Saved in no small part by a couple of fine stops in the first half by goalkeeper Zach Thornton, the Chicago Fire held off the Columbus Crew on Saturday night at Toyota Park as the teams played to a scoreless draw.
Played in stifling temperatures, neither team's attack was able to find the target often as neither was able to put an end to winless streaks. The Fire now haven't won in four games, while the Crew haven't won in 11 games.
Six minutes into the match, Thornton and the Fire defense were tested early when Columbus striker Ryan Coiner found space in the box and sent a rocket toward goal. Thornton was able to swat it out of the air and then dive to catch his own deflection.
On the other end, the Fire were gamely trying to make things happen. Through crosses from Ivan Guerrero and Gonzalo Segares, strikers Nate Jaqua and Chris Rolfe had their chances only to be stopped by the Crew backline, putting a few shots over the crossbar as well.
One of the better chances of the first half came in the 27th minute when Jaqua, with space in the box, passed on to midfielder Diego Gutierrez, only to lose possession to Crew 'keeper Bill Gaudette.
A minute later, the Crew's Jacob Thomas, through good dribbling skills, found space in the box and sent a low screeching shot towards the far post. Thornton made his second spectacular save of the opening half-hour as he stretched out low along the ground to get just enough of a hand out and knock the ball over the end line.
The chances dried up for most of the rest of the first half -- no doubt due somewhat to the heat and humidity -- and while the teams came out more quickly after the break, there weren't any real chances at goal then either.
In the 61st minute, Fire coach Dave Sarachan took off Tony Sanneh in favor of Justin Mapp. Two minutes after coming off the bench, Mapp fired a long 30-yard shot which forced Gaudette to dive, only to watch it go wide.
In the 74th minute, Crew sub Kei Kamara, after a nice pass by Sebastian Rozental, had only Thornton to beat, but put the shot wide to leave the game scoreless.
Over the final 15 minutes, the Fire did their best to snatch a late winner. Three minutes after coming on as a substitute, Chad Barrett made a great pass to Mapp, who sent in a low cross into the box that found its way to Jaqua. His shot was blocked and deflected to Mapp, but his shot was knocked away for a corner.
In the 86th minute, Jaqua made a great run trying to get on the end of a long pass, only to be stopped as Gaudette scampered off his line to gather up the ball.
Gaudette made all four of his saves on the night over the final quarter-hour, but he held firm and the teams settled for a share of the points, the second consecutive draw for each.
Jack Daniel Chavez is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
