COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Winless in 30 road matches dating back to the 2014 season, the Chicago Fire entered Dick’s Sporting Goods Park looking to hand the Colorado Rapids their first home loss this season.
Following Saturday night’s 2-1 loss, the road winless streak continues for the Fire, who left the game without points after conceding a late game-winner by Marco Pappa in the 89th minute.
“Nobody is happy with that,” Chicago head coach Veljko Paunovic said of the streak. “The only thing we can do is move forward. We have to keep on working and believing. We have to improve our faith that we can be a winning team on the road.”
Following a scoreless first half, head coach Veljko Paunovic opted for change out of the break, subbing on Homegrown Joey Calistri at the start of the second half for Arturo Alvarez, who experienced knee issues at halftime.
“He couldn’t continue,” Paunovic said. “It wasn’t what we were planning but [Calistri] played very well.”
The Fire Homegrown’s performance was arguably the lone bright spot on the night for Chicago, opening his MLS account to equalize the game at 1-1 in the 81st minute.
“He’s doing good,” Paunovic said of the performance by Calistri. “It’s a long way to go for him, but I’m very happy that he scored.”
Despite the continued frustrations for Chicago, Paunovic was gracious in the defeat to Colorado, a team which remains atop the standings in MLS.
“I’m the first to congratulate Colorado,” he said. “They deserve it. Of course, every time you win, you deserve it. We have to get better. We have to be less innocent in these kinds of games. Experience and determination are important. That’s it and we move forward.”
The Fire have a quick turnaround, having to fly across the country to face the first-place Philadelphia Union on Wednesday night. They will be looking to snap that disappointing winless streak sometime soon, as they will have three more road games in July.
