Despite playing a man up for nearly the entirety of the match, the Chicago Fire needed a late goal from Chad Barrett to secure a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids on a windy Sunday night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
The Fire received a gift in the sixth minute when Rapids forward Roberto Brown was sent off for a very harsh, late tackle on C.J. Brown. In the midfield, C.J. Brown had already played the ball to his left and Roberto Brown slid in very late, catching the Fire center back's leg. Referee Jair Marrufo did not hesitate in showing the red card to the Panamanian international.
The Fire started with the 3-4-1-2 formation that was very successful last week in their 1-0 victory against the New England Revolution at Toyota Park, though they started to try and press the advantage almost immediately after Brown was sent off. With the wind wreaking havoc on the Dick's Sporting Goods Park field, the Fire used quick one-two passing through the midfield, working the ball out to the wings and attacking from the flanks.
Chicago came close in the 26th minute when the ball was worked out to Logan Pause on the right wing. Pause sent a low sharp cross to Chris Rolfe, who was unmarked. The third-year forward one-timed his effort, only to see it sail over the crossbar.
In the dying minutes of the first half Gonzalo Segares fired a shot on goal from about 20 yards out which Rapids 'keeper Bouna Coundoul wrapped up in his abdomen, not giving a rebound. Even with the man advantage from nearly the start of the game, the Fire couldn't find their way through the Rapids.
Fire head coach Dave Sarachan opened the second half by substituting Brown with Brazilian midfielder Thiago, going with a more attacking formation.
But the Rapids soon turned the tables, taking the lead in the 58th minute as Herculez Gomez curled a right-footed shot past Fire 'keeper Matt Pickens to open the scoring. On a counter attack launched from a save on a corner kick, Gomez ran onto a ball sent down the left flank by Nicolas Hernandez and worked his way around defender Jim Curtin in the penalty area before curling the ball inside the far post.
After playing a man up for nearly an hour and still going down a goal, the Fire were unsettled by the opening goal. Their fluency in attack disappeared as they were put on the back foot for most of the second half by the 10-man Rapids. Sarachan brought on French midfielder Pascal Bedrossian for Diego Gutierrez to ignite the attack.
With the Rapids tiring, the Fire finally hit the back of the net through a fine goal from Barrett in the 85th minute. Barrett took a beautifully lofted pass from Chris Rolfe in the penalty area, trapped the ball and slid it past the oncoming Coundoul to tie the match at 1-1. The goal was Barrett's first of the season.
Despite holding the man advantage for 84 minutes, the Fire couldn't find the deciding goal, and Chicago is now winless in Colorado over a seven-season span. But with the result, both teams still remain undefeated on the young season.
Tom Buck is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
