Under different circumstances, Carlos Bocanegra might have been elated with his first goal of the season.
But the veteran Fire defender was decidedly downbeat after his team had settled for a 1-1 tie against Columbus on Saturday night before a Cardinal Stadium sellout crowd of 15,136.
“At home we kind of feel like it’s a [loss],” said Bocanegra, who scored in the second half. “We’ve got to win our games at home, especially this game, which we let get away from us, letting them get on top of us early.”
The tie left the Fire (11-5-7, 40 points) with a six-point lead in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference. The second-place MetroStars picked up two points on the Fire with a 2-1 victory at Kansas City, Mo.
Fire coach Dave Sarachan still found some bright spots.
“We didn’t get the win, but I’m pleased with the effort,” he said. “In the first half we created a lot of chances and didn’t get anything out of it. Coming back and getting a goal in the second half was something we felt would happen. But we didn’t get the next goal.”
Columbus (7-9-7, 28 points) extended its unbeaten streak to three games but fell to fourth place in the MLS East.
The Crew grabbed a 1-0 lead on Edson Buddle’s header in the 37th minute, seconds after Fire midfielder Evan Whitfield had nearly knocked the ball into his own net. Fire defender C.J. Brown cleared the ball, but the Crew promptly brought it back as defender Eric Denton fed Buddle from the left sideline. The Columbus forward then punched the shot past goalkeeper Zach Thornton.
The Fire was not without opportunities, particularly in the second half, but couldn’t successfully penetrate a tightly packed Crew defense in front of goalie Jon Busch.
But in the 66th minute the Fire broke through as Bocanegra scored after Chris Armas had lined a corner kick to a crowd in front of Busch.
The Fire announced that it would act as host for an exhibition match between the national teams of Mexico and Uruguay at 8 p.m. Oct. 15 at the renovated Soldier Field.
