MATCH INFO |
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<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Matchup</strong></span> |
<span style="font-size:14px;">Chicago Fire (7-14-6, 27 points) vs. New York Red Bulls (12-7-6, 42 points)</span> |
<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Date</strong></span> |
<span style="font-size:14px;">Friday, September 11 • 6 p.m. CT</span> |
<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Location</strong></span> |
<span style="font-size:14px;">Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.</span> |
<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>TV</strong></span> |
<strong><a href="//www.chicago-fire.com/schedule/broadcast/channel-listings"><span style="font-size:14px;">UniMas/Univision Deportes </span></a></strong> |
<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Radio</strong></span> |
<span style="font-size:14px;">ESPN Deportes 97.5 FM Chicago (Spanish)</span> |
<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">Español</span></strong> |
<strong><a href="//www.chicago-fire.com/es/news/2015/09/chicago-fire-y-nueva-york-red-bulls-se-miden-en-viernes-de-futbol"><span style="font-size:14px;">Match Preview</span></a></strong> |
<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">Watch</span></strong> |
<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><a href="//www.chicago-fire.com/video/2015/09/10/fire-field-vision-powered-novacare-fire-new-york-red-bulls">Fire Field Vision Powered by NovaCare</a></strong></span> |
The Chicago Fire hit the road again for the last of three consecutive road matches when they face the New York Red Bulls Friday at Red Bull Arena. The Men In Red handed the red-hot Red Bulls their only loss in their last seven MLS matches with a 3-2 victory Aug. 27 at Toyota Park, but Jesse Marsch's side remains two points out of first place in the Eastern Conference with three games in hand on league-leading D.C. United.
Chicago enters the fixture having won its last three outings against the Red Bulls, and two of the last three at Red Bull Arena.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT with UniMas and Univision Deportes providing the national television broadcast from Harrison.
Chicago head coach Frank Yallop hopes to see his players return to the form that saw them defeat one of the hottest teams in MLS. Since that win over New York, the Fire have earned one point in two games and are still searching for their first road win of the season.
“We’ve got to play like we did at home against them,” Yallop said Wednesday. “I think we did a good job of nullifying their attack and scored some good goals. Same thing. It’s obviously a little different away from home, but I don’t think it is really. It’s the same size field. The same players are going to be on the field. We’ve just got to make sure we’re prepared and ready. We’ve just got to get that win away from home we haven’t done.”
Yallop has seen glimpses from his team of what it takes to get a road win, but the job has yet to be finished. On Saturday against Montreal, the Fire led 3-2 before giving up two second-half goals.
The squad is bolstered by the return of several players to the training field. Joevin Jones returns to the back line after scoring a goal in Trinidad and Tobago's 3-3 friendly draw with Mexico, and he's accompanied by international teammate Daneil Cyrus, who's expected to be available for selection Friday night. David Accam, back from Africa Cup of Nations qualifying with Ghana, uses his pace to provide an outlet into the attack, a crucial asset against an organized side like the Red Bulls.
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Rookie midfielder Matt Polster has also made his return to club duty, meeting up with the Men In Red in Harrison after a successful week in England with the U-23 U.S. National Team.
“We need everybody,” midfielder Razvan Cocis said. “We need everybody to be fit. We need everybody in the team. Some are coming late from national teams, but it’s good to have them back. We can be strong with everybody.”
Yallop knows that grabbing a win on the road comes down to more than individual performances. The Fire need a complete performance, which they haven’t found yet this season.
They’ve got all their options back on defense. They’ve got both leading scorers in Accam as well as Kennedy Igboananike, who has scored five goals in his last five matches. Now, it’ll take confidence to finish the deal.
“Just in general, we haven’t really had a good feeling of how to see a game through or win a game 1-0,” Yallop said. “It comes with a bit of time, but we’ve got to figure it out. If we can get a win on Friday, it does open it up again for us. It’s a tough game, but we’ve played against them, and we outplayed them at home. We’ve got to go there and expect to do the same.”
REFEREE: Armando Villarreal. AR1 (bench): Craig Lowry; AR2 (opposite): Richard Gamache; 4th: Marcos de Oliveira
MLS Career: 59 games; FC/gm: 22.8; Y/gm: 2.7; R: 17; pens: 14
SUSPENDED: none
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: NYR: Dax McCarty, Connor Lade … CHI: Eric Gehrig, Matt Polster
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: NYR: Sacha Kljestan, Felipe Martins, Chris Duvall, Mike Grella, Lloyd Sam, Matt Miazga … CHI: Chris Ritter, Adailton, Patrick Nyarko, Kennedy Igboananike
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (49 meetings): Red Bulls 13 wins (0 shootout), 61 goals … Fire 26 wins (0 shootout), 83 goals … Ties 10
AT RED BULLS (24 meetings): Red Bulls 10 wins (0 shootout), 38 goals …Fire 11 wins (0 shootout), 38 goals …Ties 3
FUTURE MATCH: 10/25: Chicago Fire vs. New York Red Bulls (Toyota Park)
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