BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — Neither the Chicago Fire nor D.C. United has been on a positive run of late and that was on display in a scoreless draw at SeatGeek Stadium Saturday.
The Fire are now 1-6-5 in their last 12 MLS matches while D.C. is 2-3-7 in the same stretch. Neither team showed crisp play in front of goal to get on the board.
The Fire had the only shot on target for either team in the first half, an easy save for Bill Hamid. Another ball was cleared off the line after a Nicolás Gaitán free kick caused some chaos in front of D.C.’s goal.
D.C. didn’t manage a shot on target until the 66th minute, when Wayne Rooney drilled a free kick on frame.
“I think it was a stalemate,” Rooney said. “Both teams nullified each of their attacking strengths really well. It was probably a bit of a boring game to watch for the fans, but a point on the road, given the other results tonight, is a good point for us.”
Kenneth Kronholm’s save of Rooney’s free kick was his only of the night as he earned his first shutout with the Fire.
The tempo picked up in the second half for both teams, but neither found the net.
“They always have good chances,” D.C. coach Ben Olsen said of the Fire. “I know you guys are probably really tough on them here, but they put together as many chances as anybody in the league, consistently. They’re just having one of those years where things aren’t going in for them. Lucky for us tonight that was the case.”
D.C. (9-6-9, 36 points) sits in third place in the Eastern Conference after the New York Red Bulls lost at home to Columbus, but chasing Montreal, New England and Toronto all won to close the gap.
Columbus’ win means Chicago (5-10-9, 24 points) fell to 11th place in the standings. and nine points out of a playoff spot.
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With 10 matches left, only four at home, the Fire are running out of time to make up ground. It’s getting harder to imagine this team going on the type of run it would take to get back in the race.
Fire midfielder Dax McCarty still believes they are capable of going on a winning run. Right now though, it is a frustrated locker room.
“I think it’s honestly just a little bit of a confidence thing,” McCarty said. “For some reason we weren’t able to build off of the good attacking performances we’ve had this year. The performances against New England, against Colorado, against Atlanta, it always seems like we can score four or five goals in one night. But then it takes us a few weeks to really finish our chances again. I think it’s a little bit of inconsistency. Just a little bit timid in front of the goal. I don’t think either team created a ton of chances tonight to be completely honest.”
Jonathan Bornstein made his Fire debut. The 34-year-old played all 90 minutes at left back.