The good news is, the Chicago Fire got a point. While the team is still struggling to put a goal in the back of the net -- now sitting at 333 scoreless minutes and counting -- at least they didn't drop a fourth consecutive match.
"Tonight our strikers were getting in good position," Fire head coach Denis Hamlett said. "We have to finish those. We're getting ourselves in good spots, but we're not finishing our chances."
The Fire have scored 20 goals already this season and they scored them fast -- with 20 goals in the first 10 games. So are the goals gone?
"Let's hope not," Fire defender Gonzalo Segares said. "We have to keep working on scoring. When we miss our chances we get a little more desperate. We have to be sharper in the final third."
Hamlett said there is definitely an answer to the scoring drought.
"In the first games we were scoring goals early," Hamlett said. "When you do that the game opens up. We're not doing that right now. In the final third our communication and our decision-making are not quite there. We're making runs. We're getting shots. We're just not finishing."
Fire midfielder Chris Rolfe entered the game in the 65th minute; during his 25 minutes, he had one shot on goal -- a long blast in the 71st minute. San Jose's Joe Cannon made the save. Rolfe said he thinks the guys are simply trying too hard.
"I think everybody's trying maybe a little too hard," Rolfe said. "It can mess up the play of the game. We're struggling hard to get out of this rut. The goals will come. I'm not sure when, but they will."
The good news for the Fire: there's still 17 games left for them to turn things around. And of course, it wasn't a loss. The Fire earned their first point in the month of June and earned their first shutout since May 8, a 2-0 win at D.C. United.
"Tonight we half-stopped bleeding," Hamlett said. "We got a point and a shutout. We almost gave the game away at the end with a few plays. But we held on."
Segares agreed.
"We needed a shutout," Segares said. "It's been a couple of games without one. Although, we didn't get what we wanted. We wanted a win."
Chicago returns to MLS play next Saturday at the Columbus Crew. But first, they will face the Cleveland City Stars Tuesday at Toyota Park in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup third round.
Kathryn L. Knapp is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
