Scott Caldwell and Cristian Penilla each scored in the second half, but the New England Revolution couldn't find a winner after coming back from a goal down in a 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fire at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night.
Caldwell and Juan Agudelo nearly connected for a late winner on a bizarre sequence that began with Fire star Bastian Schweinsteiger going down injured. But the Revs were forced to settle for a share of the points as they remained five points beneath the sixth-place Montreal Impact and the playoff line. New England also pulled even on points with seventh-place D.C. United, who have one more win and a game in hand.
Aleksandar Katai opened the scoring for the visitors early, and his defensive work and charging run sparked the sequence leading to an own goal that put the Fire ahead again midway through the second. The latter lead lasted only three minutes, and despite being unbeaten in their last three, Chicago still face long playoff odds. The Fire sit in 10th place, 12 points behind Montreal.
Goals
- 19' - CHI - Aleksandar Katai | Watch
- 62' - NE - Scott Caldwell | Watch
- 67' - CHI - Michael Mancienne (OG) | Watch
- 70' - NE - Cristian Penilla | Watch
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: The Fire will hope not to be without Schweinsteiger for an extended period after his injury. He departed in the 89th minute shortly after the sequence that nearly led to a Revs winner.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: In the 19th minute, Katai saw a diagonal ball his direction fall well short, but didn't give up on the play. Instead, he chased down and dispossessed Brandon Bye, juked Michael Mancienne into a silly looking shot-block attempt, then finished emphatically beyond Brad Knighton .
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Katai has drawn mixed reviews in his first season in MLS. But this was one of the Serbian's most consistent performances on both sides of the ball. Check out how he goes from defense to offense on Chicago's second goal.
Up Next
- NE: Saturday, Sept. 29 at Toronto FC (7:30 pm ET | TSN4 - full TV & streaming info)
- CHI: Wednesday, Sept. 26 at New York City FC (7 pm ET | TV & streaming info)
