It’s a goal Cory Gibbs one day may tell his grandkids about.
The Fire defender’s memorable tally against mighty Manchester United gave his team a lead in the 13th minute Saturday and was the lone Fire score in a 3-1 exhibition loss before a sellout crowd at Soldier Field.
The 31-year-old veteran’s header came off a perfect feed from Marco Pappa right in front of the net.
“Pappa served an excellent ball,” Gibbs said. “When I made a run I took one look at the goalie and he didn’t come out. I went full charge on it and gave it everything I had.”
Gibbs’ shot past United goalie David De Gea broke a scoreless tie and gave the Fire a lead it would hold until the 66th minute.
“The goal feels great, but I’m disappointed we didn’t win,” Gibbs said. “We had a lot of chances.”
Fire goalie Sean Johnson had one official save during 45 minutes of play. It came on striker Dimitar Berbatov’s early try on a one-on-one that Johnson knocked away.
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The Red Devils finally caught the hosts early in the second half on Wayne Rooney’s score — the first of three in a 16-minute span.
“We don’t like being behind,” Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. “We don’t panic, just play our game and hope for the chance to get back in.”
Rooney, the Red Devils’ star who had a hat trick Wednesday night in Seattle, was a second half substitute.
He skipped in a shot over backup goalie Jon Conway who rushed out and tried for a block. Instead, Rooney’s high, looping effort sailed over the goalkeeper’s reach.
Defender Rafael gave the Red Devils their first lead in the 75th minute, lining a tight shot down the goal line past Conway, a second half sub for Johnson.
Six minutes later, second half substitute Nani made it 3-1 when Conway was caught off guard after the Red Devils’ midfielder picked up a loose ball for an unassisted goal.
Manchester United is now 3-0 on its five-stop summer U.S. tour, part of its preseason training for the upcoming English Premier League campaign.
There were plenty of positives for the Fire, who came into the game struggling with a 2-6 won-loss record and 12 ties in MLS play.
“We put up a very good challenge,” Fire coach Frank Klopas said. “For us, more than anything, we made the game competitive. … I was very, very happy, very pleased with the performance of all my players.”
The game drew a sellout crowd of 61,308, the largest ever witness a Fire game and the most to view international soccer since new Soldier Field opened in 2003.
Every healthy Fire player save for backup goalie Alec Dufty had minutes, including rookie Pari Pantazopoulos.
“It was awesome to be in front of 60,000 fans,” said Pantazopoulos, who won the Fire’s open tryout earlier this year and entered in the 88th minute. “Dreams really do come true. It was fun, a good experience.”