Fire find enough offense to salvage 1-1 draw with NYCFC

Teams that compile 12 shutouts usually make the playoffs. Yet last year’s Fire somehow finished 12th in the Eastern Conference and missed the postseason.

The Fire, who opened their season Saturday night with a 1-1 tie against New York City FC in front of 19,671 at Soldier Field, have tried to address the offense. In the final weeks of the preseason, they brought in forwards Kei Kamara and Georgios Κoutsias to hopefully bolster an attack that produced just 39 goals in 2022.

“We always are trying to make the team better, look at our needs, look at our most pressing needs,” coach Ezra Hendrickson said. “And we’ve maintained throughout the preseason, that putting the ball in the back of the net, getting at least competition in here at the striker position was something that we wanted to focus on.”

The Fire didn’t get a shot on target until the 75th minute, but they made it count when Fabian Herbers scored after his long-range try was deflected to even the game.

On Saturday, holdover Kacper Przybylko started up front. After coming to the Fire from Philadelphia before last season, Przybylko struggled and scored just five times and was supplanted by Jhon Duran. If he had stayed, Duran would have entered the season atop the depth chart, but the Fire sold him to English club Aston Villa in a deal that could be worth $22 million.

With Kamara and Koutsias already in the fold and the Fire still looking for a designated player at striker, it seemed like Przybylko would be on his way out. But Hendrickson shot that down last week.

“Kacper is our player. He’s here. He’s been here with us,” Hendrickson said. “He’s trained all preseason and he’s here with us. He’s a Chicago Fire player. What happened this past week as far as getting those two players has nothing to do with him leaving or anything like that.”

Fair or not, Przybylko was a lightning rod for criticism when the Fire sputtered near the opponent’s goal in 2022. At least for now, it appears he’ll get another chance to show why the Fire invested $1.15 million in allocation money to acquire him last year.

His first opportunity in 2023 looked painfully familiar to the Fire, when he intercepted a pass midway through the opening half and had a clear chance on goal. Instead of attacking directly, Przybylko looked hesitant and eventually shot over the bar.

Przybylko was replaced by Kamara to start the second half, when the Fire were down 1-0 after a 39th-minute goal by NYCFC’s Gabriel Pereira.

Struggling strikers get the most attention, but there’s more to scoring than just whoever starts at center forward. Improving the output has been a focus for the Fire, not just in the transfer market but also training sessions.

“We are very adamant that the [offensive] end has to improve. We have been working on it,” Hendrickson said. “We are going to continue to work on it.” 

NOTES: Goalkeeper Chris Brady was out with a right upper leg injury and replaced by veteran Spencer Richey.

– Both of the Fire’s starting deep-lying midfielders left with injuries prior to halftime. Federico Navarro was replaced by Mauricio Pineda in the 14th minute, and right before intermission Jairo Torres departed for Herbers.