A second-half equaliser from Patrick Nyarko earned the Chicago Fire a share of the spoils in their MLS clash against the Houston Dynamo this evening.
The Fire had the chance to take the lead when Razvan Cocis latched on to a corner from Harrison Shipp and fired his effort at goal, but his effort hit the underside of the bar and bounced clear.
Houston hit back as Giles Barnes raided down the right flank and crossed into the box for Will Bruin, but the forward's effort went wide of the post.
Sean Johnson then made a good stop to keep the Fire level as he denied Ricardo Clark from the edge of the area.
In the second half, the home side took the lead as Alex latched on to a loose ball in the box and was able to bury the ball past Johnson into the net.
Chicago pressed to get back into the match as Nyarko got on the end of a cross by Mike Magee, but he could only guide his header over the bar.
Lovel Palmer then went close again for the visitors as he was afforded space and time to line up a strike from distance, only to see his strike sail narrowly over the bar.
The Fire got their equaliser when Greg Cochrane lifted the ball into the box and Nyarko fired at goal. Joe Willis managed to keep the first effort out, but the forward pounced on the rebound to earn his side a point.
Simon Sinclair
