Hans Backe apparently thinks so little of the U.S. Open Cup that he didn't even bother to travel with the purposefully short-handed New York Red Bulls, who lost in their quarterfinal match to the Chicago Fire 4-0 on Tuesday. The Red Bulls, who only travelled with 14 players, were outplayed from start to finish as Dominic Oduro scored in the 7th minute and the Fire finished off their reserve-laden opponents with three second-half goals. Yamith Cuesta scored in the 48th minute and Orr Barouch added two more in the 51st and 69th minutes.
U.S. Open Cup: Fire Thump Purposefully Short-Handed Red Bulls
Mike Petke served as the head coach, as assistant coach Jan Halvor Halvorsen also did not travel. The Red Bulls starters had combined to appear in just 46 MLS games this season, with only Mehdi Ballouchy being a regular contributor. Among the starters were three players who have not made a single appearance during MLS play.
The Fire, on the other hand, featured a lineup that looked a lot like the ones the regularly use during the regular season. Marco Pappa, Patrick Nyarko, Sean Johnson, Logan Pause, Cristian Nazarit and Oduro were among the starters.
The Fire will next face the winner of Sporting Kansas City-Richmond Kickers, which was delayed at the end of regulation due to inclement weather.
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