Chicago Fire FC (2-4-1, 7 pts.) opened the scoring when Gastón Giménez lofted a ball into the box for Fabian Herbers, who first timed a right-footed shot beyond FCC goalkeeper Przemysław Tytoń just two minutes into the match. Fire FC doubled their lead in the 10th minute, when Álvaro Medrán fired a right-footed shot from outside the box to the bottom-left corner of the goal.
Chicago’s Ignacio Aliseda added a third goal for the home side in the 67th minute.
FC Cincinnati (2-4-1, 7 pts.) had a pair of free kicks in dangerous positions in the second half, but were unable to convert on the opportunities. The Orange and Blue’s shutout streak in MLS regular-season matches officially lasted 302 minutes. It is the second-longest streak without conceding a goal recorded in MLS this season.
FC Cincinnati will return to Nippert Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 29, when the team hosts Columbus Crew SC. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on WSTR 64, carried on the radio on WDJO (99.5 FM, 107.9 FM and 1480 AM), streamed regionally on fccincinnati.com/stream, out of market on ESPN+, while an audio stream will be available at TuneIn (WDJO) and fccincinnati.com.
For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team’s official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FCCincinnati. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team’s official mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.
Information about seating options at the club’s state-of-the-art West End Stadium – which will open in Spring 2021 – is now available at westendstadium.com. The priority deadline for premium seating deposits has passed, and deposits for traditional reserved seating will open next month. For more information about 2021 season memberships, visit westendstadium.com or the stadium’s social properties on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @WestEndStadium, or by calling the team’s sales and service staff at 513-977-5425.
Chicago Fire FC 3, FC Cincinnati 0
Soldier Field | Chicago, Ill.
August 25, 2020
SCORING SUMMARY
CHI – Fabian Herbers (Gastón Giménez) 2’
CHI – Álvaro Medrán (Ignacio Aliseda) 10’
CHI – Ignacio Aliseda (Boris Sekulić, Elliot Collier) 67’
FC Cincinnati: Przemysław Tytoń, Mathieu Deplagne, Kendall Waston ©, Tom Pettersson (Maikel van der Werff 74’), Andrew Gutman (Greg Garza 74’), Yuya Kubo, Caleb Stanko (Adrien Regattin 59’), Frankie Amaya, Joseph-Claude Gyau, Allan Cruz (Siem de Jong 27’), Jürgen Locadia (Brandon Vazquez 74’)
Bench: Bobby Edwards, Zico Bailey, Nick Hagglund, Tommy McCabe,
Stats: Shots 8, Shots on goal 1, Saves 4, Corner kicks 1, Offsides 2, Fouls 19, Possession 47.5%, Passes 411 (83.7%)
Chicago Fire FC: Bobby Shuttleworth, Boris Sekulić, Francisco Calvo ©, Miguel Navarro, Álvaro Medrán (Brandt Bronico 73’), Przemysław Frankowski (Jonathan Bornstein 88’), Mauricio Pineda, Gastón Giménez, Ignacio Aliseda (Djordje Mihailovic 73’), Fabian Herbers (Elliot Collier 59’), Robert Berić (Brian Gutierrez 88’)
Bench: Connor Sparrow, Micheal Azira, Wyatt Omsberg, Andre Reynolds II,
Stats: Shots 14, Shots on goal 7, Saves 1, Corner kicks 3, Offsides 1, Fouls 24, Possession 52.5%, Passes 462 (87.9%)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CIN – Tom Pettersson (caution) 36’
CHI – Álvaro Medrán (caution) 61’
CIN – Frankie Amaya (caution) 63’
Referee: Elton Garcia
Assistant Referees: Peter Manikowski, Peter Balciunas
4th Official: Alex Chilowicz
VAR: Alan Kelly
AVAR: Jeffrey Swartzel
Weather: 86 degrees and sunny
Attendance: N/A
GAME NOTES
- With tonight’s loss, the Orange and Blue are now 2-4-1 through seven MLS matches … FCC are now 0-3-1 in matches played in opponents’ venues … FC Cincinnati’s all-time, all-competition record against Chicago Fire FC drops to 1-1-2 … The Orange and Blue are now 2-4-1 against Eastern Conference opponents this season
- The Orange and Blue’s streak of consecutive minutes without conceding a goal ended at 302 minutes … it is the second-best mark in MLS this season, trailing only the mark of 430 minutes without conceding a goal set by Columbus Crew SC … goalkeeper Przemysław Tytoń possesses the second-longest shutout streak in MLS this season at 302 minutes, trailing only Sporting Kansas City’s Tim Melia’s streak of 348 minutes without conceding a goal
- Tonight’s match was the first MLS regular-season match played at Soldier Field since Oct. 8, 2005 … Chicago Fire FC previously played at Soldier Field in two separate stints, from 1998-2002 and from 2004-05 … from 2005-19, Chicago played their home contests at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.
- Frankie Amaya picked up his fourth caution of the season in tonight’s contest … with one more yellow card, Amaya will be forced to serve a one-match suspension
- Head coach Jaap Stam made one change to the starting lineup from the club’s most recent match against D.C. United on Aug. 21 … Allan Cruz replaced Siem de Jong
- Saad Abdul-Salaam (quad), Jimmy McLaughlin (ankle) and Spencer Richey were unavailable for selection because of injury
POSTGAME QUOTES
FC Cincinnati head coach Jaap Stam
On tonight’s match
“The game became difficult because when you concede two goals that early, then you need to chase the game and the opposition, the results. That makes it difficult because you concede two goals very early, that gets the players into a certain mindset as well. It’s not all the time positive, and you need to stick in there because you don’t want to concede anymore. You’re always looking for the moment to come out and hopefully score a goal yourself. In the first half, we were not as sharp, as aggressive as we needed to be. That can be in how we’re feeling, how we set up. It was a day of traveling, you never know. To concede the goal, I think it was in the second minute, we spoke about what they can do when they’ve got time on the ball and the runs they make and we still let them go in. They score that first one, and the second one, the second shot on target goes in. Then, it becomes difficult. At halftime, you talk about it and how we can play. But you take more risks, there’s more movement. We’re a little bit more aggressive in what we’re doing. We win a couple more one-v-one’s. But then you go forward, you get close to goal, we get crosses in and there’s nobody there all the time. Sometimes you can have a shot on target as well. We’re lively in what we’re doing. We tried to change the system in the second half going forward and push the opposition back, but you know as well in the second half when you turn it around, then you’ve got nothing to lose anymore. You need to go and you need to keep on pushing.”
On Chicago’s first goal
“I think at first sight, it looked like offside. And then, I’m sure somebody told him that he needed to have another look, then he gave a goal. I need to be honest to you as well, we shouldn’t get in these situations, a player gets that close to goal that he can score an easy goal like that or he can put the ball in the net. It’s up to ourselves, we know that the player made the run in between defenders. The gap was a little bit too big. The pass of the midfield player was good and accurate, and we gave it away. In the previous weeks, we’ve done very well to defend that. Of course, you want it to be offside, that would’ve been nice, but we brought it upon ourselves a little bit as well.”
On if tonight’s result is just the first example of a setback and growth can come from it
“There’s always a setback. There’s always – sometimes you’re going to find it difficult, you’re going to concede. Like I said before, I’ve been there myself as well. Sometimes you can feel very good, you can feel very positive with the team and what you’re doing, but the other team is always trying to make it difficult for you and as a team, you need to anticipate that. So, that’s why you look at the opposition, you look at what they’re doing, you look at their qualities, you try to address that as well. The players are not doing this on purpose, the players are working very hard to get the result. Also, us by losing, yeah, it’s a pity and everybody is not feeling well because of this loss, I think that’s normal, that’s how it needs to be. But we’ve been doing very well in the past. Even though you’re losing three-nil when you come back in the second half on the pitch, the players still are trying to get close or to score that first goal and that’s a very positive thing as well. But this is football. It happens at times. That makes football at times nice as well, and I don’t mean losing, but it is unpredictable at times. So, we need to keep working hard. This was for us a good eye opener for us as well.”
FC Cincinnati midfielder Frankie Amaya
On tonight’s match
“Unfortunately, we got the loss. We lost by three goals, but we let in two early goals and that kind of killed us. We shot ourselves in the foot. Same thing as last year, but we tried to recover. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get back in the game.”
On whether the team’s travel issues impacted the game
“I don’t think so. We’re not using that as an excuse. A lot of teams travel and they play. I don’t think that is an excuse. They caught us early, and they caught sleeping. Those two goals killed us, but i don't think that should be used as an excuse.”
On what Allan Cruz can add to the lineup
“He (Allan Cruz) is an attacking guy, but he is also an eight. He can come up and down, but unfortunately, he got injured. He is one of our best players and to make him down and get out is unfortunate. I really have high praise for him. He is a good soccer player, and I thought he was going to help us. But, he went out early and that is kind of sad.”
FC Cincinnati defender Kendall Waston
On tonight’s match
“Yeah, as you said, it’s not an easy way to come and talk, because everyone is disappointed about the result. It is hard when you concede a goal so early, but sometimes it happens. Hopefully, we can learn about this game that things are not going to be easy for us. We have to continue fighting, and we have shown a better face, I believe, in this team that we can jump back.”
On what he saw in the match’s first goal
“Well, I don’t remember, because he came from the back of us. I don’t know if he was onside or offside. Obviously, they check it. It was onside, but it was a moment we have to address in the next game. We have to try to avoid those types of plays, because teams are trying to find the back of our players to penetrate in those areas.”
On how the team can help Allan Cruz
“Allan (Cruz) is important for us, obviously, but all the players are important. I think that when he came, for example, in Orlando in the tournament, the last game, he helped us a lot. Last game as well, at home in the game we draw. But now he got injured, so obviously he (had) to step off. He is a great player for us, and hopefully, he can keep showing the quality that he has.”
