Rivalry, Confirmed: Chicago Fire 2, St. Louis CITY SC 1
The rivalry was built up for weeks. In the end, it took minutes for a winner to be decided.
Adding an MLS team to St. Louis gave the Fire a natural geographic rival. The sporting history between the two cities suggested that the rivalry could be intense. The fact that the first match between the sides would come in a single-elimination tournament – the first time the Fire’s debut against an MLS team would ever be in a must-win situation) added fuel – but would the potential rivalry be reflected in play on the pitch?
Although the match was closely fought game between the two teams tthe Fire dispatched St. Louis, whose strong start to the MLS had previously suggested near-invincibility on the pitch.
Frank Klopas’s debut lineup in his third stint coaching the Fire – and first time coaching an Open Cup match since his Fire team bowed out in the 2013 semifinal – in this midweek match was a strong one; courtesy, in part, to his predecessor Ezra Hendrickson, the now-fired, who rested key starters in their league game last Saturday.
Like their hosts, St. Louis also rolled out most of their best players as head coach Bradley Carnell was as eager as Klopas to continue the quest for the Cup in his club’s debut season.
In the end, the match was anticlimactic: Maren Haile-Selassie scored in the 3’ of play anad after that the match never seriously felt in doubt.
St. Louis ultimately came out stronger in the second half, but it was the Fire’s Fabian Herbers who would ultimately seal the match, despite a stoppage time goal from St. Louis’s Miguel Pérez.
The Chicago Fire next face their same opponents this Saturday at noon at Soldier Field.
