BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – It didn’t take much for the Colorado Rapids to condemn the Chicago Fire to their latest disappointment: One minute. One goal.
Saturday night’s 1-0 defeat at Toyota Park was just the latest example in a string of slow starts that have plagued the Men in Red throughout much of the 2015 campaign.
Following a swift counter-attacking move, Rapids Homegrown midfielder Dillon Serna capitalized on shoddy marking from the home side with a goal just 51 seconds into the match. The Fire were unable to match it in the remaining 89 minutes, plus five of added time.
It marked another blow to the Fire’s fading playoff hopes as they now sit in the Eastern Conference basement, five points off the last postseason slot.
“Giving up an early goal like that is never good for any team, especially at home where we’re desperate to win the match,” Fire coach Frank Yallop told reporters. “We missed a couple of good chances tonight, but it just didn’t go in tonight when we needed it to. … Colorado defended well, gave us a couple of chances that we didn’t take, and that was the story of the night.”
Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson ultimately had little to do on the night as the visitors went on to register only one more shot on frame, via Designated Player Gabriel Torres in the 74th minute.
With the defeat – the Fire's 13th in the regular season – the danger of missing out on the playoffs is becoming a growing concern among a passionate, but angered fan base, whose boos were well heard at the final whistle. After speaking with players in a “dejected” dressing room after the loss, Yallop found it difficult to blame the endeavor of his side, which dominated aspects of yet another game – Chicago fired off 20 shots (four on goal) – but fell short of the desired result.
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“I cannot fault them for the effort they put in tonight,” Yallop added. “That was important, for all of us. If you can’t quite win a match, so be it. If you don’t try and you get beaten, it’s not good. It’s difficult times, but you’ve just got to keep going and battling through.”
The Fire now have 10 games remaining to turn things around.
“We’ve only won six games all year, so we’ve got to win at least seven now,” Yallop said. “Can we do it? Yes. Is it likely? Well, it’s going to be tough, but we can’t stop believing until it’s over.”
