Hung Over: Chicago Fire 0, Charlotte FC 2

The Chicago Fire played their last home game of the regular season knowing that a win would almost certainly give them a spot in the postseason. They didn’t get it.

Playing 72 hours after an electric performance in front of a full house at Soldier Field, the team’s follow-up in front of a crowd of 18,308 would fall flat, as the team failed to register a single shot – let alone one on target – in the opening half. The game showed many of the persistent issues that have held the team back under the past four seasons under Sporting Director Georg Heitz, from a lack of offensive options in the lineup, a dearth of effective options off the bench, and a persistent inability to make smart defensive plays.

Fire Head Coach Frank Klopas’s game plan was to stick with what worked and trust that adrenaline could overcome overcome tired legs, and kept the same starting lineup that played to a 4-1 victory on Wednesday night, anchored by Xherdan Shaqiri in the attacking midfield, whose brace propelled the Fire to victory against Miami.

Charlotte FC’s Christian Lattanzio treated the game as must-win and started his strongest attacking players – Karol Świderski, Kamil Jóźwiak, and Enzo Copetti – together for the first time in weeks – with former Fire player Brand Bronico starting in the defensive midfield.

Charlotte would control the play through the game’s opening minutes, though strong defending would prevent any actual shots on Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady’s net in the opening minutes, allowing the home team to begin to grow into the game. Charlotte would soon regain momentum, forcing Brady to parry a corner well off his line. Charlotte’s appetite wasn’t sated, and Ashley Westwood lasered a shot from well into the midfield past Chris Brady, turning the game’s first shot into its first goal in the 23rd minute.

The visitors would continue to press in the first half. Świderski was fouled bearing down on the Fire net just outside of the box, giving the visitors a free kick in a dangerous area. The Fire would head Świderski’s subsequent kick away and out, ending the danger before it could find its way to Brady.  The Fire would earn two corners as the match entered stoppage time.

The closest the Fire would get to a shot in the half came on its last play off of the later of those corners, when a free shot by Brian Gutiérrez came close but sailed wide of Kahlina’s net.

Looking to spark the offense, Klopas went to his bench at half, substituting off Koutsias in favor of Kacper Przybyłko and two swapping two former FC Lugano teammates, bringing on Maren Haile-Selassie for Ousmane Doumbia. The change pushed Fabian Herbers, who had already played 175 minutes in the past week before kickoff on Saturday, to the defensive midfield.

The changes gave the Fire their first shot of the game in the 53’, but the next change would be Charlotte's, as Miguel Ángel Navarro clipped Coppetti yards from Chris Brady’s net. It took a review from VAR, but a penalty was awarded.

Świderski made no mistake and netted his 12th goal of the season.

The Fire’s disciplinary issues would continue, and Gastón Giménez soon be carded, becoming the first player to get a booking. The card is his ninth of the season and ensures that he’ll miss the team’s Decision Day match with a one-game suspension.

Searching for something that his team lacked, whether an offensive spark of just better discipline, Frank Klopas would bring on Alonso Aceves for Navarro and Carlos Terán for Wyatt Omsberg. In the ensuing moments, Copetti would take off Bronico, the former Fire player, in favor of Derrick Jones.

The Fire would start to have offensive opportunities in the game’s final 30 minutes: In the 69th minute, a deflected ball would give Przybyłko a beautiful look a mere handful of feet from Charlotte’s goal, but was unable to corral the ball that was deflected to him and it was skied well above the goal. In the 72nd minute, Rafael Czichos would have a similar close-in look that would fail to result in a goal, and Giménez would try his luck from farther out a minute later – but to no avail.

That would ultimately be as good of a spurt of offense as the Fire would have, and although the team would ultimately end up outshooting Charlotte and would have a few quality chances, they would have fewer shots to actually land on target, and none in the only place that matters – the back of the net.

The Fire’s next game – their last of the regular season – is against the peripatetic New York City FC at Citi Field in Queens, New York on October 21 following the international break. The Fire currently sit in 11th place, out of a playoff spot and although they technically are still in control of their own destiny, their goal deficit compared to the New York Red Bulls means that they need both a win and help if they want to end their league-leading five season postseason drought.