Fire now winless in five, drop to P5 in the East

Photo: Leslie Smith

Chicago Fire FC 1-2 New England Revolution

CHICAGO, IL—What was a seven-match unbeaten streak in league play is now a five-match winless streak after the Fire dropped 2-1 decision to New England Revolution at Solider Field on Sunday. The loss drops the Fire to fifth in the Eastern Conference—one point behind both Charlotte for fourth and four points behind New England for third.

Gregg Berhalter made four changes to the lineup from Wednesday night and for the third match in eight days. The Fire were facing a tough defensive structure in New England and chances were few and far between for either side in the first half, but New England needed just one in the 39th minute.

On a counter attack, Jackson Yueill sent a long ball towards For Turgeman. Turgeman outran Sam Rogers to the ball and then beat Chris Brady for the opening score.

Two minutes into the second half, a similar result with New England’s second (and last) shot on target. Another counter triggered by Yueill found Turgeman making a run. This time, Turgeman sent a cross to an unmarked Peyton Miller who had an easy finish.

A triple sub was implemented by the Fire bringing in Maren Haile-Selassie, Robin Lod, and Jonathan Bamba in the 55th minute. Seven minutes later, it would make an impact. Haile-Selassie got on the end of a buildup to score from inside the box to pull one back.

However, despite outshooting the Revolution 21-4, despite having thirteen corner kicks to none for New England, and despite all the attacking talent for the Fire; the Revolution held on mostly by putting eleven men behind the ball and some great play by Matt Turner in goal who made five saves.

Despite being on the road for six of the last seven matches, they end this stretch with a 4-2-1 record heading to their home tilt against Orlando City on Saturday.

Berhalter was disappointed with his team’s lack of urgency, speed compared to New England, and defending.

“I think, in my opinion, we didn’t put enough speed into the game,” said Berhalter. “You know, we weren’t expecting to have a ton of chances, but I still think we could have had more urgency from the beginning of the game. And then, um, you know, very critical in the group about our defending.

“For us to be in great attacking positions and give up a goal like we gave up is inexcusable. It’s not good enough at this level with the implications of this game.”

The Fire will now travel to league-leading Nashville on Saturday. Kickoff is at 8:30pm on Apple TV.

Photos by Leslie Smith

SCORING SUMMARY:
NE-Dor Turgeman (Yueill) 39
NE-Peyton Miller (Turgeman, Yueill) 47
CHI-Maren Haile-Selassie (Lod, Zincknagel) 62

BOOKING SUMMARY:
CHI-Noah Allen (caution, reckless tackle) 43
NE-Matt Polster (caution, persistent infringement) 52
NE-Peyton Miller (caution, endangering the goalkeeper) 58
CHI-Sergio Oregel Jr. (caution, persistent infringement) 84

CHICAGO FIRE (4-3-3): #1-Chris Brady; #32-Noah Allen, #3-Jack Elliott, #5-Sam Rogers (#15-Andrew Gutman 46), #24-Jonathan Dean (#7-Maren Haile-Selassie 55); #18-Johan Gomez (#17-Robin Lod 55), #42-Dje D’Avilla, #35-Sergio Oregel; #12-Puso Dithejane (#19-Jonathan Bamba 55), #9-Robert Lewandowski, #11-Philip Zinckernagel

Subs not used: #44-Josh Cohen, #2-Leonardo Barroso, #22-Mauricio Pineda, #29-David Poreba, #37-Robert Turdean

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (4-3-3): #30-Matt Turner; #23-Will Sands, #2-Mamadou Fofana, #22-Ethan Kohler, #8-Matt Polster; #14-Jackson Yueill (#66-Joshua Wynder 69), #21-Brooklyn Raines, #10-Carles Gil (#27-Wilson Harris 88); #16-Daniel Gazdag (#7-Griffin Yow 69), #99-Dor Turgeman (#12-Ilay Feingold 81), #25-Peyton Miller (#15-Coby Baker 88)

Subs not used: #73-JD Gunn, #41-Luca Langoni, #65-Judah Siqueira, #77-Diego Fagundez

EXPECTED GOALS: CHI 2.10-1.11 NE
TOTAL SHOTS: CHI 21-4 NE
SHOTS ON GOAL: CHI 6-2NE
FOULS: CHI 14-9 NE
OFFSIDES: CHI 3-2 NE
CORNER KICKS: CHI 13-0 NE
SAVES: CHI 0-5 NE

Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Assistant Referees: Corey Parker, Kyle Atkins
4th Official: Lukasz Szpala
VAR: Elizio Arrequin
AVAR: TJ Zablocki
Attendance: 26,324
Weather: Cloudy and 68º
Man of the Match: Dor Turgeman (NE)