OBETZ, OH — The Columbus Crew opened play in the MLS Reserve League with a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire at the club’s Obetz Training Facility on Tuesday morning. Crew midfielder Bernardo Anor came off the bench to give the home side the victory with an 86th-minute tally. Chicago’s Colin Rolfe’s goal leveled the game at 1-1 in the 62nd minute after the Crew’s Konrad Warzycha opened the scoring in the 45th minute to give the Black & Gold a halftime lead.
Warzycha’s tally came moments before the squads broke for halftime following a first 45 minutes in which both teams had chances to score in the first 20 minutes of action. The Fire’s Quincy Amarikwa nearly gave the visitors a perfect start to the match but his first-minute shot sailed over the bar. Fire ‘keeper Paolo Tornaghi pushed a Justin Meram shot right in the 16th minute to keep the Crew off the board. Nearly a half hour later, Warzycha tapped in a well-placed cross from Tony Tchani, giving the Crew a 1-0 lead at the break.
Chicago equalized in the 62nd minute as Colin Rolfe punched in a rebound following an initial save by Crew netminder Matt Lampson on Chicago’s Yazid Atouba. The Crew nearly scored in the 84th minute as Ethan Finlay’s shot just inside the box curled left of the post. Finlay would eventually find himself on the scoreline as his 86th-minute cross to the far post found Anor, whose one-time shot tipped off of Tornaghi and into the goal. Anor’s appearance was his first action of 2013 following a preseason start in the Kirk Urso Memorial Match, as Anor worked to recover from an ACL injury in 2012.
The Crew Reserves are now 1-0-0 (3 points) in MLS Reserve League action and will travel to face the New York Red Bulls Reserves this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Fire Reserves (0-1-0) next host the Red Bulls Reserves on Sunday, April 7 at Toyota Park.
TEAM INSIDER REACTION:http://ow.ly/jrcHc
MLS Reserve League: Chicago Fire 1, Columbus Crew 2
Tuesday, March 26, 2013 – Obetz Training Facility, Obetz, OH
Scoring Summary:
CLB: Konrad Warzcyha (Tony Tchani), 45’
CHI: Colin Rolfe (unassisted) 62’
CLB: Bernardo Anor (Ethan Finlay) 86’
Misconduct:
CHI: Michael Jiminez (caution) 25’
CHI: Corben Bone (caution) 52’
CHI: Leo Silva Lelis (caution) 84’
CHI: Leo Silva Lelis (caution) 94+’
CHI: Leo Silva Lelis (ejection, second yellow) 94+’
Lineups:
Chicago Fire: Paolo Tornaghi; Joel Leon^, Michael Jiminez^, Hunter Jumper, Leo Silva Lelis; Oscar Gonzalez^, Brendan King, Yazid Atouba, Corben Bone; Colin Rolfe, Quincy Amarkiwa ©
Substitutes not used: Alec Kann, Maicon Santos
^Chicago Fire Academy Players
* Trialists
Columbus Crew: Matt Lampson; Drew Beckie (Kyle Hyland 46’), Eric Gehrig ©, Kevan George, Chad Barson; Matias Sanchez, Tony Tchani (Shawn Sloan, 93+’), Konrad Warzycha (Wil Trapp, 61’); Ethan Finlay, Ryan Finley (Aaron Schoenfeld, 46’), Justin Meram (Bernardo Anor, 66’)
Substitutes not used: Dan Withrow
