Despite playing a man down for 56 minutes, Chicago Fire FC (3-9-4, 13 points) earned a point in a hard-fought 1-1 draw with the Philadelphia Union (6-4-7, 25 points) at Subaru Park on Sunday night.
The Fire took the lead in the 10th minute when midfielder Przemysław Frankowski scored his 10th career goal for the Club, heading home a cross from defender Boris Sekulić (WATCH).
Despite the Fire getting on the scoresheet early and controlling possession, the match turned when Chicago defender Wyatt Omsberg was shown a straight red card in the 34th minute (WATCH). Union defender Kai Wagner stepped up and buried the ensuing free kick from 20 yards away to level the score.
Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth made four saves tonight, including an excellent diving stop on Jose Martínez’s shot in the 79th minute and a close-range save on Alejandro Bedoya’s chance in the third minute of second-half stoppage time (WATCH). Shuttleworth leads the Eastern Conference in saves (60) this season, while ranking third overall in the league.
NEXT GAME: Chicago Fire FC will return home to Soldier Field to host New York City FC on Wednesday, Aug. 4. The match will begin at 7:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on WGN-TV, CFFC Live and WOJO 105.1 FM. NYCFC comes into the match hot off a 4-1 victory at home versus Columbus Crew on Friday night.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #CFFC #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
NOTES:
- Tonight’s match was the third and final regular season meeting between Chicago and Philadelphia in 2021.
- The 1-1 result was the second consecutive draw between the two teams, with the Fire posting an 0-1-2 record against the Union this season.
- Frankowski notched his second goal in 2021 and his 10th career goal for Chicago. He was named Heineken Man of the Match for his performance.
- Sekulić tallied his fourth assist of the season. The Serbian defender has recorded two assists in the Fire’s last three matches.
- Fire captain Francisco Calvo returned to the starting lineup for the first time since June 26 after missing the last five matches due to international duty with Costa Rica at the Concacaf Gold Cup.
- Head coach Raphael Wicky returned to the sideline after missing the last three matches due to a health matter concerning a close family member.
Box Score:
Philadelphia Union 1:1 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
CHI - Frankowski (2) (Sekulić 4) 10’ (WATCH)
PHI - Wagner (1) 36’ (WATCH)
Discipline:
PHI - Glesnes (Yellow Card) 30’
CHI - Omsberg (Red Card) 34’
CHI - Herbers (Yellow Card) 41’
PHI - Elliott (Yellow Card) 66’
CHI - Berić (Yellow Card) 78’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Shuttleworth, D Pineda, D Omsberg, D Calvo ©, M Sekulić, M Herbers (Bornstein 81’), M Frankowski, M Medrán, M Giménez, F Offor (Berić 64’), F Aliseda (Stojanović 81’)
Subs not used: GK G. Slonina, D Espinoza, D Kappelhof, M Gutiérrez, M Ivanov
Philadelphia Union: GK Blake, D Elliott, D Glesnes, D Wagner, D Mbaizo (McGlynn 89’), M Bedoya, M Martínez, M Flach (Ilsinho 64’), F Burke, F Gazdag (Sullivan 75’), F Przybylko
Subs not used: GK Freese, D Harriel, D Real, M Turner, M Aaronson
Stats Summary: PHI / CHI
Shots: 25 / 4
Shots on Goal: 5 / 2
Passing Accuracy: 83.0% / 78.8%
Saves: 1 / 4
Corners: 13 / 1
Fouls: 14 / 8
Offsides: 2 / 1
Possession: 55.8% / 44.2%
Referee: Michael Radchuk
Assistant Referees: Cameron Blanchard, Brian Dunn
Fourth Official: Silviu Petrescu
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero, Eric Weisbrod
Professional Referee Organization Quotes
On the contact that caused the red card to be issued to Wyatt Omsberg in the 34th minute…
“The left knee of Omsberg made contact into the back of the right calf of Burke, causing Burke to lose balance as he moved onto the ball which was close to him in front of goal, with only the goal keeper to beat. Burke had an obvious goalscoring opportunity, and that opportunity was denied by the contact from Omsberg. Omsberg was therefore sent off for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, and the game was re-started with a direct free-kick to PHI, as the contact had happened just outside the CHI penalty area.”
Chicago Fire FC Quotes
Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Raphael Wicky
On the team’s ability to grind out a point despite the early red card...
“Yeah, great compliment obviously on everyone in the team and it was a great effort. I think we all know how tough it is to play here. We all know how tough Philly is to play, very physical, very vertical (team).
So yeah, great credit to the team, great effort. I'm proud of what they have done because it's not easy, the situation where we are, where last week the results didn't come and then you're coming here and you're winning 1-0. And then you go down a man and immediately concede the draw, the 1-1, so great reaction, and that's something I think everyone showed a lot of character.”
On the red card issued to Wyatt Omsberg...
“I have seen it once. Look, I cannot say much. I mean, look, we have VAR. We have VAR. If they review it on VAR with slow motion, with a lot of people, and they think it's a red card, we need to trust them that it's a red card. But it's very, very, very soft, and I mean it is what it is. I have seen it once. I didn't see what they saw on the slow motion, but apparently Wyatt hit his knee or something.”
If the referee gave an explanation for the red card...
“I mean, I wasn't in communication with the referee. I asked the fourth. The fourth told me that Wyatt was touching his knee or was touching the player. So, yeah, that was it.”
On how he and his family are doing...
“Thank you, yeah, no changes. We're hanging in there. We're praying and hoping that my dad will get better but so far there (are) no changes. He's still in a very, very critical situation. He's still fighting for his life and that's how the situation is.
We hang in there and we support as a family as much as we can - each other and obviously my dad. That's what the situation is. Obviously as long as the hospital people who are doing a great job and not giving up, we are not giving up as a family.”
On what the point on the road does for the team’s confidence...
“Yeah, it's an important point. Every point away is always a good point. I think today, especially, with playing for so many minutes down against a strong team, I think that's something we can build (on); and that shows that the team is alive and the team fights and works together and that's very good now.
Yeah, look, we obviously are going into every away game with the mindset that we want to play like we play at home, that we want to go and win, that we want to go for the three points. We never (go) into a game saying today we are going for a point.
In that year, I don't know how many games I have now as a coach, something over 30 or almost 40. We haven't won (away). But last year, as well, we had points and we were close.
We're going to get there. We have to go away and go with the same mindset and fight and somehow get a win. I am convinced that we will do that. I know by the end of the season, we have a lot of away games, but I believe that if we play and fight together and if we manage our games a little bit better, sometimes, then we can get three points on the road for sure.”
Chicago Fire FC Defender Francisco Calvo
On the team’s effort after going down to 10 men and being able to grind out a point on the road...
“It was a fantastic point. It was a fantastic point for us. I think we make a really, really great effort. We take the point and move forward. I think we need to have Wyatt's (Omsberg) back, and take the point and go home, sleep, and in two nights, we have another game.”
On what he saw in the play that led to the red card on Wyatt Omsberg...
“For me, it wasn't not even a foul on this guy, (Corey) Burke. I mean, for me, the referee made not the best decision. But what are you going to say to the referee in that situation? They are always right, and we can't do anything. But for me, it wasn't a foul -- I mean, it wasn't a red card.”
On the tactical and formation adjustments the team made after going down to 10 men... “Yeah, we keep the five in the back. I mean, we usually play more like three in the back but this time we changed to five in the back, 5-4-1; 5-4-1, that's the only thing we can do.
In the second half, I'm pretty sure you watched the game, we keep the ball, at some point, we keep the ball, we try to keep it, to slow down, try to rest with the ball. But yeah, we just changed to 5-4-1 and we tried to battle the whole game.
On how the team is supporting head coach Raphael Wicky through his difficult family situation...
“I mean, we are with him all the way and with his family. You know, they are having a really, really tough situation, really sad moment. But we are going to keep praying for him and his family and his dad, all right. So he deserved the point and he deserves more, and hopefully on Wednesday we give him a good win.”
On the importance of goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth’s performances...
“Bobby is a fantastic goalkeeper. For me he is really, really underrated in this league. I have five years in this league, and four of them I played with him, and he has always been so underrated, I don't know why.
But I think he always gives us a lot of security in the back. He is in there to make saves, and he usually makes really, really brilliant saves for us. That's part of his job. We try to help him but that's how he helps us.”