BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Inside the Chicago Fire locker room, dejected players sat in their chairs with forearms on their knees. Voices were soft and low, if heard at all.
Smiles were hard to find until a young reporter walked up to the always classy Harry Shipp, who greeted him with a handshake and a grin. Shipp was asked about growing up near Chicago, where he slept in a room with Fire posters on his wall.
That upbringing has always made him exceedingly proud to represent the Chicago Fire badge, which he’s now done in 57 MLS matches. It’s also made the recent struggles even tougher to deal with. A crowd of 18,317 filled Toyota Park to see the Fire fall 1-0 to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night, and Shipp understands how frustrations have built up. Supporters aren’t satisfied with 23 points in 24 games. Neither is Shipp.
“You can’t blame them,” he said of frustration within the fan base. “They want to support a team that’s doing well on field, and the last couple years, we haven’t been able to get it done. For us, we just hope they keep supporting us and recognizing we’re doing everything possible. We’re not sleeping well at night. We’re coming in, and it’s miserable for us to be here not doing well, because it is our livelihood. Hopefully they recognize that, and hopefully they know we want to do well just as much as they want us to do well.”
Match Stats and OPTA Chalkboard
Again, a disparity in shooting percentage did the Fire in. Colorado put two shots on target all game. A first minute tap-in from Dillon Serna was one of them. Conversely, Chicago had 20 shots in the game. Two clanged off the post. Four hit the target. None hit the net.
The effort was unquestionable. Eric Gehrig raced back time after time to squash counterattacks. Club veteran Patrick Nyarko was disruptive in and around the penalty area throughout his shift. Kennedy Igboananike fought through numerous hard challenges. David Accam showed his unrelenting passion by waving his arms to get the fans loud and excited, then covering his face with his shirt as the final whistle blew.
“I thought the general performance was great,” Nyarko said. “We were patient. We gave up a pretty early goal. That kind of settled us a little. Then we got into the game and created a ton of chances. We’ve got to make them count, but also we need to guard ourselves so we don’t go down to an early goal.”
Shipp repeatedly described the goal as “unacceptable.” Chicago came out fast, looking to press the Rapids. They got caught high up the field and were punished. But for the next 89 minutes, the home side showed far better of themselves than their opposition. The Fire completed 279 more passes than Colorado and held 68 percent of possession.
There were times when a goal seemed inevitable, but it wasn’t to be. When Gilberto’s sliding stoppage-time effort dinged off the post, it cemented the Fire’s fate. Maybe a loss wasn’t deserved, but very seldom is this game fair.
“The way we’ve played this year, we don’t necessarily deserve to have any luck,” Shipp said. “But tonight, there were some times where I thought we were a little bit unlucky.”
