More and more as the clock rolled past the regulation 90 minutes and into stoppage time, it looked as if the Chicago Fire would finally leave Pizza Hut Park a victory, which would have been their first in nine tries against FC Dallas.
But just when it appeared that a stellar defensive effort would make Chris Rolfe's 56th-minute goal stand up, Carlos Ruiz snuck in to score the equalizer and leave the teams with a 1-1 draw.
"I think we're a little disappointed at the way it ended," said Fire assistant coach Daryl Shore. "We thought we played pretty well tonight. We knew it was going to be a tough game and came in here and worked hard."
Chicago finished the match with eight shots and three of those came from Rolfe, who played midfield for the second consecutive match.
"We took Rolfie away from his natural forward position and put him in the midfield to give him a little more freedom to run around and find different gaps on the field," Shore said.
After FCD controlled possession for much of the first half, the Fire coaching staff made some adjustments and those paid off quickly as the visitors controlled the run of play for much of the second half.
"The start of the game wasn't the greatest for us but we made a couple of adjustments in the first half but I thought we picked it up and came out with a good start of the second half," Shore said. "We had a good run of the game and to give up a goal at the end is a little disappointing. At the end of the day, you go on the road and you're disappointed that you don't get three points. But you take the point and move forward. That's what we're going to do."
One thing that the Fire staff noticed in the first half was that there were some gaps that both Rolfe and Cuauhtemoc Blanco could exploit and possibly do some damage.
"We felt like at halftime that there were some gaps on the field that he and Blanco could find and that's how the goal happened," Shore said. "He found himself in a little bit of a pocket, was able to get a little space and hit a great goal. It frees him up a little bit and keeps him from getting banged up by the defenders. It's a unique role for him."
Rolfe collected a loose ball some 25 yards from goal on the left, took a couple of touches forward and let fly with a wicked blast that beat FCD 'keeper Dario Sala high inside his left-hand post. For Rolfe, it was his fifth goal of 2007, but his first since May 12, when he scored goals in four consecutive games to begin the season.
"I thought we played well," Rolfe said. "We stuck to our gameplan and didn't give them any opportunities either until the last 10 minutes. Our forwards did a good job of holding the ball and playing solid defense. Our defense, again, did such a good job. We just had a couple of letdowns there in the last few minutes."
Besides his goal, Rolfe also had a great chance in the 29th that was saved by Sala and another in the 68th that was also stopped by the Hoops 'keeper. He attributed those chances to an integral part of the Fire's gameplan.
"We knew that they were coming with an attacking lineup in the midfield," Rolfe said. "We played Chris (Armas) and Logan (Pause) a little more defensive to hold back down. I was kind of free to find the gaps between (Pablo) Ricchetti in the first half and (Adrian) Serioux in the second half."
With tonight's draw, the Fire still have not won in Dallas since July 4, 1999, when they won 2-1 at the Cotton Bowl. Since Blanco joined the team in late July, the Men in Red are 4-2-3 and still in eighth place in the MLS overall table, currently holding down the final playoff spot. FCD also retained the Brimstone Cup for the sixth consecutive year with the tie.
"It seems like every time we come to Dallas, we always have the better play in the game and the run of chances but it doesn't work out," said Fire midfielder Chad Barrett. "Chris (Rolfe) had a couple of nice shots and a great goal. That lifted our spirits a little bit. We made some defensive subs and everything was going great until the last minute, when we had a defensive lapse. That's the worst way to end a game, especially when you really need three points."
Besides the solid performance of Rolfe, the Fire also got a great game between the posts from goalkeeper Matt Pickens, who saved six of the seven shots on frame that he faced.
"Matt is a very good goalkeeper," Shore said. "He was pretty solid for us tonight. He made some big saves and unfortunately, wasn't able to come up with the last one there at the end but that's soccer. He had a big night for us and probably earned us the point."
Chicago won't have much time to dwell on this result as on Sunday, Eastern Conference-leading D.C. United come to Toyota Park. With five games left for the Fire, they now lead ninth-place Colorado by two points and 10th-place Columbus by three in the scrap for the final playoff spot. Holding on for a few seconds longer would have meant neither team could catch Chicago this weekend.
"You have to give the players a little time to grieve over this one. This isn't a tie for us, this is a loss. This is one where three points were literally taken from us," Barrett said. "We have to regroup. It's a quick turnaround and we have to be ready for D.C.. If we're not, they will walk all over us and that can't happen."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
