The Chicago Fire head to New York to take on the Red Bulls for the second game of a three-game road trip at 2 p.m. (CST) on Sunday at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Chicago (3-0-6, 15 points) is coming off a 2-0 victory at Toronto FC last week, while New York (2-5-3, 9 points) salvaged a 1-all draw against Houston, thanks to John Wolyniec's late heroics.New York midfielder Jorge Rojas is out for Sunday's match. He was red carded after a reckless elbow to Houston's Brian Mullan. Rojas has two goals and an assist on the season.
The last time these two teams faced, New York had an early man advantage after Fire midfielder John Thorrington was given a red card. Yet Chicago managed a Marco Pappa shorthanded goal and went on to win, 1-0, at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.
The Fire's performance against Toronto certainly was a strong indicator that this team has found some mojo after five straight draws.
"Our guys dug in and did a good job defending," Fire head coach Denis Hamlett said. "I was just happy about our commitment of doing all the little things and getting the job done."
On the flip side, the Red Bulls have two wins (against the West's struggling Real Salt Lake and San Jose Earthquakes) and are coming off a dreadful defensive performance on Wednesday. New York fell into a four-goal deficit in a span of 26 minutes against D.C. United as the Red Bulls dropped their U.S. Open Cup play-in match, 5-3. Rojas did provide two late goals in this non-MLS affair.
SlideTackles.net prediction: So the Fire's string of draws came to a close as Chicago righted the ship at the perfect moment last week on the road. It is difficult to give New York much of a chance considering what happened during the last meeting.
It's also difficult to compare the two teams within that game because Chicago's mind-set completely changed. They managed the shorthanded goal, and it was a defensive-minded effort from there on out. That is why Cuauhtemoc Blanco did not even get into the game.
New York's defenders will have their hands full, and its midfield will be a little weaker without Rojas. Chicago's attack provided enough juice in the second half to get past the Reds on their home turf. And Brian McBride has been a steady goal scorer all season.
Some of us are probably already salivating at next week's high-powered matchup against Chivas USA. But the Fire have to stay in tune with a 90-minute performance against New York. The last thing Chicago wants is to slip back into that lone mishap tendency that has bitten them several times, turning a potential victory into a draw.
Attaining perfection is never easy, and the Red Bulls might be struggling. But in a jam-packed Eastern Conference race, no matchup can be taken for granted. Chicago Fire 3, New York Red Bulls 1
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