The 2022 season came to a merciful end for the Chicago Fire and the New England Revolution on Sunday afternoon as the two sides drew 1-1 at SeatGeek Stadium.

There were some chances over the course of the 90 minutes, but it was mainly a whole lot of nothing. That was fitting considering how this campaign has gone for both sides, and at one point it just looked like everyone wanted things to be over with already.

However, the end of the contest was a fun one at least. Dylan Borrero put the Revs in front after scoring a screamer, but Chicago found an equalizer in stoppage time through Alex Monis, who poked home a loose ball from close range.

In the end the points were shared, which made sense considering the two teams that were involved.

Story of the match

It should have been 1-0 in the opening minute. A cross towards the back post picked out an unmarked Giacomo Vrioni, but he skied his effort from just a few yards out. 

The game immediately slowed up afterward, with Chicago not carving out a chance until the midway mark of the half. Jhon Durán did well to dribble inside past a defender and curl a shot towards the bottom corner, but his effort was denied by an outstretched arm from Djordje Petrović

There was another opportunity before the break. Xherdan Shaqiri’s free-kick picked out Kendall Burks in the box, and he was in a fair bit of space, but his header flew well off target.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first. New England had another early chance, as Gustavo Bou cut inside on the break, and his strike was a good one. It wasn’t enough, though, and Chris Brady got an arm up to make the save.

Things continued to follow a pattern as Chicago had a chance midway through this half as well. A mad scramble of sorts in the box led to the ball bouncing around, and it eventually fell to Shaqiri. He got a shot off, but the close-range effort was saved by the goalkeeper.

Just as it seemed like we were destined for a 0-0 draw, New England jumped in front in spectacular fashion. Dylan Borrero settled a cut-back on the edge of the area, dribbled to his right, and then uncorked a strike that flew into the far corner.

That wasn’t the end of it, though. In stoppage time substitute Omar Gonzalez botched a clearance, which allowed the ball to find fellow sub Alex Monis. He made the most of the lucky break, finding the back of the net to steal a draw for the hosts in the final few moments.

The final whistle blew moments later, which meant that neither side ended the season with a win, which was fitting.

Takeaways

It’s kind of weird that both teams rolled out pretty strong lineups. I get playing for pride and honor and whatnot, but surely it would have been better to get some youngsters some experience.  

This was almost certainly the last Chicago broadcast with Tony Meola and Tyler Terens on the call, and even though they were both far from perfect, fans will still be able to look back at their time with some fondness down the road.

Chris Brady didn’t have to do much, but he did come up with one big save during the match, which was good to see. He’ll almost certainly be the starter in 2023, and there’s a good chance he’ll have a move to Europe confirmed before that year is even over. The kid is phenomenal.

There’s been a lot of bad moments this season for the Fire, but that goal from Alex Monis was a lovely way to end the campaign.

Man of the match - The fans

Shoutout to any Chicago or New England fans.

They’ve been forced to watch loads of ugly soccer over the course of this season, and even though there wasn’t anything to play for on this occasion, people still tuned in, either in-person or on TV.

Instead of their patience being rewarded with a banger of a season finale, they were forced to endure another poor 85 minutes. The ending was exciting, but it wasn’t enough to make up for everything that had taken place earlier on, both today and this year. Fortunately for them it’s finally over now, and they won’t have to worry about their respective sides for a number of months.

Maybe next year will be better. Maybe it won’t be. Either way the supporters will still tune in like always.

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