Categories: Chicago FireMLSVancouver Whitecaps

Fire make it three on the trot on the road

Photo: Gerrit te Hennepe

Vancouver Whitecaps 1-3 Chicago Fire

VANCOUVER, BC–Both Vancouver Whitecaps and Chicago Fire were missing key players due to injury and to international duty, so this was an opportunity for players down the depth chart to make their case to be next man up. The Fire’s players were able to answer that call better in a 3-1 win at BC Place.

The Whitecaps’ 100% record ends while the Fire on this three-match road trip alone exceed their win total away from Soldier Field last season (two). It is also the first time in 16 years that the Fire won three successive away matches.

The Fire needed just 54 seconds to get on the board. Leonardo Barroso, making his first start, sent a crisp ball to Phillip Zinckernagel down the right flank and Zinckernagel sent a cross into the box to find Hugo Cuypers who put it in from close range for his fifth goal of the season.

The Fire controlled the tempo much of the early going, but in the 14th minute, Jayden Nelson would send a thru-ball to Daniel Rios who banged one off the post and in past Chris Brady to level the score. It was Rios’s first goal as a Vancouver Whitecap.

Photo: Gerrit te Hennepe

Both Yohei Takaoka and Brady kept the match at 1-1 for the next 45+ minutes, but the Fire would go ahead in the 61st minute. Jonathan Bamba sent a cross into the box and was pounced on by Zinckenagel who struck it past Takaoka to make it 2-1.

Late in the match, Rominigue Kouame made his debut for the Fire. Like Barroso in his debut at Dallas, Kouame would score on debut in stoppage time after a counter set up by Maren Haile-Selassie.

“[Kouame] was excited,” said Fire head coach Gregg Berhalter. “He’s waited a long time to make his debut. You could see how much the team was pulling for him in the locker room just now, celebrating with him and really excited for him. He’s had a long road to get to this point, and he certainly made an impact in the game today.”

The Fire return home next Saturday at Soldier Field to complete their trifecta of matches against Canadian opposition versus CF Montreal. Kickoff is at 7:30pm CT on Apple TV. Meanwhile, the Whitecaps go on the road next Saturday to face Toronto FC at 11:30am PT at BMO Field.

For more of Gerrit te Hennepe’s photos, please click on the link to his gallery.