4:1 MetroStars Chicago Chung Jolley Mathis Valencia Razov 05.27.00 · League

The MetroStars came up with a three-goal first half performance in front of their home crowd in defeating the visiting Chicago Fire 4-1 at Giants Stadium Saturday night. The last time the MetroStars scored three first half goals was also against Chciago in July of 1998.

The MetroStars were already on the board after only four minutes. Clint Mathis made great work of a poor Chicago clearance and sent a first-time pass to an open Roy Myers on the right side. Myers then sent a cross into the box. Two defenders converged on Adolfo Valencia, leaving Mark Chung open on the left side of the box from where he easily scored his first goal of the season.

Down 1-0, the Fire took to the attack and came close to tying the game in the 14th minute. Metros defender Mark Semioli knocked a Dema Kovalenko close-range shot off the goal line and Ante Razov could not follow up on the rebound.

The Fire maintained possession but was not effective in creating chances. The MetroStars put the game away with two quick goals in a span of two minutes. In the 34th minute, Chung sent a corner kick into the box from the left side. The ball bypassed a muddle of players in the center of the box and fell to an unmarked Steve Jolley. His right-footed volley on goal was only partially blocked by Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton and wound up in the net.

One minute later, Valencia fed a streaking Myers down the right side of the box. Myers, with a stop-and-go movement, took Fire rookie defender Carlos Bocanegra took the endline and crossed the ball. Clint Mathis snuck in front of defender Tom Soehn on the near right post and poked the ball past Thornton.

The Fire kept the MetroStars under siege for a large part of the second half. Second half substitutes Hristo Stoitchkov and Josh Wolff joined the attack. In the 71st minute the Fire finally got on the board. Daniel Hernandez pushed Jesse Marsch from behind and referee Kevin Terry called a penalty kick. Razov stepped up to score his 11th goal of the season, regaining the MLS goal scoring lead from the Mutiny's Mamadou Diallo who scored earlier in the day.

The MetroStars regained their three-goal lead in the 76th minute when Valencia created and netted a penalty kick. He received the ball in the Fire box and danced by defender Tom Soehn who took him down. Valencia slotted home the PK to the delight of the large Colombian contingent present for the Colombia-Jamaica match which followed.

The play of the night came in the 69th minute when Valencia again, in a solo effort, intercepted a Razov pass and dribbled past two Fire defenders, then forcing Thornton to save his shot over the bar.

At the end of the game, a tussle among a group of players after a foul on Mike Petke led to the ejection of Ante Razov. MetroStars' Head Coach Octavio Zambrano also received a red card.

Lineup: Ammann, Semioli, Jolley, Hernandez, Walsh, Myers, Ramos, Chung, Villegas, Mathis, Valencia. Subs: Corrales, Shak, Petke.