The Points That Got Away

By Todd McClamroch in News on Apr 17, 2006 1:15PM

The Chicago Fire traveled to Columbus on Saturday in hopes of earning their first victory of the season. Despite earning the lead early in the second quarter, they saw the win slip away and had to settle with one point for the draw.

This is a game the Fire should have won. In the first half, Fire forward Chris Rolfe stole the ball deep in Columbus territory and ripped a shot that beat Columbus netminder Jon Busch but clanked off the post - a near miss that would haunt the Fire. When given another opportunity to score after forward Chad Barrett made a perfect pass to his foot, Rolfe finished this time giving the Fire the lead in the 49th minute.

Unfortunately, the referee had to be involved in Columbus's equalizer when he made a call on Jim Curtin in the penalty box resulting in a Sebastian Rozental goal. The call was controversial as the Crew forward, who had no opportunity to get to the ball, bumped into Fire defender Jim Curtin took an Oscar-worthy dive that resulted in a penalty kick.

The Fire had several other scoring opportunities including a Thiago free kick that was saved by a diving Jon Busch and a Rolfe half-volley that Busch barely tapped over the net.

The Fire did well to create some opportunities and had few defensive breakdowns and came close to earning their first win but instead had to kiss their sister. They now get a short break to prepare for the New England Revolution on Sunday, April 30, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA.