A disappointed New York City FC take just a point in a scoreless draw against Chicago Fire on Saturday at Soldier Field, a point which moves Chicago out of last place but keeps City below rivals Red Bulls for fourth place. While the away side did push late in the second half, Monsef Bakrar coming close to opening the scoring late in the game, both sides did little to attack the net with a low number of shots on target.
The first half was a tactical battle that saw more physicality than football. Minutes into the game, City were forced to replace Andres Perea due to a leg injury, and also influenced just how the substitutions would play out for the remainder of the game. Justin Haak, who replaced Perea, meant that midfield options were all but non-existent on the bench, leaving City with what they had on the field to create opportunities.
In the past, a combination of Alonso Martinez, Santiago Rodriguez and Hannes Wolf was more than enough to win games. However, Chicago kept the physical play high and frustrated City. It wasn’t until late in the second half that Nick Cushing’s men were able to have sustained possession of the ball. Chicago’s defense bent but didn’t break as they absorbed pressure with two chances nearly opening the scoring. First it was Mitja Ilenic hitting the post and then Bakrar finding the back of the net, only for the referee to call it back on an offside flag.
City will continue on the road with a trip to Atlanta on Wednesday but many questions still linger about the team’s road performance. Chicago, a team that is hovering at the bottom of the conference, were able to hold and frustrate a City team that previously showed little problems with scoring goals. Cushing and his team will have to fix this problem or risk falling further down the table should they not turn around road results in the next week.
STARTING XI:
New York City FC: Freese; Ilenic, Martins, Tanasijevic, McFarlane, Parks, Sands, Perea (14′ Haak), Wolf (68′ Ojeda), Martinez (68′ Bakrar), Rodriguez (87′ Risa)
Chicago Fire: Brady; Souquet, Omsberg (57′ Pineda), Czichos (76′ Dean), Mueller (77′ Koutsias), Gutierrez (90′ Barlow), Gimenez, Acosta, Arigoni, Haile-Selassie, Cuypers
SCORING SUMMARY:
DISCIPLINE:
21′ (NYCFC) Justin Haak – YELLOW CARD
25′ (Chicago Fire) Wyatt Omsberg – YELLOW CARD
45′ (Chicago Fire) Kellyn Acosta – YELLOW CARD
60′ (NYCFC) James Sands – YELLOW CARD
80′ (Chicago Fire) Georgios Koutsias – YELLOW CARD
84′ (Chicago Fire) Mauricio Pineda – YELLOW CARD
photo by Jordan Banks