BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — The Chicago Fire's regular season has come to an end, with a SeatGeek Stadium goalfest seeing the Men in Red fall to the Columbus Crew, 4-3.
It was the final official tune-up for the Fire's second consecutive postseason run, which will begin when they face Charlotte FC in two weeks. The same defensive concerns were once again on display as the visiting Crew stuck four goals past Chris Brady.
Gregg Berhalter made one major change to his starting lineup as he faced off against his former club. Jack Elliott was moved to the bench, awarding Andreas Hanche-Olsen the start at center back next to Mbekezeli Mbokazi. The Norwegian international defender was signed from Mainz at the transfer deadline, and this is the first time he has been a preferred starter.
The Fire's Decision Day got off to an ideal start when they won a penalty just minutes into the game. Robert Lewandowski, who broke an eight-game scoring drought when he found the net off the bench against Colorado last weekend, took the penalty and sent Patrick Schlute the wrong way to open the scoring.
Columbus bounced back quickly, with Gonzalo Tapia scoring on a breakaway to level things. The game was meaningful for the Crew as they were seeking qualification directly to the first round of the playoffs via 7th place.
There was a sense of déjà vu, however, as just five minutes later the Fire won another penalty. Lewandowski converted once more, bringing his season total to double digits in all competitions, although a large portion of those were from the penalty spot.
Within a minute, the Crew scored again, this time via Anass Zaroury. For back-to-back games, the Fire conceded straight from the kickoff after going ahead 2-1, mirroring Paxten Aaronson's strike in Commerce City last week.
Lewandowski was inches away from finding his hat trick just before halftime when his header cannoned off the post. Fortunately, Maren Haile-Selassie was there to tap in the rebound, reinstating the Fire's lead just before the break.
The goal was Haile-Selassie's 13th of the campaign. Quite astonishingly, he is now the team's joint-leading scorer, drawing level with now-departed Hugo Cuypers with the goal.
It was a game that did not stop giving, however, and the Crew drew level for the third time in the 62nd minute. Once again, Tapia was responsible, getting in behind for his sixth of the season.
The Fire used the second half to give minutes to several players who could be major contributors during the postseason. Anzor Mekvabishvili and Andrew Gutman were both halftime subs, although the former struggled mightily when introduced as a deep-lying midfielder for Djé D'Avilla. Jack Elliott and André Franco replaced Mbokazi and Jonathan Bamba as subs, designed to alleviate the risk of a second yellow card, something that would keep them out of the first game of the playoffs. Franco made his home return for the first time in nearly 14 months when he was introduced, and showed some promising signs as he was very involved in several attacks.
However, Laurent Courtois would have the last laugh. In the dying seconds of the game, poor defensive work by Elliott allowed substitute Brais Mendez to put Columbus in front for the first time all night and ensure it ended 4-3.
With the result, the Fire stay in 4th in the East and will host the opening game of the playoffs against Charlotte next week. The dates for the first round matches will be announced tomorrow, with home games expected to be played at SeatGeek Stadium.
Starting XI (4-3-3) — Brady (5); Allen (4.5), Mbokazi (6), Hanche-Olsen (6.5), Dean (5.5); Haile-Selassie (7), D'Avilla (7), Salétros (7.5); Bamba (6.5), Lewandowski (6.5), Zinckernagel (6.5)
Substitutes — Mekvabishvili (4.5), Gutman (6), Elliott (4), Franco (7), Dithejane (NR)
