Ten-Man Fire hold Orlando to goalless draw

Chicago Fire 0-0 Orlando City SC

CHICAGO, IL–Chicago Fire FC needed a response and a match to recover. It really wasn’t expected, but maybe it was a fitting way to get back on track.

The Fire had to play with 10 men near the end of the first half, but they still managed to stay in the match the rest of the way and settled for 0-0 scoreless draw against Orlando City FC on Saturday night at Soldier Field.

Chicago (3-4-4,13 points) recovered from a dismal defeat on the road against Nashville 7-2 last weekend.

“It’s one of those that’s frustrating that we didn’t win the game,” Chicago Fire FC head coach Gregg Berhalter said. “I thought we played really well. The most important thing was the response. I think we saw a confident team. We had opportunities and we were on the front foot. You couldn’t tell that we lost last week 7-2. That was the positive thing. The second positive thing was the urgency of the group. We went down a man and you start saying here we go. The guys hung in there and battled. We would’ve liked the three points.”

Fire Keeper Chris Brady was sent off with a collision just on the outside of the box going for the ball which he caught an Orlando City FC player in the stomach with his leg. It left the Fire a man down in the 36th minute of play for the rest of the match. Jeff Gal also had to come in to play keeper for the rest of the game.

Gal stepped into the moment and preserved the shutout before the half and for the remainder of the match.

“A lot of emotions running through my body,” Gal said. “To make my MLS debut for my hometown was amazing. Literally, this is what I have worked for. Obviously, ever since I was a kid to make it happen today was too good to be true. I was trying to get ready as quick as possible. I was wrapping my mind around it and might have blacked out for a moment. I’ve put head down grinding every day putting in the work.”

Homegrown defender 16-year-old Christopher Cupps made his first start of his career and certainly did an amazing job under the circumstances of seeing the Fire go down to 10 men.

“How many centerbacks start at 16-years old and get a shutout down a man,” Berhalter said. “His performance and his bravery and think about a young kid coming in after losing 7-2. There was pressure on him to perform. The way he performed wasn’t perfect but, in my mind, it was outstanding debut in front of our fans.”

Cupps got his first footing on the field last week and helped him to get a better feeling in a starting role this match.

“Coach put me in a no pressure situation (last week), ” Cupps said. “When I came in this game, I felt comfortable and ready. We defended with our life and stayed behind the ball. We did have numbers in the box. Obvious, things will happen free kicks long shots that we can’t really control. But it doesn’t affect you and you keep going.”

Orlando City FC (4-2-5, 17 points) didn’t have the result they wanted at all. The Fire even with a man down kept pushing forward which put the team on its heels, and they couldn’t get the best chances in the final third of the field.

“We feel that we had the advantage with more players,” Orlando City FC head coach Oscar Pareja said. “We should have more points. But that wasn’t the case. We have to be humble and just take the point. Chicago had options and we knew that it was going to be a competitive game. Just coming away to take that point and try to score in the next game. Today, was hard to play against 10 and it wasn’t an easy game.”

Give credit to the Orlando City FC keeper Pedro Gallese for making eight saves and preserved the clean sheet.

Orlando will play in Tampa on Wednesday in the US Open Cup Game at Al Lang Stadium starting at 6:30 EDT, while the Fire will host Detroit City at SeatGeek Stadium at 7 p.m. CDT.

 

SCORING SUMMARY:
None

BOOKING SUMMARY:
CHI-Oregel (yellow, unsporting behavior) 27
CHI-Brady (red, unsporting behavior) 36
CHI-Guitierrez (yellow, unsporting behavior) 45
CHI-Gutman (yellow, unsporting behavior) 70
ORL-Thorhallson (yellow, unsporting behavior) 90

CHICAGO FIRE: #1-Brady, #15-Gutman (#34-Gonzalez 84), #3-Elliott, #38-Cupps, #24-Dean (#26-Glasgow 60), #17-Gutierrez (#6-Kouame 84), #35-Oregel (#42-D’Avilla 84), #22-Pineda, #19-Bamba (#25-Gal 40), #9-Cuypers, #11-Zinckernagel.

Subs not used: #12-Barlow, #7-Haile-Selassie, #5-Rogers, #47-Williams,

ORLANDO CITY SC: #1-Gallese, #30-Freeman, #15-Schlegel (#17-Thorhallson 81), #6-Jansson, #4-Brekalo, #87-Pasalic (#7=Enrique 82), #24-Smith (#10-Ojeda 57), #5-Argulo (#3-Santos 81), #77-Anauolu, #13-McGuire, #9-Muriel.

Subs not used: #12-Otero, #68-Williams, #25-Guske, #65-Caraballo, #11-Rodriguez.

TOTAL SHOTS: CHI 17-23 ORL
SHOTS ON GOAL: CHI 8-2 ORL
FOULS: CHI 16-8 ORL
OFFSIDES: CHI 2-0 ORL
CORNER KICKS: CHI 7-6 ORL
SAVES: CHI 2-8 ORL

Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistant Referees: Corey Parker, Kyle Atkins
Fourth Official: Luis Diego Arroyo
Video Assistant: David Barrie
Weather: Partly cloudy and 46
Attendance: 17,876