Despite having several regulars out of their starting lineup, the Chicago Fire came from behind once again to earn a well deserved 1-1 draw with D.C. United to kick off the 14th year of MLS soccer at RFK Stadium.
The Fire used the same game plan that has made them the most successful team against D.C. United -- an adaptable lineup with a gritty and physical style of play, eventually disrupting the free-flowing soccer the home team prefers. Patrick Nyarko scored the equalizer in the 53rd minute after Luciano Emilio put United ahead early.
United were the more aggressive team in the early going and it paid off with Emilio taking advantage of a huge gap between the Fire's midfield and backline in the seventh minute. Emilio slipped into open space some 20 yards from goal and before Wilman Conde could close down him down, he neatly placed a left-footed shot out of the reach of a diving Jon Busch into the lower right corner for his first goal of the season.
The Fire needed to make an unexpected early substitution when defender C.J. Brown left the match in the 14th minute with a right quadriceps injury. He was replaced by Dasan Robinson, who is also nursing a hamstring injury.
Brown and Daniel Woolard started on the back line in the absence of both Gonzalo Segares and Bakary Soumare who are away on international duty.
The action switched to the other end of the park in the 24th minute as United goalkeeper Josh Wicks slithered his way into traffic in his penalty area to knock away a John Thorrington free kick. The rebound fell directly to Marco Pappa, but his shot sailed just over the net.
Pappa started on the right flank once again while Chris Rolfe gets back to full match fitness after a stomach virus sidelined the University of Dayton graduate during the preseason. Thorrington assumed the central midfield role for Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who is also working his way back to form after being hampered by swelling in his knee.
United nearly extended the lead in the 27th minute after some creative combination play down from Jaime Moreno and Bryan Namoff down the right flank left culminated with Chris Pontius' open attempt from 12 yards, but the rookie's right-footed shot sailed harmlessly over the top.
United continued thrusting forward four minutes later but Busch flicked away a Ben Olsen header, off a perfectly floated Christian Gomez cross from the right flank, with a sharp reflex save diving to his right.
The Fire effectively limited Gomez's touches for the most part, bracketing him tightly in the middle and making him drift wider than he prefers to collect the ball.
Chicago followed a lackluster offensive effort in the first half with a more vibrant and energetic attacking posture in the second, pushing the ball wider and attacking vigorously down both flanks.
After Wicks nearly gifted the Fire a goal seconds earlier, he wandered too far out of his goal, allowing the Fire to equalize in the 53rd minute. Nyarko made a darting run behind Dejan Jakovic, gathering a nifty ball from Pappa down the left channel.
On the previous sequence, Wicks let a harmless, slow-rolling cross from the right touch line slip between his legs and trickle tantalizingly across the goal line, snatching it up before Brian McBride could get a foot on it.
A few minutes later, United responded with Pontius slipping behind Woolard in the penalty area, striking a bouncing ball just outside the six-yard box that Busch did well to get his body in front of and knock away.
However, the Fire responded immediately to that on their next possession down the field, but Justin Mapp's wide open shot from 15 yards out on the left side of the penalty area floated well over the top of the net.
As he did last week, Blanco replaced Pappa in the second half, coming on in 69th minute. Blanco scored the insurance goal in stoppage time in the Fire's 3-1 come from behind win at Dallas last Saturday. Rolfe also came in, replacing Justin Mapp in the 81st minute and assuming an attacking role on the left flank.
Wicks coughed up Tim Ward's long-range blast before any of the surprised Fire attackers could pounce on the loose ball in the 89th minute but saved United's hide on the ensuing corner, diving high and hard to his left to get a hand on a Rolfe blast from the top of the penalty arc.
The energetic Rolfe had another chance to steal a Fire victory but Wicks got down nicely to smother a left footed shot from 22-yards out just seconds before the final whistle.
Chris Snear is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
