Scoring         1        2        F        Tuesday, July 20, 1999    

Derby County    0        0        0        Soldier Field, Chicago, IL     

Chicago Fire    1        0        1        Attendance - 8,355

A very entertaining first half saw both teams with plenty of offensive ideas and ambition. Chicago took the 1-0 lead on a Ante Razov laser that found the far left side. On the freekick, Podbrozny touched to Razov, who fired from 20 yards and found the back of the net. Derby appeared to draw 1-1 in the 43rd minute, but the goal, a header from Rory Delap off a Borbokis corner, was disallowed as Derby striker, Englishman Dean Sturridge interfered with Zach Thornton.

Second Half
48-Derby County second-half sub Horacio Carbonari's shot is deflected by Chicago's Diego Gutierrez
50-As he makes a run up the left flank, Diego Gutierrez's attempt from 17 yards out is deflected by Derby's Jacob Laursen
57-The persistent Gutierrez picks up a loose ball inside the box and touches for Razov, but his shot is weak and goes wide right
59-Manny Lagos' blast all alone from 22 yards out goes wide left of the Derby County net
61-Chicago's Kovalenko passes to Wolff, whose shot goes straight into the arms of Derby keeper
66-Derby second-half sub Stefan Eranio's attempt from 20 yards out is saved by Chicago second-half sub Greg Sutton
70-Derby's Paul Boertien tries to tally, but Sutton makes his second consecutive save
74-Derby's Horacio Carbonari tries to tally on a good freekick effort , but his shot is cleared again by Sutton
75-Derby County continues to push forward as Kevin Harper's rips a shot from just outside the "D," but the ball sails high
85-Chicago's Manny Lagos touches for a streaking Wolff inside the box, but a Derby's defense is able to tackle it away
86-After fouling Fire forward Frank Klopas on a vicious unnecessary tackle, Derby's Paul Boertien is ejected.
90-In a final effort, Gutierrez's close-range shot goes high

Both teams substituted liberally in the second-half as unlimited subs was the call of the evening. Both teams did have some scoring chances but the keepers kept the ball out of the net and the second half went scoreless. Chicago downed Derby 1-0, and Chicago improved to 3-0 against international opponents (a 1-0 win over Mexico's UNAM Pumas, and a 3-2 win over Poland's Legia Warsaw). Chicago returns to league action on Friday vs. the San Clash.

Box Score Summary - July 20, 1999 - Soldier Field
Derby County vs. Chicago Fire

Scoring               1        2        F

Derby County          0        0        0

Chicago Fire          1        0        1

Chicago (3-5-2) - GK-#18-Zach Thornton (#24-Greg Sutton 46), D-#6-Tom Soehn (#20-Francis Okaroh 24), D-#3-Ritchie Kotschau , D-#17-Andrew Lewis, M-#15-Jesse Marsch (#7-Manny Lagos 46), M-#13-John Ball, M-#21-Dema Kovalenko, M-#11-Roman Kosecki (#41-Frank Klopas 46), M-#9-Jerzy Podbrozny (#8-Diego Gutierrez 46), F-#16-Josh Wolff, F-#12-Ante Razov.

Scoring
CHI - Goal: Ante Razov; Assist: Jerzy Podbrozny (24th minute)

Stats                         DBC      CHI

Shots                          9        11                                      

Shots on Goal                  2         5                                      

Saves                          4         2                                               

Fouls Committed               29        20                               

Offside                        0         2                                    

Corner Kicks                   7         2                                     

Time of Possession            29 (49%)  30 (51%)



Cautions

CHI - Roman Kosecki (ungentlemanly conduct)    19th minute

DBC - Dean Sturridge (ungentlemanly conduct)   39th minute

DBC - Tony Derigo (dissent)                    43rd minute

DBC - Horacio Carbonari (tripping)             59th minute

CHI - Ante Razov (delay of game)               71st minute

CHI - Andrew Lewis (ungentlemanly conduct)     73rd minute

DBC - Paul Boertien (tackle from behind)       87th minute -RED-

Next Chicago Fire Game: Chicago returns to MLS action this Friday, July 23 vs. the San Jose Clash @ Soldier Field at 7:00 p.m. (CT). The Fire is 2-0 vs. San Jose this season. The game will be televised live on FOX Sports Net Bay Area and can also be heard live on the Fire's Polish (WNVR AM 1030) and Spanish (WIND AM 560) broaDerbyast radio stations.

Quotes from Tonight's Game:
Coach Bob Bradley on tonight's game:
"A game like this is obviously good experience for our players. It is not that often that you get to play against teams from the premier leagues. I thought that it was a good exhibition game and a win is always good. It was good for our young players to get the experience. Talking to the players about the pressure and holding the ball is what we talk about in the locker room and seeing what games are like in other parts of the world helps us also."

Coach Bob Bradley on the newly acquired discovery player John Ball:
"I thought that he got tired. When you have an injury and coming off of playing indoor ball you need some adjusting. At this time he still needs to get sharper with the ball and the plays he makes. It is good to get him on a big open field."

Derby County Manager Jim Smith on tonight's game:
"It was a different game than what we played in Denver (Derby lost 2-1 to the U.S. National Team on July 13) I think that the altitude and the game's speed was slower in Denver. Tonight was very competitive and faster paced. That is the kind of game that we wanted at this stage in pre-season play. I was disappointed in the first half and in the second half I thought that it wasn't much better."

Chicago Fire Frank Klopas on tonight's game:
"It was a good team. They are out here for pre-season obviously but it shows us what other teams from England look like. The team looked good. Hopefully we can have everyone in the playoffs and when the playoffs come, hopefully everyone will be healthy."

Chicago Fire Ante Razov on his goal tonight:
"We practice that play in practice a lot. We set Lubos on the right side and I try to hook it to the left. I tried to aim it to the inside-out shot. I think that if we make contact like that every time, we can do good things. It was a good chance for us to put guys in that normally do not get a lot of playing time. It is always good to get a win against a big club team. They are a good team with some big boys."