In the days leading up to Saturday’s home opener, Chicago Fire coach Ezra Hendrickson emphasized the importance of making Soldier Field a “fortress.”
But a scoreless draw with Orlando City didn’t quite encapsulate Hendrickson’s mission.
An announced crowd of 25,477 — the second-highest attendance for a Fire home opener — watched a match mostly devoid of action until the game’s final 20 minutes.
Orlando (1-0-1, 4 points) thought it had the go-ahead goal in the 73rd minute when midfielder Júnior Urso’s shot deflected off defender Boris Sekulic and wrong-footed goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina. But a video review overturned the call because of a hand ball by Orlando’s Ercan Kara.
“We maybe got bailed out a little bit there, but that’s part of the game,” Fire midfielder Mauricio Pineda said. “Sometimes it goes our way, sometimes it doesn’t, but the game was there to try to get the goal and keep pushing the game.”
Fire forward Kacper Przybylko had an opportunity to clinch three points in the 85th minute, but a soft, headed attempt went straight to Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
Outside of a handful of late moments, however, the match was largely lifeless with the Fire (0-0-2, 2 points) failing to score for the second-straight game despite the presence of designated player Xherdan Shaqiri.
Last week’s draw with Inter Miami CF also was scoreless, but Hendrickson thinks goals will come for the Fire.
“It’s not too concerning because we have enough quality to get some goals,” he said. “Had we been sitting here after a 3-3 tie, I wouldn’t have liked that — not that I like a 0-0 tie, but at least we’re doing the defensive part of it and we’re keeping that intact.
“If we continue to keep games at zero and then get the attacking part of it going, then all is well. … But I like to see goals, and goals win games. Now if we can continue to keep it at zero and add the attacking part to it, then I’ll be much happier, to be honest.”
Limiting scoring chances is something Hendrickson, a former defender, wants to make a key component of his team.
“We talked about this city being a hardworking city of people,” Hendrickson said of his message to Fire players. “That’s what we want to show every week when we step on the pitch — that we are a hardworking team, and if continue to do that, we will be a successful team.”
Regardless of Saturday’s result, the Fire need to consistently make Soldier Field a nightmare for opponents.
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The general rule in MLS is teams don’t necessarily need to win on the road — a draw will do in most cases — but have to take care of business at home.
Hendrickson knows that well from his time as a Columbus Crew assistant. The Crew won MLS Cup in the pandemic-altered 2020 season largely on the back of their home form.
The Crew were 0-5-5 in road games but 9-1-0 in Columbus, Ohio, finishing third in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s very important that you pick up points at home and maximize what you can because you never know what can happen on the road,” Hendrickson said Wednesday. “In this league there’s a lot of parity, so anything can happen.”
Under former coach Raphael Wicky, the Fire struggled at home, winning less than half of their matches at Soldier Field.
And while 2020 was played in an empty stadium, the Fire’s attendance figures weren’t spectacular last season — even when taking into account COVID-19 restrictions.
When restrictions were lifted in July, the Fire rarely broke 15,000 — a number that fell short of team owner and Chairman Joe Mansueto’s expectation of 25,000 to 30,0000 per game regardless of the team’s record.
“Things never happen fast enough for my taste,” Mansueto said in August. “I’d love to see bigger crowds, but we’re pushing on it. And I have no doubt we’ll get there, so it hasn’t diminished my confidence one iota on the potential for filling the stadium with Fire fans.”
Saturday’s crowd on the lakefront offered a glimmer of hope for the Fire, who next play at D.C. United before returning to Soldier Field on March 19 against Sporting Kansas City.
It likely will take all of the remaining 16 home matches to see if Soldier Field truly can be a “fortress.” But if they get a few more crowds like Saturday night, the Fire could be on their way.
“We knew that there were going to be quite a few people out there that it was going to be a great crowd,” defender Miguel Navarro said Saturday through an interpreter. “That’s something that we need — for the crowd to keep coming out because it’s great. We need the support from the fans whenever we go out there, and I think we need them to come so that we can feel it as well.”