You could nearly taste it.
It was about this time last week the confidence around the Chicago Fire was higher than its been in a very long time. For good reason: the team had been victorious in an impressive seven of eight games, scored some brilliant goals and pushed themselves to the brink of playoff qualification.
The Men in Red headed to Kansas City last Friday knowing a win would push them to first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time since May 2008. But a flat first half performance forced the side to chase the rest of the game and eventually resulted in a 2-0 loss.
Worse than that, somewhat curious dismissals of defender Gonzalo Segares and head coach Frank Klopas meant the team was without the pair for Wednesday night’s clash vs. Philadelphia.
HIGHLIGHTS: Union 3, Fire 1