CHESTER — It was more difficult than it needed to be Sunday night at Subaru Park, but Jesus Bueno’s goal in the fourth round of the penalty kick shootout sealed the Union’s win in Game 1 of their best-of-3 series against the Chicago Fire, a game that finished 2-2.
The Union went up 2-0 before Chicago scored in the 84th and the third minute of stoppage time, the latter courtesy of former Union defender Jack Elliott. The game went straight to the shootout, where the Union missed their first attempt, then had Andre Blake save them. The top seed took the edge for good when Joel Waterman clattered the post in the fourth round, allowing Bueno to win it in the fifth.
It didn’t have to be that way, not when Indiana Vassilev scored in the 70th and Milan Iloski in the 75th for the Union, who unveiled their new Supporters’ Shield banner pregame. Against the eighth seed, which had lost both meetings this season and hadn’t scored in 264 minutes of play between the teams, it should’ve been enough.
But penalty kicks were required to push Chicago to the brink, with the second leg of the best-of-3 on Saturday.
The late excitement belied the early snoozefest at Subaru Park, the Fire content to see out the first leg with as little action as possible for the first 60-plus minutes.
“I think we put on a really good display of what we tried to do,” Union coach Bradley Carnell said. “We worked in transition. We showed what we can do. We created chaos moments. We took opportunities when they came, just unfortunate, the way we give up the two moments, with the set piece at the end there. We were excited about the full game. It was a contrasting of two styles, one team just trying to waste every second and try and get out of here.”
The Union struggled for 64 minutes to break down a well-built Chicago defense that started three at the back. The Fire created enough midfield pressure to prevent the Union from getting clean runs at the three-back, giving time for one or both fullbacks to recover and have five defenders waiting for them.
The 63 percent of possession in the first half was largely purposeless, despite eight attempts. The only memorable one was an 8th-minute side volley by Jovan Lukic that fizzled a yard wide.
Blake denied Chicago’s best early chance. Elliott, with a ball that conjured fond memories in his time in Chester, played Bamba into space down the left channel. Blake was still backpedaling to his line when the Ivorian struck the ball, and Blake contorted to get behind it and push it to safety.
Uhre changed the equation when he came in for Bruno Damiani on the hour.
“When the opposition’s legs get a little bit tired, then Mikael comes in and creates a difference, whether he’s running off the ball, his physical presence,” Carnell said. “Bruno has done a great job for us, but we just felt we needed a little bit more impetus athletically, meaning getting in behind, getting on the move a little bit more. I think we created exactly that dynamism that we needed.”
Vassilev’s goal was pure class. Iloski played Uhre into the space wide of Elliott. The Danish forward ran onto it, cut inside, and clipped a cross with his left boot that Vassilev chested down and ripped to the far post, a leaping Brady left no chance.
“I was just trying to find some space and get out running with them, as I obviously like to,” Uhre said. “It worked out pretty well on the goal from Indy. I wanted the balls in behind, and Milan is really good at finding them.”
The gravity exerted by Uhre unbalanced the backline five minutes later for Iloski to score. This time, the midfielder did it himself, with Vassilev and Uhre pulling off on complementary runs. Iloski took it toward the endline, then cut in and unleashed a furious shot to make it 2-0.
That should’ve been that. It wasn’t, thanks in part to Elliott in his homecoming, though with a twist. His header off a corner kick in the 84th clanged off the post and ricocheted into the mixer, where Bamba buried it from the doorstep to give the Fire a pulse.
Bamba’s delivery on a free kick from 20 yards — after a rash challenge by Jakob Glesnes on the edge of the box — was poor, straight into the wall. But Elliott skipped a hard and low two-hopper through traffic from 25 yards that eluded a diving Blake. There was no celebration from Elliott, a nod to his 223 games over eight seasons with the club that drafted him, third-most in club history.
Elliott wouldn’t have it all his way. First, Chicago went down to 10 men, Sergio Oregel taking a run after the whistle at Kai Wagner and shown red by referee Sergii Boyko.
It didn’t matter in the run of play, nor when Brady stopped Uhre in the first round of kicks. But Blake came up with a save of his old mate Elliott, who had been 7-for-7 on PKs in his career with the Union.
“Jack takes great penalties,” Blake said. “That one, I happened to guess right, and I was able to make the save so I’m just grateful for that.”
Sub Frankie Westfield opened the scoring to start the second round. Blake guessed right on Brian Gutierrez’s try, but the midfielder had enough venom behind it to get it to go, though perhaps Blake’s read on the shooters got in the minds of the Fire.
Iloski ripped one into the roof, and Tai Baribo sent Brady the wrong way to make it 3-2. Center back Waterman couldn’t beat the crossbar, then Bueno stepped up, his fourth conversion in as many shootout attempts with the Union. Only Vincent Nogueira (4-for-4) and ironically Elliott have that many makes without a miss in club history.
It gives the Union the advantage heading to Soldier Field, a place they’ve already won this season.
“We came into it knowing that this game is really important, but it’s not the end of the world,” Iloski said. “It’s a best-of-three. Now it’s on to the next match and being confident and going to Chicago trying to end it there. That’s the mentality we have to have now.”
Source: Berkshire mont