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Fire settles for draw vs. FC Dallas

KrolHarris (GettyImages)

The Chicago Fire dropped two more points at Toyota Park on Thursday night after settling for a 1-1 tie against FC Dallas at Toyota Park. The draw leaves the Fire winless in more than a month while FC Dallas adds its seventh tie of the season.

Brian McBride scored for Chicago to help negate an early David Ferreira goal, but the Fire missed several chances, including a shocking missed sitter by Mike Banner.

Here are the match highlights (including Banner's miss):

What did you think of the draw? Starting to worry about the Fire's disappointing form? Think FC Dallas is doomed to miss the playoffs again?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. i had an ellaborate post written in response but realized it was beyond pointless to continue this debate.

    You are putting too much blame on CdlC, or at least the wrong blame.

    player blunders, not his fault

    the only faults that are his are:

    his 2 ES players….have failed outside Martinez’s 1 goal

    player placement: starting John and BMB might have worked in EPL, but not so much right now. Nyarko on the wing or up top, though he has been incredibly effective on the wings. Are there anymore players misplaced?

    Conde’s blunders had nothing to do with CJ. they have to do with him sucking it up at occassions.

    Dykstra is not CdlC’s fault. Please stop b*tching about this, what’s done is done and few goals so far i would lump on Dykstra.

    i know as a chicago fire fan its tough to not see our team not doing well, but this was to be expected. Losing Rolfe, Blanco and Sega were huge hits. Playing a different style will not happen over night, most of these players are used to playing Hamlett ball (which people b*tched about as well). I fully want the fire to do well, but expecting perfection every season in a league of parity is folly. No team CONSISTENTLY is a dominant side

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  2. Has anyone ever seen a lone striker formation that wins games?? HELL NO! JC led the league in goals and scored for the USMNT last year. GET THE GUY SOME HELP. Schellas Hyndman has run FCD in the ground – this guy has to go. 6 ties? Are you kidding me?? When you play not to lose, you never win. FCD should have won this game, they def outplayed Chicago. McBride was offsides and Shea was not. Kevin Hartman needs to get back on the bench. 2 games in a row he was caught out too far from his goal and we paid the price. Where is my boy Dario? Chicago was lucky to get a point.

    Bruno Guarda is not an MLS caliber player, sorry. Hope Dax is ok. He looked like he was in a lot of pain.

    Both teams need help. I want to see these teams play better soccer.

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  3. I have to disagree with you. FCD dose not want to lose and has figured out a way to do that but are definetly struggling to find cosistency in scoring goals. In MLS you can rarely count on 1 goal winning a game and that is pretty much what FCD is generating this season. If the forward that they have coming in July can help with scoring more goals then they could be this years LA who at this time last year had a similar record. And went on the play in the Finals.

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  4. It was worse than boring. It was boring as HELL. More than anything I was hoping to myself that McBride is making a huge chunk of change to be playing on a team and against a team that sucks so bad.

    The overall skill and competence level was incredibly bad. Specifically, Conde for the Fire was terrible and I have to wonder if Cunningham for Dallas needs some meds to even him out. For the good, however, Shea looks to have potential and McCarty showed good instincts when in. Overall, I’ve got to stop watching good soccer if I’m to become an MLS fan… the gap is significant.

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  5. I blame him for playing Banner instead of Pappa, you’re right.

    I blame him for Conde’s concentration lapses and having a 45 year old defender playing next to him that can’t compensate for his well known over-aggressiveness, you’re right.

    I blame him for Dykstra even being between the posts, period, you’re right.

    You ” do NOT ” want the Fire to be firing coaches left and right, I get that. However, is it really worth throwing away two seasons because you ” don’t want to be the Red Bulls ” because the lack of firing a coach that’s out of his depth….could very well lead to that, indirectly.

    If you’re fine with him still needing to tinker with the roster this many months into the season and subbing out the best player on the field with 30 minutes to go….then more power to you.

    If you’re fine with his two ” main ” guys he’s brought making almost no impact to speak of…then more power to you.

    I, however, don’t accept this ineptitude and it would appear the players don’t either, given their effort level and lack of passion.

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  6. Just becausde I’m not willing to drive 120 miles to watch them tie doesn’t mean I’m a glory fan. I will watch their games and root for them til I DIE, but I have the right to show my displeasure with a bad product. What incentive does managment have to field a good team if they know fans will come and watch a bad team?

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  7. i have watched every match this season. CdlC has his faults and he’s adjusting to the league.

    Hard to pin all the blame on him, as he’s starting the right defenders. He’s playing a variation of strikers trying to find the right pairing or single.

    But you probably blame him for Banner’s goal line miss.

    Or Conde’s flub of the ball leading to FCD’s goal.

    Or Dykstra’s poor positioning on the goal ( i mean he had that near post covered, but he was too far over)

    there are growing pains, but the team shows they have the capability to play his style and successfully, but mental blunders have cost us the games, not the tactics.

    And i do NOT want the Fire to be firing coaches left and right wanting instant success. We are not the red bulls.

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  8. I hate this. Punish the team because they’re losing? That’s when you need to stand up and be counted yourself, not just the players.

    It fans like this that keep teams down, glory hunting fans. Yes it’s a sacrifice, I drive 90 miles but the point is to support the team and league – bonus that games are at least getting better so at the end of the day you paid to see a good game of soccer.

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  9. Both of these teams seem to be uninterested in playing soccer. I’ll bet 90% of the fans knew this was going to be a draw before it was played. Both teams seem to have a coaching problem. When you have teams that seem completely lacking in motivation surely the coach is going to bear most of the fault. Dallas seems like they don’t want to lose but are quite content to tie every single game they play. Chicago seems like a confused mess who are incapable of winning many games.

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  10. Mapp set up the first goal and sent a beauty for an open goal 3 yards out from goal and the guy managed to blast it over.

    One of the few highlights of last night.

    Conde is looking worse as the season rolls on..

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  11. It is tough to watch this team play.

    I am very embarrassed by how things are going, and I do not see any light at the end of the tunnel.

    Justin Mapp was on a tear last night, by far our best player, and he is inexplicably subbed off for a holding forward? There is no logic in that decision, and it scares me.

    How many games do McBride and John need to play together before DLC realizes that two holding forwards playing off each other is not going anywhere.

    Mike Banner? In one game, he managed to not only miss from FIVE FEET, but to have a wide open shot go backwards. I couldn’t have a shot go backwards if I tried.

    Nyarko and Pappa need to start, and it makes absolutely no sense to have Pappa not starting. Tinkering with the line up? What sense does it make to play less skilled players who have no first team chemistry?

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  12. If you’re suggesting giving DLC, not only the rest of the year, but all of next season to ” prove ” to you that he isn’t fit to manage in this league, I suggest you actually watch the matches and not just the highlights.

    DLC may be a great guy, but Sigi and Arena he is not. That comparision filled me with more laughter than your ” internet porn ” line.

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  13. When I watched the highlights last night I was actually glad I had night class! Brown looked horrible and it seemed like Conde was strangely bad too. Not to mention the finishing. I think maybe we need to see the Bone-saw given a shot to start.

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  14. Yes, I’ll continue to rant while the countless Chicago fans spout off rhetorical statements.

    I’d love to drop off the ranting and have an actual discussion if you showed signs of being capable.

    Failed attempt at trolling but par for the course.

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  15. Let me turn that around: you honestly think we wouldnt?

    I’ve explained why countless times over the course of the last few months. Your turn to explain why we wouldnt be.

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  16. If he is auditioning for a big transfer, the biggest one he’ll get is a PDL team. He has been awful all year, being out of position, missing tackles, etc. I’m not sure what’s gotten into him. And we don’t have a keeper capable of bailing him out either.

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  17. It’s time for the players on this team to MAN UP and play. I got tired of driving 60 miles each way last year to watch this team blew leads and lose or tie games. I swore not to renew my season tickets until they started winning at home and I’m glad I stuck with my gut. This team has too much talent not to be winning. Where’s the passion and tradition they like to talk about.

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  18. Also, Chicago’s finishing is atrocious. We could use an attacking mid (Blanco?), a healthy Tim Ward, and a clinical forward to blast in Nyarko’s creations. Nyarko up front is no good, he is not a finisher, but more of a creator, from what I could tell last night and in previous attempts. It was almost a running joke to see if he would ever actually shoot the damn ball!

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  19. It seems to me like Conde is trying to do too much at times. In the Sister Cities game last Saturday, he tried to dribble around like 3 guys, made it past 2, but lost the ball to the 3rd, which led directly to a goal. Last night, he tried to take away the ball from a Dallas player and ended up sitting on the ground while the guy is on his way to blasting a laser past Dykstra. He is a stud CB, but give the guy a new contract, already, and he may settle down a little and stop pressing so much. It almost seems like he is auditioning for a big transfer.

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  20. Arena’s first season with LA didnt make the playoffs

    Sigi’s first season with Crew wasnt impressive

    Both sides turned out well.

    CdlC needs more time then 1/3 of a season, i think you are being a bit tough. We have taken the same squad who played Hamlett ball and changed the tactics. It will take time to adjust. Fire look dangerous at times and possession is there, but the finishing and defense are in shambles. CdlC will get another season after this to prove yes or no. If you want instant gratification i suggest you watch internet porn

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  21. Are you kidding me?! Mapp had 1 beautiful assist and should have had a 2nd. The guy is no defensive stud, but he is finally starting to look decent again this year. Limit his defensive responsibilities, maybe, but get rid of him? No way!

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  22. Can we just finally get rid of Mapp? He was incredibly lazy last night. Huge openings for him to make runs and he just jogged around. No heart or want from him.

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  23. I think the Fire really started to do well when they switched to a 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 with McBride alone, Banner on the left, Nyarko on the right, Mapp as the attacking midfielder, and Husidic and Pause as central midfielders. I’m thinking this for the Fire:

    ———————–McBride————————

    Pappa——————-Mapp——————–Nyarko

    ——————-Pause—-Husidic——————-

    Krol—————Conde—-Brown————-Robinson

    ———————–Dykstra————————

    When Mapp was given a bit more freedom to roam, he found spaces to operate in that put him in dangerous positions. He floated over to the left for the Fire’s goal and had space and time to float in the gorgeous ball for McBride. I understand that McBride was offside, but he normally won’t make that mistake. This lineup provides that creativity in the midfield that the Fire are looking for.

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  24. Until this team fires De Los Cobos and the Front Office responsible for a disturbing amount of questionable moves and non-moves, this Club is just regressing.

    I’m not sure who’s move it was, whether it was DLC or someone in the front office, but whomever decided it was a smart move to let Busch go (based on salary or what they percieved to be skill on Dykstra’s part)…should be fired immediately and banned from any professional football organization. Also, how is DLC’s signings working out for us? Oh, that’s right…they rarely if ever see the pitch.

    People want to bring Blanco up but Blanco’s absence isn’t the most alarming, nor is it the most pressing need.

    The defense is atrocious with the exception of Krol and Conde, at times, the formations and constant line-up switching obviously isn’t working and last but not least, these players just aren’t playing hard or inspired and that falls directly on the manager.

    Though, when you let go prominent members of the Club and fail to replace them and your manager barely speaks the language, doesn’t let you know you’re starting (or not starting) until you arrive at the stadium and has shown a clear lack of knowledge on tactics with your Club…..you begin to understand why these players are just going through the motions.

    It’s rapidly becoming a lost season and with the expected departure of Conde in the off-season and McBride getting a year older, it’s time to get some new people in charge with a new vision and direction.

    Those that wanted Hamlett out, you got what you want. Now where do we go, o’genious-ones?

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  25. McBride is the greatest American striker. 3 World Cup goals and played in 3 World Cups, 2 as a starter. Nearly a 4th goal in 06 but was offsides I believe.

    He’s well respected in England and a hero at Fulham. He was a very consistent striker with at least 9-10 goals a season while there. Not bad since Fulham was usually relegation fodder.

    Supreme in the air. I wonder how many assists or goals he created with his head while at Fulham.

    He should be a DP at Chicago but doesn’t care about the cash, makes like $200,000 a season I believe, whereas if he stayed with Fulham he’d be making like ten times that.

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  26. McBride was offsides, and Shea wasn’t on a goal that got called back. I actually think Chicago was pretty lucky to get out with a point

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  27. Agreed. Brek Shea looked exciting but has no urgency to his runs. McBride still has it in him but they need a creative midfielders. Cunningham again was no where to be found.

    Poor officiating cost Dallas.

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