men in Red. The melancholy silence that had descended on Soldier Field was suddenly lifted ten minutes later. Jonathan Bamba slid an exquisite through ball into the path of Hugo Cuypers, whose fine finish made it 1-1. The goal was Cuypers’ sixth of the campaign, while Bamba notched a fifth assist.
Ultimately, it was the visitors who had the last laugh in the first half. Forty-two minutes in, substitute Sam Rogers gave the ball away in the defensive third, and Cincinnati took full advantage to go up 2-1. Kevin Denkey made no mistake with his shot and paid tribute to recently passed former teammate Aaron Boupendza with his celebration. Rather shockingly, the referee issued a yellow card to the striker for lifting (not removing) his shirt…
Fire Fall Short in Second Half
Both sides had their chances in the early stages of the second half. Evander beat Chris Brady with a finish in the 55th minute, but Rogers blasted the ball off his own crossbar to avert the danger. On the other side of the pitch, Philip Zinckernagel’s flick set Bamba up for a shot, but his attempt was blocked by Miles Robinson. Cuypers’ follow-up was denied as well, and the score stayed 2-1 to the visitors.
Evander, in his first game back from injury, made it a two-goal performance in the 72nd minute. He got the best of Jack Elliott on the right side before making it 3-1 with a finish into the far corner. It was the striker’s sixth goal of the season, matching Cuypers.
A glimmer of hope for Chicago came when Andrew Gutman was brought down in the box in the 83rd minute, earning a penalty. Brian Gutierrez pulled the Fire back within one with a confident conversion from the spot. Cincinnati almost restored the two-goal cushion immediately, but Brady intervened to deny Luca Orellano.
The Men in Red had a massive equalizing opportunity go begging in the third minute of stoppage time. Gutierrez danced past the defense and laid off the ball for Bamba, whose attempt soared over the bar. It was the final chance of a game that could have gone either way, with Cincinnati taking all three points in the end.
No Excuses for the Defeat
“I think it’s an extremely disappointing performance,” Fire head coach Gregg Berhalter said in the post-game press conference.
“We had a very good start to the game, and we have to be resilient enough, no matter what happens, to come back.”
Speaking on Evander’s two-goal performance, Berhalter noted that the Fire struggled to adhere to the game plan.
“The strategy was to keep going on his left foot, and we didn’t do that,” he said.
“If you keep him on his left, he has a more difficult time. His right foot is magic, as you saw today.”
Andrew Gutman echoed the unhappy sentiment, noting that the Fire were responsible for their own downfall.
“I think we shot ourselves in the foot and unfortunately, we couldn’t get back out of it,” he said.
“We pushed at the end, but I would like to see that for 90 minutes.”
Chris Brady, who was beaten by a deflected Evander finish after the freak collision between Pineda and the referee, discussed the confusing situation.
“I spoke to the referee after, and he said that, per the rulebook, he can trip a guy, box a guy out, and he can’t do anything about it,” Brady explained.
“I hope someone can take a look at that rule and change the language, but from a refereeing standpoint, he did what he had to do.”
Berhalter’s men will have a week to recover from the disappointment before they head to Tennessee for a matchup with Nashville SC.
That game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 26th, at GEODIS Park.
The Fire hope to snap a four-game winless skid with a victory in the Music City.
PHOTO: Albert Cesare/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK
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