In an exciting back and forth match at a wet Soldier Field, Chicago Fire FC (1-7-2, 5 points) earned a hard-fought point against 2020 Supporters’ Shield winner Philadelphia Union (5-2-4, 19 points) in a 3-3 draw on Saturday night.
The Fire got off to a quick start, scoring in the second minute when defender Miguel Navarro’s shot was deflected into the goal by Philadelphia defender Jakob Glesnes (WATCH). Philadelphia responded with two goals of their own. Seventeen-year-old Quinn Sullivan, in his first MLS start, scored an acrobatic bicycle kick in the 28th minute (WATCH) and forward Cory Burke’s strike just before the half gave the visitors a 2-1 lead ( WATCH).
Chicago fought back in the second half, scoring twice from set pieces in a 11-minute span. Midfielder Alvaro Medran assisted both goals, first setting up defender Boris Sekulić for a strong header (WATCH) before delivering a well-placed cross to create a one-time finish for Homegrown defender/midfielder Mauricio Pineda (WATCH). Sekulić was named the Heineken Man of the Match.
A late own goal by Boris Sekulic - an unlucky bounce off his shoulder after a diving save by Fire goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth - secured the equalizer for the visiting team (WATCH). Shuttleworth made a great save with his right hand on a low shot by Union Designated Player Jamiro Monteiro in the 86th minute to secure the 3-3 draw.
NEXT GAME: Chicago Fire FC will play its third game of a four-game homestand at Soldier Field on Saturday, July 3, taking on Atlanta United FC at 7:00 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast live on WGN-TV, CFFC Live and TUDN 1200 AM. Saturday’s game will mark the Club’s return to full capacity with tickets for the match available here.
July 3 is also the first opportunity to secure an item featuring the new Chicago Fire FC crest. Ten thousand woven patches will be given away upon entry on a first-come, first-served basis.
Social: Twitter - @chicagofire, @vamosfire (Hashtags: #CF97 #CFFC #VamosFire) | Instagram - @chicagofire | Facebook
NOTES:
- The Fire’s three-goal performance marks the most goals scored by the Club in a single game this season. Two of the Fire’s three goals came from set pieces.
- Navarro’s cross, which resulted in an own goal in the second minute, was the fastest goal scored by the Fire this season.
- Sekulić’s goal was his first of the season. The defender scored his third career goal for the Fire.
- Pineda notched his first goal in 2021. Playing in his second professional season, the Bolingbrook, Ill. native has scored four career goals for the Fire.
- Midfielder Przemysław Frankowski made his return to the squad after missing the last three matches due to international duty with Poland in the UEFA Euro 2020. Frankowski played 27 minutes in his return.
- Tonight’s match was Pride Night. Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and First Lady Amy Eshleman attended the match and delivered the game ball pregame.
- Tonight’s match marked the second meeting between the Fire and the Union this season, with both teams previously facing each other on May 8 at Soldier Field.
- Tonight’s match was the second of four straight home games for the Club - the team’s longest homestand of the season. Chicago will face Atlanta United FC (July 3) and Orlando City SC (July 7) in its next two matches at Soldier Field. The July 7 match will be broadcast nationally on UniMas, TUDN, Twitter (English audio) and TUDN 1200AM.
- The Fire were without midfielder Gastón Giménez due to international duty.
Goals:
CHI - Own Goal (Glesnes) 2’
PHI - Sullivan (1) 28’
PHI - Burke (4) 45+2’
CHI - Sekulić (1) (Medrán 1) 56’
CHI - Pineda (1) (Medrán 2) 67’
PHI - Own Goal (Sekulić) 79’
Discipline:
PHI - Elliott (Yellow Card) 10’
PHI - Santos (Yellow Card) 34’
CHI - Stojanović (Yellow Card) 44’
PHI - Wagner (Yellow Card) 52’
PHI - Powell (Yellow Card) 55’
CHI - Navarro (Yellow Card) 62’
CHI - Herbers (Yellow Card) 81’
Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 3:3 Philadelphia Union
Chicago Fire FC: GK Shuttleworth, D Sekulić, D Kappelhof, D Pineda, D Calvo ©, D Navarro (Bornstein 85’), M Stojanović (Frankowski 63’), M Medrán, M Herbers, F Berić (Offor 63’), F Aliseda (Collier 90’+3’)
Subs not used: GK Slonina, D Espinoza, M Monis, M Casas Jr., M Gutiérrez
Philadelphia Union: GK Blake, D Powell (Mbaizo 61’), D Glesnes, D Findlay, D Wagner, M Sullivan (M Gazdag, 61’), M Elliott, M Flach (Real 90’), M Monteiro, F Burke, F Santos (Przybylko 61’)
Subs not used: GK Freese, D Collin, M Turner, M McGlynn, M Aaronson
Stats Summary: CHI / PHI
Shots: 14 / 14
Shots on Goal: 5 / 6
Passing Accuracy: 72.6% / 74.3%
Saves: 4 / 3
Corners: 6 / 6
Fouls: 11 / 9
Total passes: 303 / 397
Offsides: 3 / 4
Possession: 42.7% / 57.3%
Attendance: 7,308 (limited capacity due to COVID-19-related safety protocols)
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
Assistant Referees: Adam Wienckowski, Jeremy Kieso
Fourth Official: Lukasz Szpala
VAR: Alejando Mariscal, Jeff Muschik
Chicago Fire FC Quotes
Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Raphael Wicky
On the mood of the team following a draw…
"Yeah, it's always a little bit in between. I think we take the positive out of this. Against Philly, it’s a good point, coming back, coming back, fighting back. Yeah, we are disappointed about the last goal but at the end of the day, I think it's a good point against them and we take the positives. I think the mood, the mood right now is okay, like I think in the beginning everyone is (down), but then after 10 minutes or so, you realize, okay, I think there was a lot of positives and we have to take that. That's how it is now. Same with me as well."
On what caused a strong attacking performance…
"I don’t have an answer for that right now. I mean, look, there were some games where we didn't create many chances. This in the last 10 games, in this new season now, I agree, but there were also a lot of games where we actually created chances, where we hit the posts two or three times, where we really had chances but just didn't score. Today, obviously we scored three, which is great; two set pieces which is also good, since those are the first, if I am not wrong, the first two set piece goals that we have. That is good, and overall we had some good movement going forward. I'm happy about that. Why exactly that is, I cannot tell you. I’m happy that today we scored but then again, you score three at home, you wish that you’d win."
On what to take from this game going forward…
"Yeah, we have to take the positive from this, we have to analyze what we have to do better and then keep working and keep trying to do the similar things, taking the positive out of it. That's all we can do. Go to train every day and keep working on trying to repeat this performance. Also, the mental performance from the second half, because just giving up these two goals before halftime against a very good team in the league, knowing that it's not easy to create chances against them, and then coming back. I think mentally, hopefully that gives the players confidence because obviously we spoke about that last time, when you don't win many games, your confidence level of an athlete goes down very, very quickly. So hopefully, this gives them confidence."
Chicago Fire FC Defender Boris Sekulić
On feeling frustrated or relieved after tonight’s tied game…
“I guess both. We had 1-0 and then 3-2, so I think we’re all angry. In the end, it’s good that at least we have one point but I think considering that we were leading 3-2, 10 or 15 minutes before the end, I think we were all angry about the result in the end.”
On being involved with two goals…
“I don’t know, it's hard to say. I have to see the replay. I was close to Bobby (Shuttleworth) so for sure I wasn’t expecting this ball. It hit my shoulder so I think it was hard to react but I have to see the replay. We all thought it was (a) foul a few seconds before so in the end I think we were unlucky.”
On playing on the wet field...
“The pitch was really hard to play (on). There was a lot of water especially on our right side in the second half. It was full of water. It was hard to pass and hold the ball, so this game was mostly about duels and fighting. We knew this from before. We were on the pitch a few minutes before the game so we knew how it will be.”
On feeling the fans’ support…
“Oh yes, for sure. I’m from Europe. In Europe if you lose eight from 10 games it’s a little bit different. We feel [the fans’] support even when our results are bad in this moment. We cannot expect more people in the stadium until we start winning. That’s all I can say about this and thanks to all the people who came today in this weather to support us.”
Chicago Fire FC Defender/Midfielder Mauricio Pineda
On the feeling of tying the game or not receiving all three points…
“Yeah, I think it was a really emotional game. And at the end, I think we’re happy with the point. Having worked so hard at first to go uo. Going up again in the second half after being down and giving up a goal to lose our lead sort of late in the game was a little upsetting after that everyone put in. A little mixed with the feelings after the game, but we'll take the point and move on to next week.”
On recovering emotionally from Wednesday night’s match…
“I think that it’s important that we knew that every game is a new opportunity. Every game starts 0-0 and we have to clear our minds from what happened in the last two games. I think we did a pretty good job of that after only having two days to turn around to the next game. We knew the game would be tight. The weather was very hard to play in but we knew it would be a fight. I’m happy with the fight everyone put in. We’ll take the point from that difficult game.”
On getting more opportunities from Raphael Wicky...
“I felt the same throughout the season. Whether I was on the bench or starting the game, I feel motivated and ready to help the team in whatever way I can, so that’s how I feel from that standpoint.”
On being frustrated with games this season…
“I think we’ve been dealing with it throughout the entire season and not just within the last few games. I think we have to show that we can be more consistent. We have shown we can have really strong performances not only in a tactical sense but in a physical sense and in a fighting spirit that we have. And that’s the minimum that we have to bring to every game so it’s definitely a little frustrating for us so we’ll do more work on being a little more consistent.”