The season opener between two teams that missed the playoffs last season was a game of two halves: The first belonged to Columbus Crew SC, and the second to the visiting Chicago Fire. In the end, David Accam's second-half equalizer allowed both sides to share the points in a 1-1 draw at MAPFRE Stadium.
Ethan Finlay opened the scoring when he climbed the ladder and got his head on a Justim Meram cross to knock it in and give Crew SC the lead in the 17th minute. Fire 'keeper Jorge Bava made several sparkling saves to keep his team in it, and eventually, Accam knotted things when he picked up a deflected ball, spun defender and compatriot Jonathan Mensah around, and bent a right-footed shot into the far corner in the 73rd minute.
Goals
Three Things
NIKOLIC DEBUT:
New Fire Designated Player
Nemanja Nikolic
had more than a few opportunities to be the hero in this match, but he looked rusty with his finishing around goal. Chicago will look for more out of their star as he gets adjusted to the league, especially in big moments on the road.
Next Up
- CLB: Saturday, March 11 – at HOU (8:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE)
- CHI: Saturday, March 11 – vs. RSL (2 pm ET | MLS LIVE)