BRIDGEVIEW, IL–Give credit to a club like Columbus Crew FC finding a way late on a Niko Hansen goal and settling for a 1-1 draw against the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park on Thursday night.
While the hosts, the Chicago Fire (6-15-6, 24 points) saw its streak run out to nine straight league matches (0-8-1) without a victory, there were signs that the club maybe turning the corner with seven matches left on its schedule.
The Crew (11-8-7, 40 points) are sitting comfortably in fourth place of the Eastern Conference table with eight matches left. A couple of victories could move them up the table.
“I told the guys it was a good effort,” Columbus Crew FC head coach Gregg Berhalter said. “It wasn’t a great performance. We did have aspirations to get three points, but give Chicago credit. They were dangerous and they were tough. They held their defense pretty tight and in the end had a good performance. It wasn’t enough for us to break them down to score goals.”
Hansen found his first goal of the season for the Crew in the 87th minute tying the match which he had the ball deflect off a Fire player. It landed in front of him near the top of the box, which he delivered a low shot inside the far post away from Fire keeper Stefan Cleveland.
“The ball took a deflection off of a guy,” Hansen said. “I was just holding my position on top of the penalty spot. It was a little bit of luck and knowing that stuff happens. You just find yourself in a position putting the ball into the back of the net.”
Chicago seemed to more of the aggressor in the first half and had a few more opportunities on the frame than in Columbus. But in the second half, the Fire broke through in the 67th minute when Nemanja Nikolic stole a bad pass from the Columbus defense outside the penalty area. He made a move with the ball and slotted it past Crew keeper Zack Steffen for a 1-0 advantage.
The Fire thought they had a chance for a second goal opportunity in the 75th minute. Raheem Edwards made a move in the penalty area and had appeared to get tackled by two Columbus defenders, but referee Armando Villarreal made no call.
About 10 minutes later, one of the Fire players took a ball off the arm in the penalty area, but they also didn’t get a penalty for the Crew.
Fire keeper Cleveland making the start had a strong effort in goal as he made five strong stops against the Crew.
Nevertheless, the draw was a step in the right direction for the Fire with seven matches remaining and slim hopes of reaching the MLS postseason.
“I think the long stretch we’ve had is behind us,” Chicago Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic said. “I think we had a good performance and had a good game. We did a fantastic job and proud of their effort. We were close to the end against one of the best teams not only in the league but in this continent. We really respect all of our opponents. I believe that there were a lot of positives. We got a point, not what we expected or what we want. Our objective was to get all three points, but it’s something and build something from this. We should be alright.
We stop the long losing streak (8 games), it’s something that we can build on. Not what we expected or wanted it to be. Technically, we’re disappointed but its a small step forward. If we get more games like this or didn’t drop points We still have seven games left. We do have a couple of weeks to consolidate our wounds, our mood, our shape to prepare ourselves mentally and physically for the final part of the season. We’re not giving up and trying our best.”
SCORING SUMMARY:
CHI-Nemanja Nikolic (unassisted) 67
COL-Niko Hansen (unassisted) 88
BOOKING SUMMARY:
CHI-Michael de Leeuw (caution, unsporting behavior) 55
COL-Federico Higuaín (caution, unsporting behavior) 65
CHI-Aleksandar Katai (caution, reckless foul) 69
CHI-Bastain Schweinsteiger (caution, delay) 90
CHICAGO FIRE (3-4-2-1): #30-Stefan Cleveland, #4-Johan Kappelhof, #3-Brandon Vincent, #6-Dax McCarty, #31-Bastian Schweinsteiger, #7-Raheem Edwards, #13-Brandt Bronico (#21-Alan Gordan 92+), #22-Nicolas Hasler, #14-Djordje Mihailovic (#19-Mo Adams 66), #23-Nemanja Nikolic, #8-Michael de Leeuw (#10-Aleksandar Katai 60)
Subs not used: #45-Richard Sanchez, #18-Drew Conner, #26-Christtian Dean, #20-Daniel Johnson.
COLUMBUS CREW (4-2-3-1): #23-Zack Steffen, #3-Josh Williams, #25-Harrison Afful, #19-Milton Valenzuela, #22-Gaston Sauro (#32-Patrick Mullins 81), #2-Ricardo Clark (#28-Niko Hansen 57), #6-Will Trapp, #7-Pedro Santos, #9-Justin Meram (#10-Federico Higuaín 57), #11-Gyasi Zardes
Subs not used: #13-Mike Grella, #4-Jonathan Mensah, #24-Jon Kampin, #16-Hector Jimenez,
TOTAL SHOTS: CHI 11-12 COL
SHOTS ON GOAL: CHI 3-6 COL
FOULS: CHI 10-7 COL
OFFSIDES: CHI 3-1 COL
CORNER KICKS: CHI 2-4 COL
SAVES: CHI 5-2 COL
Referee: Armando Villareal
Assistant Referees: Adam Garner and TJ Zablocki
4th Official: Fotis Bazakos
VAR: Robert Sibiga
Weather: Partly cloudy and 78º
Attendance: 8,551
Man of the Match: Niko Hansen (COL)
Chicago Fire
Columbus Crew
May, 2024
April, 2024
