Chicago came back into Toyota Park after nearly 3 weeks off from MLS play to host Philadelphia Union, and hoped to start the last stretch of their season off right with a win and three points. Instead, they found themselves in a familiar spot, falling behind in the first half and fighting back to earn a draw and one point, and continuing the frustration that has plagued them during the 2011 season as they search for an elusive 3rd win.
Chicago came out with intensity, as Frank Klopas started new faces Pavel Pardo and Sebastian Grazzini. Another notable change to the lineup was the insertion of captain Logan Pause at right back, as Pardo played the holding mid position alongside Daniel Paladini. Chicago had plenty of chances throughout the game, and looked more dangerous than previous outings, but the lack of finishing that has been an issue throughout the season continued to haunt them against the Union, as they outshot Philadelphia 14-7 in the game, with eight Chicago shots on goal to Philadelphia’s one. Early chances by Dominic Oduro, Sebastian Grazzini, and Marco Pappa couldn’t find the back of the net in the first half.
Those missed opportunities would hurt Chicago, as a goal against the run of play would give Philadelphia the lead. In the 35th minute, the Union’s Veljko Paunovic would find the ball at his feet from 30 yards out, and given the room, blasted a strike that found its way past a screened Sean Johnson, putting Philadelphia up 1-0. Chicago would fight back, as they have much of this season, however, as in the second half a nice buildup and run down the wing by Patrick Nyarko would result in a scramble in front of goal by Dominic Oduro. Carlos Valdes, who had marked Oduro in the box, tried to clear the ball, but it found newcomer Pavel Pardo, who blasted home his shot from 20 yards out, beating Faryd Mondragon to the far side, bringing the match even and scoring his first goal in a Fire uniform. More chances remained for Chicago to take the lead, as Dominic Oduro again had chances to finish in the 61st and 66th minutes, essentially one-on-one against Mondragon, but the Philly keeper was equal to the task on both attempts, denying Oduro his sixth goal of the season.
Frank Klopas said that despite the lack of finishing, he was happy with his team’s performance. “If you look at the stats sheet, we were 14-7, 8-1 shots on goal. We have 7 saves to zero. There’s nothing more to say. I think the team created the chances. It’s tough that we talk about all these ties now and we keep believing as a team. But it takes time. Those ties are going to become wins. Of course you’re disappointed when you don’t get the three because time is running out. That’s why after this break we felt very good coming into this game. The urgency was there, the commitment, the desire was there. I’m happy about that.”
Patrick Nyarko echoed the same thoughts about the Fire’s ability to play with intensity, while also acknowledging the lack of finishing in the offensive third. “We need to come out and set a tone early in every game remaining. We came out with the right attitude today, we showed we can be that team that can dominate a game and win at the same time. I think we came out with the right attitude today and played extraordinarily and created a lot of chances. Unfortunately, the same thing that has been biting us all year has come back. We couldn’t finish our chances. We gave up one chance and they scored on it. It’s a little disappointing, but we have some encouragement from today’s performance taking it into the weekend.”
The urgency in the Chicago Fire camp is now at a tipping point. Chicag knows they are running out of time, and are hoping that, despite the draw against the Union, they can still string together a few wins in the month of August to keep any playoff hopes alive. Still, Patrick Nyarko acknowledged that time is running out. “It’s absolutely too late for moral victories, but we can’t dwell on it. We have to keep moving forward. Every point dropped hurts, but we’ve got to move on. Right now we need to put together a series of wins and hopefully we can start that in Vancouver.” Fire captain Logan Pause added, “We’re in last place with 13 games to go and eight points out of the last playoff spot, so it’s not too big of a gap that we can’t catch up. We get a couple results and we’re right back in the thick of things. Each game we drop points is a missed opportunity.”
Chicago again hopes to start those winning ways with their next match, a game Sunday against an equally struggling Vancouver Whitecaps. A different Fire team faced these same Whitecaps at Toyota Park earlier this season, drawing them on their home pitch. Chicago hopes to be able to walk into Vancouver, a different looking lineup in tow, and begin to capitalize on games against struggling clubs that can find them back in the playoff hunt. Logan Pause summed up the issue that has been the focal point for Chicago this year. “The result has kind of been the story of the season for us. We’re definitely disappointed. There were a lot of positives to take away from this game – we limited Philadelphia to very few chances and created quite a few of our own which we’re definitely happy about. But in order to make a final push here, we need to start finishing our chances.” If the Fire hope to make any kind of playoff push, they’ll have to find their finishing touch soon, and a game against Vancouver could be their best chance. Time will tell if they’re able to capitalize on it or not.
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