The Chicago Fire missed an opportunity to take three points on the road, settling for a 1-1 draw in their visit Western Conference champions Seattle Sounders, Saturday at CenturyLink Field.
Aleksandar Katai continued his excellent run of form with his fourth goal in the last six games, but the Fire once again suffered from lack of finishing and missed a chance at three points against a Seattle team that sits towards the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
One of the primary objectives for head coach Veljko Paunovic was for his side to get off to a strong start, an aspect the team had been lacking most of the season.
The Fire accomplished just that, thanks to an in-form Katai, who made a diagonal run through the Seattle defense off Brandt Bronico’s pass and converted from distance to put Chicago ahead only nine minutes in.
.”I know in the past I was a little bit harsh with Katai, but he had a fantastic game and I knew that he could do that,” said Paunovic.
“He has to work and figure out a way to work for the team in both directions. Together with the others, he had a fantastic game.”
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But as the half progressed, the Sounders gradually took control of the ball after a rough start, spreading out the Fire defense and creating spaces for the likes of Clint Dempsey and Nicolas Lodeiro to threaten Chicago’s goal.
In the 23rd minute, Cristian Roldan and Will Bruin combined on the right flank to set up Dempsey, who beat out Dax McCarty to the box and scored the equalizer, his first goal of this 2018 season.
The teams hit the halfway with the tables turned, as Seattle closed out the half in control of the game and maintained it for the better part of a second half that featured more plenty of opportunities for both teams to take the lead.
The Fire missed two clear chances to take the game after regaining control halfway through the second 45 minutes.
Nemanja Nikolic received a perfectly placed through ball from Bronico but failed to finish past Stefan Frei. Similarly, Alan Gordon, who entered the game in place of Nikolic with a minute left, received a cross from Rafael Ramos and missed an easy tap-in by sending his shot wide.
“I was surprised we didn’t score. I think we created a lot of chances and we gave our best efforts towards the goal. That’s sometimes just how the game is,” said Bronico.
The 1-1 result is Chicago’s third consecutive draw in MLS action after defeating Atlanta United in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 midweek, keeping them out of the top six places in the Eastern Conference by one point.
The Fire return home next Saturday, June 30 to host New York City FC and new coach Domenec Torrent.