BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - The Chicago Fire lost 1-0 to Cruz Azul of the Mexican Primera Division in an international friendly in front of 14,404 fans tonight at TOYOTA PARK. Cruz Azul took the lead early with a penalty kick goal courtesy forward Jared Borgetti in the 25th minute, and held onto the advantage until the final whistle.
Cruz Azul opened scoring in the 25th minute after forward Cesar Delgado sent a lofting pass into the box for midfielder Edgar Andrade toward the left post. Busch caught a piece of Andrade as he came off his line, taking him down inside the area, which resulted in a penalty kick opportunity for the "La Maquina Cementera". Borgetti drilled the ensuing penalty kick into the back of the net past Busch, diving to his left, to give Cruz Azul the one-goal lead.
The Fire attempted to answer in 67th minute, as two Cruz Azul defenders took down defender Gonzalo Segares just outside their 18-yard box. Segares sent the subsequent freekick toward the right upper-90, but Cruz Azul netminder Yosgart Gutierrez made a diving save that kept the ball out of the back of the net, but placed it back into play. Floyd Franks followed up with a strong header that rebounded off of the right post and clear of danger for the best chance the Fire would have all night.
"The only positive is that it was 90 minutes of football for Calen Carr, Floyd [Franks], John Torrington, and Daniel Woolard. It gave them all a chance to display what they could do for us," said Fire Head Coach Juan Carlos Osorio. "I think Floyd and Calen worked very hard and they probably deserved a goal between the two of them, but that's football. You have to score your chances. They had one chance and that was it."
The loss tonight brings the Fire to 11-7-3 all-time in international competition and 5-4-2 in friendlies contested at home. The "Men in Red" return to MLS action in an Eastern Conference battle at D.C. United on Saturday, Oct. 13, at RFK Stadium (6:30 p.m. CT, Comcast SportsNet, HDNet).
Fire Lineup: GK-Jon Busch, D-C.J. Brown (captain) (Gonzalo Segares 45), D-Daniel Woolard, D-Dasan Robinson (Logan Pause 45), D-Bruno Menezes, M-Bakary Soumare, M-Mike Banner, M-John Thorrington, M-Floyd Franks, F-Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Diego Gutierrez 45), F-Calen Carr.
Cruz Azul Lineup: GK-Yosgart Gutierrez, D-Alberto Rodríguez (captain), D-Joaquín Beltrán, D-Roberto Juárez (Alejandro Castro 62), D-Adrián Cortes (Rogelio Chávez 45), M-Gerardo Lugo (Richard Nuñez 61), M-Gabino Velasco, M-Edgar Andrade (Isreal López 45), M-Gregorio Torres (Felix Gonzalez 70), F-Cesar Delgado (Miguel Sabah 62), F-Jared Borgetti (Luis Orozco 69).
Scoring Summary
CA - Jared Borgetti (PK) 25'
Misconduct Summary
CHI - Calen Carr (caution, reckless foul) 27'
CRU - Gabino Velasco (caution, professional foul) 28'
CHI - John Thorrington (caution, tackle from behind) 35'
CRU - Adrian Cortes (caution, reckless foul) 45'
CHI - Logan Pause (caution, tackle from behind) 77'
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Referee's Assistants: Peter Manikowski, Tony Vasoli
4th Official: Victor Herrera
Attendance: 14,404
Weather: Cloudy, 50 degrees
