Pardo, revamped Fire tie Union

Marco Pappa (left) and Justin Mapp
-- Getty Images

By Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire dominated on the attack and had one of their best stretches of passing and movement of the season. But the Philadelphia Union capitalized on its one half-chance and the two sides played to a 1-1 draw in front of 10,557 at Toyota Park on Wednesday.

Fire defensive midfielder Pavel Pardo tallied a game-tying goal in his Chicago debut to salvage the draw. But it was Veljko Paunovic's 34th-minute tally for the Union that was a bitter pill to swallow from the Fire's standpoint.

"It's disappointing because time is running out, for sure," Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas said of the team's current last-place stance in the Eastern Conference. "That's why with the break, I think we felt good coming into this game. The urgency was there, the desire, so I'm happy about that."

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Fire crumble to Ruiz, 1st-place Union

Fire's Logan Pause (left) -- Getty Images

Philadelphia Union forward Carlos Ruiz simply had one of those goals where you just tip your cap and try to move on. Ruiz's long-distance strike in the 75th minute was the difference in a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday at PPL Park in Chester, Pa.

Ruiz's game-winner came shortly after his free-kick chip was cleared out of the box by Fire second-half sub Logan Pause. From about 30 yards out, Ruiz took a left-footed shot that went over Fire goalkeeper Jon Conway, skimmed off the bottom of the crossbar and went into the goal for a 2-1 lead.

The winning tally stretched Chicago's winless streak to eight games, after the Fire (1-4-5) had previously earned a draw in four consecutive matches heading into Saturday.

"He just hit it as hard as he could," Conway said of Ruiz's strike. "I'm not sure if he was even trying to get it on frame. I felt I was in a good spot, but it just dropped into the goal."

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Fire look for multiple points at Union

Fire goalkeeper Jon Conway -- Getty Images

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Nearly two months have passed since the Chicago Fire's last victory, and it is almost a moot point that Chicago has not lost, either, in its past four matches.

Chicago travels to PPL Park in Chester, Pa., to take on the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, and the Fire are hoping to get more than a point against the second-place team in the Eastern Conference.

"We are close to winning," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said. "I believe in this. We are close to winning."

Close is an accurate description for a team that is tied for the league lead with five draws. But Chicago also is one of only three teams with just one victory on the season (Sporting Kansas City and the Vancouver Whitecaps being the other two).

Read more at ESPNChicago.com.