Chad Marshall and Alejandro Moreno gave Columbus a first-half lead but late goals by the Chicago Fire's Brian McBride and Gonzalo Segares against the shorthanded Crew resulted in a 2-2 tie at Crew Stadium on Saturday, keeping the defending MLS champions winless on the season.
Columbus went down a man in the 57th minute when defender Gino Padula was given a straight red card after studs-up tackle on Cuauhtemoc Blanco.
The Fire didn't take advantage until McBride's header in the 86th minute from six yards off a cross by Patrick Nyarko to make it 2-1. Chicago kept the pressure on and two minutes later Chris Rolfe backheeled a pass to Tim Ward at the top of the penalty area. Ward sent the ball to Segares and his strike beat goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum.
McBride entered Saturday's game tied for the league lead with four goals -- one fewer than the entire Crew -- and now has 10 in 17 games since coming back to MLS.
It was his second game back in Columbus since his return to MLS, after last year's Eastern Conference Championship, when he drew chants of "traitor" from the Crew Stadium faithful. McBride was a Crew original in 1996 and is tied for the club's all-time goal mark of 62 with Jeff Cunningham.
The Crew have turned a lead into a tie after the 80th minute in all three home games this season, although it looked for a while their early margin would stand.
Columbus had a single goal in each of the first five matches but assumed the two-goal advantage after Marshall's header from a Guillermo Barros Schelotto freekick in the 25th minute and Moreno's individual effort nine minutes later.
He sneaked around Jon Busch as the goalkeeper was about to play the ball at the edge of the penalty area. Moreno knocked the ball toward the touchline, outran Busch for the ball then dribbled toward the goal. Defender Wilman Conde tried to block Moreno's progress but he deftly slipped around him and deposited the ball into the open net.
Marshall's goal came off a long restart near the center of the pitch. Schelotto spotted him in the box as Marshall got around Bakary Soumare for the powerful header inside the right post.
The Crew were forced to make an unplanned move in the 42nd minute due to a left hamstring strain to central midfielder Adam Moffat.
Although the records lean toward two teams headed in opposite directions, each side entered the match feeling like it had let points slip away in their previous match.
Columbus allowed the tying goal late when it drew 1-1 with Colorado on April 11 yet the Crew were able to maintain their 13-match home unbeaten streak (9-0-4) since last June 7.
Chicago had its own letdown before the home fans a week ago, losing a 2-0 halftime lead before settling for a 2-2 tie vs. Kansas City.
The Fire lead the all-time series with Columbus 17-10-11 and had just one loss in the previous 10 regular-season meetings with the Crew (3-1-5).
Chicago has played particularly well in Columbus with an 8-5-6 mark, including four wins and three ties in its past seven trips to Ohio. The last Crew win at home was July 3, 2004.
Of course, that's for the regular season. The Crew and their fans got the win they wanted on Nov. 13 when Columbus defeated the visiting Fire 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Championship. It marked the team's first victory in five attempts to qualify for the MLS Cup. The Crew capped the season with a 3-1 win against New York in the MLS Cup Championship match 10 days later.
Crew goalkeeper William Hesmer (left knee sprain) became the fifth of 10 returning Crew starters from MLS Cup to miss a game because of injuries or national team duties. Gruenebaum made his second start in the past 59 games.
Captain Frankie Hejduk missed a fifth consecutive game at right back but Marshall rejoined the starting lineup after sitting out a game with headaches.
Fire coach Denis Hamlett made no changes to the team that faced Kansas City, which meant a second successive start for Cuauhtemoc Blanco.
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
