On a night when all of its biggest Eastern Conference foes left the door wide open for Orlando City, the Lions couldn’t manage to take full advantage.
A continuous pouring rain delayed Orlando City’s contest against the Fire twice before kickoff and then again 18 minutes into the match. When the game finally concluded past midnight on Sunday, Orlando City had failed to get the three points it so desperately needed.
More Top Picks Amazon Basics Kt 3680
The Lions tied the Chicago Fire 1-1 when the contest finally finished in the early-morning minutes of Sunday. The result provided a point in hand that its biggest Eastern Conference playoff rivals could not collect during the weekend, but it was still frustratingly short of what Orlando City so needed at home against the Fire.
“Obviously when you create the chances we did in the second half it’s a bit disappointing not to take the three points,” Orlando City coach Adrian Heath said. “In light of what’s gone on today everywhere else, it could’ve been a huge three points for us. But hey, it’s another point and we go again next week.”
The game looked for stretches as though it might be postponed altogether.
The first rain delay on Saturday night lasted a stop-and-start two hours, at one point coming just a minute or so away from player introductions when a flash of lightning and clash of thunder kept the players from ever exiting the tunnel.
When the game finally got underway the first time, both teams traded chances over the first 15 minutes.
A giveaway from Darwin Cerén allowed the Fire’s David Accam to get free up the left side, but his shot soared over Tally Hall’s crossbar. The Fire (7-13-6, 27 pts.) returned the favor two minutes later, but Larin failed to pass to either Rivas on his left or Kaká on his right and instead opted to take on two defenders and shoot wide of goal.
The game entered into yet another delay at 9:38 in the 18th minute when lightning struck nearby. This one would last another hour and seven minutes. By the time the game started up again, more than three hours had passed since the scheduled kickoff.
The Fire took the lead when Accam was able to gather a pass before it went over the end line, beat Corey Ashe with a cut inside the box and fired past Hall to the near post to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Just seven minutes later, Orlando City was able to equalize.
Lewis Neal’s left-footed cross in the 37th minute found Larin in the box. The rookie striker looked to have flicked a header past Sean Johnson into the net for a rookie record-setting finish, but the goal was later ruled an own goal off of Fire defender Eric Gehrig.
Regardless of who got the credit, it pulled Orlando City even at halftime. The goal was also enough to earn them at least a point in the playoff push.