Bridgeview, IL – Bridgeview, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - A pair of clubs seeking their first wins of the season will meet at Toyota Park on Sunday as the Chicago Fire get set to play host the Red Bull New York.
Chicago opened its season with a disappointing 3-2 loss at Chivas USA before battling for a well-deserved point against the Portland Timbers at Providence Park.
New Fire head coach Frank Yallop was pleased to get the draw as Patrick Nyarko was sent off late in the affair.
"Well, good to get a point, our first point this season," Yallop said after the match. "I thought we played very well in the first half; could have maybe been two-up, but that's football. You've got to take your chances. But, in the end, with what happened in the match, getting the red card and under a lot of pressure at the end, I think we did well to hold onto the point."
Matt Watson earned his first start for the Fire and did well to acclimate with his new team, but he insisted that the team must continue to jell.
"I think we just need to clean up on small things," Watson said. "You can see the fight is there. ... We've got some great guys. Amarikwa was fighting for every ball. When you see that, it just inspires you to play and get behind him and push up. If we clean up on the small things we'll be great."
New York, meanwhile, suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat to Vancouver Whitecaps FC in its opening match of the season. The Red Bulls appeared to be on their way to getting a home win last time out following Thierry Henry's second-half goal, but a questionable penalty decision saw the club split the points in a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids at Red Bull Arena.
"First 20-25 minutes I was very happy with our start," head coach Mike Petke said after the match. "Our pressure was all over them and we didn't give them anything. Perhaps we got a little bit tired; we got a little bit stretched. The second half was an unfortunate goal for us to give up and at times we lacked creativity and imagination. Having said that there (were) a couple of goals to be had, we just weren't able to get the winner."
Lloyd Sam, who provided the assist on Henry's goal against Colorado, stressed that a point at home is not good enough for the reigning Supporters��� Shield winners.
"Yeah, I'll tell you we gave (the match) away," Sam said in reference to the penalty concession. "We shouldn't even put that up to question to be a call. There was no real danger at the time. Obviously it's done now and we got one point. It's not good enough."
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