all on the road.
• But it was the visitors who took a 10th-minute lead. A corner came in from the right and was half-cleared, corralled by Dave van den Bergh just outside the area. He lashed home a skimming shot that took one deflection then bounced off Fire defender Diego Gutierrez as he tried to clear from the goalmouth, bouncing into the corner of the goal as Matt Pickens continued to dive the other way.
• The Fire pulled level in the 54th minute. Cuauhtemoc Blanco wriggled free on the right and bent in a cross for the back post, where Chris Leitch had impeded Chad Barrett on his run to goal, and the penalty was given. Blanco banged home the 12-yard kick for his third goal since coming to MLS.
• Fifteen minutes the Red Bulls leveled terms through their own penalty kick. A corner came in from the left and, inexplicably, Fire defender Wilman Conde reached up and slapped it away. He was shown a red card by referee Baldomero Toledo, and Juan Pablo Angel converted from the spot for his 15th goal his first MLS season.
• Yet down a man, the Fire pulled back level barely a minute later. From a free kick out on the right, Blanco swung his service into the mixer where Gonzalo Segares got up to send a glancing header inside the left-hand post and leave honors even on the night.
• Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio made two changes to the team that defeated the Columbus Crew 1-0 on the road the previous weekend. Gonzalo Segares came back from international duty and moved into central defense, while Chad Barrett also came back into the team, replacing Chris Armas and Bakary Soumare.
• Here's Osorio's team (4-3-1-2): Matt Pickens - Dasan Robinson, C.J. Brown, Gonzalo Segares, Wilman Conde - Chris Rolfe, Logan Pause, Diego Gutierrez - Cuauhtemoc Blanco - Chad Barrett (Calen Carr 87), Paulo Wanchope. Substitutes Not Used: Mike Banner, Jon Busch, Floyd Franks, Bruno Menezes, John Thorrington, Daniel Woolard
• "I think the players showed great character and mental strength to play with one man down and manage to come back," Osorio said. "I think there was some general good play, especially with Chris (Rolfe) and Cuauhtémoc (Blanco) in the middle. I think we kept the ball better and I'm pleased. Obviously, we needed to win but I will take that point and hopefully we'll keep improving and next game we will be more clinical in our final third."
TEAM NEWS
• Since coming to the club, Osorio has made it a priority to tighten up the Fire's defense. He is also looking for the club to be more clinical in front of goal. They scored two goals in a game for the fourth time in their last six outings, but he felt they could have done better.
• "Hopefully we will be more accurate. ... We had four clear chances. The first one was in the seventh minute before they scored. If we would have put that in, I think it would have been a very different game," Osorio said. "They had one chance in the first half, if you want to call the one that they scored as a chance, which I think is debatable. We can't concede any goals from a set piece, so I was a little disappointed."
• For Gonzalo Segares, his goal was his first of the season and the fifth of his MLS league career. "I noticed that a couple of times I went out and I didn't have a mark," Segares said. "Cuauhtémoc crossed a pretty good ball and I happened to be in the right place at the right time and I took advantage of it."
• Blanco was once again involved in both Fire goals. Since his arrival with the club, he has not been involved in just three goals, now credited officially with three goals and five assists.
• Chris Rolfe played in a wide midfield role while Chad Barrett partnered Paulo Wanchope up top. While many have been looking forward to seeing Rolfe and Wanchope paired in attack, Osorio said he could well stay with Rolfe on the flank for the FC Dallas match.
• "It was new for me," Rolfe said to The Chicago Tribune. "It's to get me more involved with Cuauhtemoc [Blanco] in the midfield. It's a completely different role and something I welcome." Of playing with Wanchope, he said: "If you look at the games, we really haven't combined all that much. At the same time, look at the touches we get and the areas we're getting them in. We haven't really had many opportunities. It takes time to get out the kinks."
