Thank you for joining me tonight! Your final score, Columbus Crew SC 3-0 Chicago Fire.
FINAL: Columbus Crew SC 3-0 Chicago Fire
The fourth official on the side has indicated a minimum of two minutes of stoppage time.
89' YELLOW CARD CAUTION: Rodrigo Ramos receives the first yellow card of the night. Meanwhile, Meram is down not far from the play and is receiving treatment.
83' Kamara receives a cross from Finlay but his header hits the bar! Saeid follows with a shot but it's wide! SO CLOSE!
83' Naess is brought down. Free kick Crew SC.
COLUMBUS SUB: Chad Barson replaces Hector Jimenez. Last substitution for Crew SC.
78' Throw in Columbus.
CHICAGO SUB: Rodrigo Ramos replaces David Accam. Last substitution for the Fire.
COLUMBUS SUB: Ola Kamara replaces Adam Jahn.
68' Corner kick Crew SC.
COLUMBUS SUB: Dilly Duka is replaced by Wil Trapp.
CHICAGO SUB: John Goossens and David Arshakyan are replaced by Matt Polster and Arturo Alvarez.
Chicago is preparing two subs at the moment. Crew SC preparing one.
60' GOAL! Dilly Duka receives a great ball from Mohammed Saeid and he buries it past Johnson. 3-0!
58' Interesting that the AR on the near side to the pressbox raised his flag to signal an offside by Meram. Multiple reporters here agree that Meram was onside when the ball was playeed.
55' Meram with a nifty move to get past the defender, but is soon beat off of the ball and Chicago attack.
50' GOAL! Justin Meram cuts back and buries it past Sean Johnson to give Crew SC a 2-0 lead! Great pass from Duka as well!
49' WHAT A SAVE BY CLARK! He dives to his left to stop a promising scoring chance by de Leeuw then recovers before Accam can pounce on the reobound.
Start of the second half.
HALFTIME: Columbus Crew SC 1-0 Chicago Fire
The fourth official on the side has indicated a minimum of one minute of stoppage time added on to the first half.
43' Crew SC surge to the goal hard. Finlay takes a shot but it's high over the cross bar.
41' Vincent goes down after taking a Harrison Afful cross to the face.He's back on his feet and walks off to receive further treatment.
37' Meram all alone in the penalty box, receives a cross but his header is wide off frame. Goal kick Chicago.
36' Chicago are getting good with heel flick passes. This one deflects off of Sauro and out for a corner kick.
33' Rising header for the Fire but it sails wide for a goal kick.
31' GOOOOOOffside.
29' Afful finds Meram inside of the box. Meram dribbles in and takes a shot but it's a missed opportunity. goal kick Chicago.
26' Accam is in space but whiffs on a ball from Solignac. Score still 1-0 in favor of Crew SC.
24' Fire definitely look like the better team possession wise. On the opposite run, Duka is onside and takes the ball into the box. Corner kick Crew SC.
18' Ball from Afful is in for Jahn but the header from the striker isn't there.
16' Handball Fire.
15' Not much action going on since the goal. Both sides going back and forth.
8' GOAL! Harrison Afful with a rocket of a shot!
8' Corner kick Columbus.
6' Harrison Afful takes a shot but it's to the hands of Sean Johnson .
4' Duka does a good job of getting around a pair of Chicago defenders but loses possession.
KICKOFF Columbus Crew SC 0-0 Chicago Fire
19:37 pM EST: Prior to the match, defender Tyson Wahl for Crew SC was honored at midfield. Wahl announced his retirement earlier in the week due to health concerns.
19:31 PM EST: Officials and teams are walking out. National anthem next.
19:17 PM EST: A little under 15 minutes until kickoff! MAPFRE Stadium is filling up and supporters of both teams are rocking their vocals! This is Derby Day in Columbus!
Chicago Fire starting lineup: Johnson; Vincent--Meira--Campbell--Kappelhoff--Goossens--Thiam--Solignac--Accam--de Leeuw--Arshakyan
Crew SC starting lineup: Clark; Jimenez--Parkhurst--Afful--Sauro; Naess--Saeid; Meram--Duka--Finlay; Jahn
18:53 PM EST: Columbus Crew SC takes the field for pre-game warmups! Just a little over half an hour until kickoff! Starting lineups coming soon!
18:43 PM EST: Hello from a chilly evening in Columbus, Ohio! My name is Tyler Fisher and welcome to tonight's matchup between Columbus Crew SC and the Chicago Fire!
Columbus Crew SC 3-0 Chicago Fire.
Prediction: Columbus is still fighting for a playoff spot, theoretically. Chicago is not. The momentum shifts towards Crew SC, but if Chicago can spoil the party, then both teams will just be playing for pride. Columbus also has the momentum since the last match, but Chicago is the type of team to surprise someone. Columbus will win this match 3-0. Ola Kamara will get a hat trick.
Johnson; Vincent, Meira, Campbell, Kappelhoff; Polster, Cocis; Accam, de Leeuw, Alvarez; Solignac.
Here is the projected lineup for Chicago Fire. They are under the direction of Veljko Paunovic. The formation will be a 4-2-3-1.
Clark; Ashe,Parkhurst, Sauro, Afful; Naess--Saeid; Meram, Tchani, Finlay; Kamara.
Here is the projected lineup for Columbus Crew SC. They are under the direction of head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter. The formation will be a 4-2-3-1.
The match official is Alejandro Mariscal. Assistant one will be CJ Morgante. Assistant two will be Adam Garner. The fourth official will be Baldomero Toledo.
The match will be played at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Kickoff is set for 7:30 EST/6:30 CT. Judging by a local weather radar, there will be rain starting before the match. I will keep you updated throughout to inform if any delays will occur. Crew SC is familiar with delays, so this will be a normal thing for them.
A key for Columbus is to keep getting the ball to the middle. The play starts from the middle of the attacking third, and that is where Crew SC do their best work. Forward Ola Kamara has been tremendous finding the back of the net in the past few games, including two goals against the Revolution, and two goals against Orlando City SC. One key player to focus on is Ola Kamara. The striker who was given the toughest duty since the blockbuster trade involving Kei Kamara back in May is to provide goals. He has done just that. But riding the bench the first quarter of the season, he hasn’t fully given the best that he has to offer. It’s true to say, though, that he is the “GOAT.”
A key to the game for Chicago is that they will want to get in behind the Crew SC defense in order to get shots on goal. The center back pairing of Michael Parkhurst and Gaston Sauro have been pretty solid. If the two center backs are on their game, the Fire will have a hard time finding the back of the net. One key player to focus on is David Accam. The speedster can maneuver through defenders with ease, smooth mobility, and great pace. There may be a problem containing him in this match.
Crew SC hasn't lost to the Fire in the last seven meetings. The last defeat came June 22, 2013. The Fire defeated Crew SC by a score 2-1. Meanwhile, Crew SC have won the four of the meetings, three of them being draws. However, Crew SC have come away with points in the last four home encounters with the Fire, winning three. The Crew SC victory last year at Toyota Park was their first in Bridgeview since the 2006 season. The Fire had gone 6-0-5 in the 11 meetings in between.
The MLS Cup runner-ups could still make the playoffs, hypothetically. Only eight points back with three weeks remaining, they could make one last surge to move above the red line, but it’s very unlikely. Crew SC sits in ninth place with 32 points and a 7-12-11 record.
Columbus Crew SC are heading back home after being defeated by DC United 3-0 in their midweek matchup at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. The 2-0 win over the New England Revolution did give them a boost of momentum that they needed, but maybe playing their rivals will help motivate them more.
Chicago comes into this matchup after coming off of a 1-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders. Chicago sits in tenth place in the Eastern Conference, with 27 points. At a record of 6-15-9, the Fire are going to miss the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. Their last playoff appearance came in 2012.
The last time these two teams faced off against each other, they played to a 0-0 draw at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois earlier in the season.
Hello. Welcome to VAVEL USA’s LIVE coverage of Major League Soccer! Today’s matchup, we have the Chicago Fire and Columbus Crew SC! Two bitter rivals going at it in a home-at-home series at the end of the season. The teams will return to Toyota Park following this match on October 11, for the final meeting of the season. My name is Tyler Fisher, and I will take you through the game as it unfolds! This is going to be good, so stay tuned!