BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (May 25, 2019) – New York City FC and Chicago Fire played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday afternoon at SeatGeek Stadium. Alexandru Mitrita and C.J. Sapong scored the goals in a match that had lots of deflections off the woodwork.
Alexandru Mitrita and NYCFC Draw Chicago Fire
This game had a handfull of chances that almost led to goals. Just 11 minutes in Herber sent a shot off the post after a nice sequence.
C.J. Sapong opened the scoring in the 28th minute on a lucky bounce. Brandt Bronico got the ball in the box and sent a low cross to Sapong in front of goal. Falling down, Sapong got a (probably unintentional) touch to the ball that rolled past everyone, bounced off the post, and into the net.
Alexandru Mitrita tied the game up five minutes before halftime. Maxi Moralez found him just outside the box and he shot first time, beating goalkeeper Kenneth Kronholm to make it 1-1.
NYCFC had a chance to take the lead in the 64th minute. Raheem Edwards was called for a PK for taking Mitritta down in the box. VAR got involved and after review, the foul was ruled to have taken place just outside the box.
Nothing came of the ensuing free kick. The teams traded half chances in the final 20 minutes and the match ended 1-1.
Very.
Accurate.
Ruling.@BigAfrika88 gets his fifth of the season! ? pic.twitter.com/IfGtlfWQkm— Chicago Fire (@ChicagoFire) May 25, 2019
Three Takeaways:
“Unlucky”: This game had plenty of chances for both teams. They just didn’t take advantage of it with shots off target, several over the bar, and a few off the post.
Fire surviving: Chicago now has a results in four of their last five games. For an undermanned team not expected to do much this season, they’ve gotten some impressive results against better teams. The club needs help in the summer though if they want a better shot at the playoffs this year.
Eight in a row: NYCFC have now gone eight games without a loss. Domenec Torrent has calmed things down since their slow start at the beginning of the season. They’re probably not happy with the result today though.
