Last Wednesday the Chicago Fire dismantled the MLS attendance world champions Atlanta United 1-0 in the U.S. Open Cup. The club will now progress to the quarterfinals where they will host USL side Louisville City FC later next month. However this isn’t the first time the two sides have met.
Flashback to 2015 where Frank Yallop was coach, Eric Gehrig was still a player and Shaun Maloney was supposed to light Toyota Park up.
With an attendance of 3,544, the Fire hosted Louisville FC for the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup. Coming fresh of a 2-0 loss against the New England Revolution, Yallop decided to mess with the lineup hoping that something would spark out in the pitch.
But it didn’t.
The Fire looked lost out there while Louisville piling on the pressure during the first half. Former Fire Forward Matt Fondy almost gave his side the lead against his former employers during the 12th minute. About 20 minutes later, the Fire almost had a lead from some Quincy Amarikwa (remember him?) heroics but couldn’t convert in the end.
After the start of the second half of the game, Maloney was subbed in. Spoiler: He didn’t do anything meaningful.
As the clock ticked down, it looked like this game was going into extra time and four minutes before the final whistle blew Amarikwa scored.
The Fire later reached the semis of the competition only to be knocked out by the Philadelphia Union.
While the position in the league is in shambles now, the club seems to be taking U.S. Open Cup seriously as it is probably the only chance for silverware and a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. Another win against Louisville on the 18th of June will bring the club closer to bringing the cup home.