Chicago Fire and Toronto FC Play to their Third Draw of the Season (VIDEO)

Saturday night marked the third time this season that Chicago and Toronto met in league play, and for the third consecutive match, the two teams split the points. Chicago got off to an early lead when Lovel Palmer headed one home in only the eleventh minute, but Toronto would equalize in the 89th minute, through Dwayne De Rosario’s first goal of the season.

Why Chicago Didn’t Win

They are Chicago. They haven’t learned how to see through games yet, which is why they only have five wins on the season. Chicago didn’t bury Toronto on the multiple opportunities they had the chance to and paid the price for it. Major League Soccer is a league that tends to punish those that don’t capitalize on chances, and that is exactly what happened Saturday night. Chicago dominated play for the majority of the match and had Toronto frustrated. However, Warren Creavalle made a crucial play to save a Chicago goal off a corner, and Joe Bendik saved captain Jeff Larentowicz’s penalty kick. Chicago failing to score a second goal ultimately cost them all three points.

Why Toronto Didn’t Win

They were pinned deep into their own end for the majority of the match, and Michael Bradley was forced to consistently run back to his own box to retrieve the ball from his defenders. This is exactly what head coach Greg Vanney had hoped to avoid. Vanney’s vision for Bradley is to have him playing in a more aggressive role up the pitch. Instead, the Fire had Bradley taking the ball of his own centerbacks, Nick Hagglund and Justin Morrow, and as a result, Bradley was exuding a lot more energy than Vanney would like to see.

The Skinny

Toronto did not deserve all three points in Chicago based on their play, but make no mistake about it, they were absolutely robbed of a late winner when Brazilian striker, Gilberto, sneaked one past Sean Johnson. The goal was wrongfully called off for a foul that had Bradley screaming at referee David Gantar following the match. In a postmatch interview, Bradley even went on to criticize the officiating by saying that “Gantar is just not good enough”.

Whats Next?

With the draw against Toronto, Chicago have now played to their league leading fifteenth tie of the season. The Fire have the least amount of losses in the Eastern Conference with seven, but along with Montreal, also have the least amount of wins with five. They take on D.C. United next week at Toyota Park. It is a must win game for the Fire if they have any hope of catching Columbus for the final playoff spot.

Toronto are only three points behind the Crew for the final playoff spot in the East, and have a game in hand. However, they will need to use Saturday’s late comeback against the Fire as a rallying point to save their season. They have the perfect opportunity to end their six game winless streak next week, when they host a Chivas USA side who is in complete disarray next Sunday.

Starting Lineups:

Chicago Fire: Palmer, Larentowicz, Soumare, Segares, Ward, Watson, Cocis, Alex, Nyassi, Amarikwa

Toronto FC: Bendik, Bloom, Hagglund, Morrow, Morgan, Bekker, Bradley, Creavalle, Oduro, Gilberto, Jackson.