RECAP: Relentless Chicago Fire Topple Rivals St. Louis City, 3-2
Fire vs. City may be a new rivalry, but Chicago vs. St. Louis certainly isn’t.
That was as evident as ever on Saturday night in Bridgeview.
In a fiery MLS inter-conference matchup, the Chicago Fire took down St. Louis City 3-2 at Seatgeek Stadium. It was a game befitting of a centuries-old feud, starting with an 80-minute thunderstorm delay.
Fans of both sides stuck around and brought the noise as the Men in Red came out on top in a high-scoring clash.
Fire Weather the Storm Early
Neither side threatened much in the first 15 minutes, though St. Louis looked the better of the two sides. All that all changed thanks to Hugo Cuypers. After Brian Gutierrez advanced the ball into the final third with a pass to Andrew Gutman, the left back picked out Cuypers in the box. The striker made first-touch contact with the bouncing ball, sending it into the bottom corner of the net. Just like that, the hosts were up 1-0 and Cuypers had his 15th goal of the season.
St. Louis City had an opportunity to equalize with 23 minutes on the clock. Henry Kessler’s line-breaking pass freed up Joao Klauss in front of the goal, but the striker’s finish was lackluster. The Fire’s Chris Brady easily got on the end of it to avert the danger. Two minutes later, Gutierrez came close to doubling Chicago’s lead with a long-range strike that just trickled wide.
St. Louis Takes Charge
The visitors stormed out of the gate in the second half, dominating the game. They got their equalizer quickly, as Tomas Ostrak got on the end of a lackluster clearance from Jack Elliott, sidestepped Gutierrez, and fired a shot into the top corner of the net. With 47 minutes gone, the score was 1-1, and the Fire were in danger of losing a must-win game.
Philip Zinckernagel forced a good save out of Roman Burki in the 58th minute, and St. Louis turned defense into attack almost instantly. Conrad Wallem’s cross from the right side somehow sailed past both Chicago center-backs, and the ball reached Marcel Hartel. The German unleashed a powerful finish into the room of Brady’s net to make it 2-1 to City just before the hour mark.
The Late Show at Seatgeek Stadium
Leave it to Zinckernagel to turn the game on its head. As he so often has been this year, the Dane was again the difference-maker for the hosts. He created something out of nothing in the 67th minute, weaving past the St. Louis defense with ease and catching Burki flat-footed with a low strike. The All-Star thus picked up his 11th goal of the season and leveled the score at 2-2.
Gutierrez nearly completed a very quick turnaround for the Men in Red, 71 minutes in, sending a swerving shot from the edge of the box towards the far corner. Burki made a fingertip save to keep the game tied. Minutes later, St. Louis thought they’d won a penalty after a handball call on Carlos Teran. A VAR review confirmed Teran had not handled the ball, and the decision was overturned.
Perhaps it was destiny that the hometown kid decided the rivalry matchup, because Gutierrez finally got his shining moment in the 87th minute. After Zinckernagel couldn’t find a way around the resilient St. Louis City defense, he laid the ball off to the trailing Gutierrez. The 21-year-old settled the ball with a single touch and scored from some 25 yards out with a perfectly-placed low shot. Gutierrez reeled off to celebrate with the Fire fans, who had stayed late to witness a massive 3-2 victory over the club’s regional rival.
Holding Strong in the Playoff Race
Even as their fellow playoff chasers amp up the pressure, the Men in Red are staying composed. Saturday’s precious three points keep the Fire above the playoff line on goal difference, and they also have a game in hand on the 10th-placed New York Red Bulls. With eight games to go in the regular season, the important thing is that Chicago controls its own destiny.
The bad news is that the Fire’s next opponents are not easy whatsoever. Back-to-back away games against the Philadelphia Union and Inter Miami will present a major challenge.
It’s imperative that Chicago picks up some points in these fixtures ahead of the final stretch.
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