Red Bulls Defeated Chicago Fire 1-0 at Red Bulls Arena Saturday

The New York Red Bulls defeated the Chicago Fire 1-0 in grand fashion. A great win in their new arena, that’s been heralded by their supporters as the Cathedral of Football. It was great seeing two members of the Red Bull parachute jumping team land on the field during the pregame. The weather forecast called for a temperature of 39 at the start but it certainly dropped to freezing or lower by the end of the match. We sat a few sections away from the Chicago Fire supporters and were serenaded by them the entire night. Midfielder Joel Lindpere scored the lone goal for the Red Bulls in the 62nd minute. He looked fast all night in the middle of the field. A ball was headed out by the Chicago Fire and Lindpere struck the ball well that sailed into the upper left corner of the net. Lindpere scored the first goal at the new arena last week and the first of the official season, a sign of things to come. Defenders Mike Petke and Tim Ream played well. Forward Macoumba Kandji couldn’t get anything going all night. Forward and captain Juan Pablo Angel was welcomed with loud cheers but looked a little slow at times. Goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul made an excellent save on a free kick in the 62nd minute of the match that preserved the lead. At times Coundoul was out of the goal and was caught completely out of position but the Fire could not convert on that play as the ball sailed above the crossbar. We had a great time and look forward to our next match in May.