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September 29, 2006
FIRE PREVIEW
Chicago @ New York, 6:30 p.m.
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Fire captain Chris Armas returns to the lineup after sitting out Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup victory.
Linda Cuttone / Sports Vue Images |
The party’s over and it’s time to get back to work for the Chicago Fire. The team celebrated after its win… now it’s time to work on securing second place.
“We honestly enjoyed the game and the night,” Fire captain Chris Armas said. “The next day we showed up for work. We don’t want to lose sight of what’s in front of us.”
Chicago headed to New York and will face the Red Bulls Saturday at 6:30 p.m. It will be the fourth meeting for the two teams this season. The Fire leads the series 2-0-1. Chicago (12-9-8, 44 pts.) is looking for a win to move closer to securing second place in the conference. New York (7-11-11, 32 pts.) is looking to earn a win to keep it in the hunt for the playoffs. It will be a true battle.
The two teams opened up the 2006 series with a 1-1 draw at Giants Stadium on May 13, as goals from now former Red Bulls forward Jean Philippe Peguero and Fire midfielder Diego Gutierrez gave the teams a share of the points. The Fire then went on to collect a pair of three point results at TOYOTA PARK, first officially opening up its Bridgeview home with a 2-0 triumph on June 25 before holding on for a 2-1 victory earlier this month on Sept. 3. This year’s results have bumped the Fire’s all-time mark in MLS play against the New York franchise to 15-7-5 (.648), which includes a sparkling 7-4-2 mark at Giants Stadium.
The Fire can actually secure second place with a win over New York and a New England tie or loss. Chicago has two more games after that before the playoffs begin. Look for a hot Andy Herron to lead the way.
INJURY REPORT: NEW YORK RED BULLS - OUT: MF Mark Lisi (R adductor strain); DF Shawn Kuykendall (L knee surgery); FW Elie Ikangu (L hamstring strain) ... CHICAGO FIRE - OUT: FW Chad Barrett (R fifth metatarsal fracture), MF Craig Capano (L knee derangement), DF Jeff Curtin (R adductor strain); DF Jared Montz (L adductor strain); MF John Thorrington (R hamstring strain); QUESTIONABLE: GK Zach Thornton (R quadriceps strain)
Projected Lineup: Matt Pickens, Tony Sanneh, C.J. Brown, Jim Curtin, Diego Gutierrez, Chris Armas, Thiago, Ivan Guerrero, Justin Mapp, Andy Herron and Chris Rolfe.
Prediction: Fire 2, New York 1
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