Toronto, ON – The Chicago Fire failed to move into a playoff position in the Eastern Conference as the team was held to a 1-1 draw at BMO Field by Toronto FC on Wednesday.
A win would have lifted the Fire into fifth place, and the club was in position after Dilly Duka's 20th-minute goal opened the scoring.
But TFC answered back three minutes later through Robert Earnshaw to claim a share of the spoils.
There was a bit of good fortune involved in Duka's opener as he chipped the ball into the penalty area for forward Mike Magee. The ball eluded the lunging Magee but it still managed to skip past TFC goalkeeper Joe Bendik and into the net.
Chicago's lead lasted just three minutes, however, as Bobby Convey's driven cross from the left wing picked out Earnshaw at the back post. He collected the ball and faked a shot to elude his defender before firing a left-footed effort beyond the reach of Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson.
Alvaro Rey came within inches of putting TFC into the lead in first-half stoppage time when he curled a shot off the crossbar, while Toronto's Justin Braun went close in the second half.
Quincy Amarikwa had a chance to snatch a win for the Fire in the 79th minute after being played through on goal, only for Bendik to come off his line and get a piece of the shot, deflecting it past the post.
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