BRIDGEVIEW, IL - Gonzalo Segares buried a quick reply header to earn 10-man Chicago a 2-all share with visiting New York on Saturday night.

The equalizer came directly on the heels of Wilman Conde's ejection for a second yellow card picked up in the area and the subsequent Juan Pablo Angel spot kick that restored a Red Bull advantage.

The teams took the field in front of a season high Toyota Park crowd of 20,586 on a crystal clear Chicago autumn evening, with Segares immediately teaming with Conde to keep Angel away from a tempting Chris Leitch long ball into the right corner.

Claudio Reyna then received a quick caution for dumping Cuauhtémoc Blanco at midfield, and New York resumed their early show of initiative. Segares did well to tie up Francis Doe after the rookie forward received a low fourth minute cross from Dave van den Bergh.

Moments later, Doe flicked on to lead Dane Richards into the right corner, but the return cross was much too tall for the speedy Liberia international.

Chicago then tilted the pitch the other way, with Chad Barrett playing a seeing eye ball through to Blanco on the left flank. The Mexico ace's cross was deflected to Barrett, whose side-kick blast drew an impressive save from Ronald Waterreus.

The young Fire striker then hustled back to intercept with New York in a threatening stance, but the hosts would fall behind shortly thereafter.

Reyna's 10th minute corner kick found its way through the area crowd to a waiting Van den Bergh, whose low shot took two deflections on its way past flummoxed Chicago netminder Matt Pickens.

"I had a feeling they were going to clear it long, or it wouldn't touch anyone," Van den Bergh told reporters after the game. "I hit it low, and because the field was kinda slick, it just bounced through everybody and got in the goal."

Seconds later, Barrett was nearly able to walk into the area with a collected pinball, but Seth Stammler was able to make the timely pocket pick.

After Blanco drew the linesman's flag running onto a Segares long delivery, the #10 shirt moved Chicago forward expertly with a keyhole pass to Paulo Wanchope in the 18th minute. The Costa Rica star danced into the box and onto his right foot past Jeff Parke, but Waterreus was equal to the task of his 16-meter shot.

The Fire continued their march, with Stammler halting a Barrett breach and central partner Parke doing away with a Blanco cross on successive rushes.

Barrett was gifted a prime chance to level on the half hour when a long Segares free kick bounced to him at the edge of the 18 untouched, but the striker blasted his effort just over the frame.

The youngster had another golden opportunity to fire away after being slipped through on the left by Blanco six minutes later, but took a hesitant touch, allowing an alert Waterreus to race out and smother the shot.

Chicago continued working the left side in earnest, but Waterreus was again able to keep them out of his net by nudging a 38th minute Wanchope corner kick header onto his left post.

The ball was cleared only as far as Chris Rolfe, who saw his shot blocked out to Blanco on the left wing. His second chance serve found Barrett at the far post, but he could only send a header whistling over the bar.

Not to be outdone, Pickens pawed a 40th minute Angel header away from the top corner after the Colombia striker was picked out by a pinpoint Leitch cross. Segares then did well to strip Angel in front of goal before he could turn and fire a Doe feed.

The half then ended with a bit of acrimony; first, Conde received an unwise booking for chopping down Doe, then Kovalenko did likewise for a reckless foul on Blanco that kicked off a slight shoving match.

The referee oddly blew for halftime without allowing the Fire their free kick, and the hosts still seemed a bit confused when the second period began. Segares was forced to acrobatically kick away a Richards header from Van den Bergh's cross before Pickens punched out the resulting corner kick in a crowd.

Five minutes out of intermission, the Fire sprang back to life after Diego Gutierrez picked out Blanco with a diagonal long ball. The playmaker nodded across the area to Barrett, who dropped off for Rolfe to test Waterreus low with a 20-meter drive.

Three minutes later, Chicago were able to gain a deserved equalizer from the spot after Wanchope led Blanco down the right. His cross looked set to land just right for Barrett, who was tugged down by Parke - Blanco then did the honors, leveling the match at ones.

"When the cross came in, I was just trying to get behind him and I got position on him," Barrett told American Soccer Daily after the match. "The ball was going to come right to me, so he just grabbed my shirt and pulled me back."

The match fell into a bit of a slumber, with the midfielders doing most of the work for several minutes. Van den Bergh woke everyone up in the 62nd minute with a cracking volley from Leitch's smart switch, but Pickens was able to tip it around.

Four minutes on, the Dutch wing threat won a corner kick that provided the Bulls with another lead. Conde was shown his second yellow and walking papers for holding Doe in the goalmouth, an act that allowed Angel to bag his 15th goal of the season on the ensuing penalty try.

The away edge wouldn't last a minute, however, as a poorly marked Segares rose high in front of Angel to head home the equalizer from Blanco's near corner free kick.

"I felt like I was by myself," Segares admitted to ASD later. "I was so wide open and free, I didn't even know he was behind me."

Despite being down a man, the Fire went about chasing a winner, with Stammler required to shut down a Blanco through ball for Rolfe and a winding up Wanchope on consecutive attacks.

New York responded after Rolfe fouled Van den Bergh on the left in the 76th minute. Reyna played short to the former FC Utrecht winger, who slipped Magee further into the area to test Pickens from sharp angle.

Danger situations were few, far between and easily squashed for the remainder. Each made an offensive substitution and each squandered a pair of restarts, leaving the both teams pondering lost points at the final whistle.

"I'm disappointed we didn't get the three points," said Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena. "We didn't do a good job I think after getting the second goal, and obviously that lapse in concentration costs us some important points."

Countered Gutierrez to ASD: "I think perhaps we deserved the three points."

"About the 60th or 65th minute, I thought we had them on the ropes. We had lots of possession and were creating chances, but then the red card happened and we had to think about defending."

ASD's THREE STARS
#1 Gonzalo Segares
#2 Dave van den Bergh
#3 Ronald Waterreus

Scoring
NYRB - Dave van den Bergh 2 10'
CHI - Cuauhtémoc Blanco 3 (PK) 54'
NYRB - Juan Pablo Angel 15 (PK) 69'
CHI - Gonzalo Segares 1 (Cuauhtémoc Blanco) 70'

Line-ups
NYRB - Ronald Waterreus, Chris Leitch, Jeff Parke, Seth Stammler, Dave van den Bergh, Dane Richards, Dema Kovalenko (Mike Magee 75'), Claudio Reyna, Joe Vide (Hunter Freeman 90+), Juan Pablo Angel, Francis Doe (John Wolyniec 79')

CHI - Matt Pickens; C.J. Brown, Wilman Conde, Gonzalo Segares, Logan Pause, Dasan Robinson, Chris Rolfe, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Diego Gutierrez, Chad Barrett (Calen Carr 87'), Paulo Wanchope