It’s been a good week for Chicago Fire rookie Jon Bakero.
After making his professional debut as a substitute in the Fire’s 1-0 loss to the LA Galaxy last weekend, the Spaniard flew out to join the Tulsa Roughnecks, the Fire’s USL affiliate club, for a loan stint this week, and quickly gave them a massive boost.
The 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy winner and No. 5 overall selection in this year’s MLS SuperDraft came off the bench to play the second half for Tulsa in their road match vs. Fresno FC on Wednesday night, and engineered a dramatic comeback from a 1-0 halftime deficit.
First Bakero assisted on the Roughnecks’ opening goal, delivering a cross to the head of Paris Gee. Then, after Rony Argueta answered to push Fresno back in front 2-1, Bakero delivered a stunning equalizer deep into injury time.
Running on to a gorgeous backheel flick by teammate Adrian Jusino, the Wake Forest product coolly finished underneath goalkeeper Kyle Reynish to earn the visitors a 2-2 draw.
And while we’re at it, we would be remiss if we did not draw your attention to the absolute belter of a goal by Pedro Ribeiro to open the scoring in Fresno. The former Philadelphia Union and Orlando City SC man stroked a long-range blast into the top right corner to give the Foxes their early lead. Full match highlights:
