Djordje Mihailovic's late goal lifts Chicago Fire to draw with Sporting Kansas City

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:13 am

Djordje Mihailovic took advantage of a mishap by Sporting Kansas City keeper Tim Melia in the final seconds to score the tying goal, helping the host Chicago Fire salvage a point with a 2-2 draw on Saturday afternoon.

In the 95th minute, Melia came too far out of his net and tried to make a sliding catch of a free ball. Mihailovic beat him to the ball, however, and converted into an empty net for a stunning equalizer.

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Gadi Kinda scored the go-ahead goal on a header off a set piece in the 83rd minute for Sporting Kansas City, who had a chance to move into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. However, Melia's mental lapse and associated defensive breakdown in front of him left the visitors with only a point.

Chicago, which is fighting for a playoff spot in the East, earned a much-needed point despite seeing its three-game home winning streak come to an end.

While the Fire looked strong early on and delivered a handful of quality chances, it was Kansas City that opened the scoring. It proved to be a simple case of Erik Hurtado outrunning Chicago's back line for the ball and pushing it past Fire keeper Bobby Shuttleworth for his fourth goal of the season.

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Chicago, though, leveled the match right before the half as Robert Beric was credited with his eighth goal of the year following a video review. His shot, which blazed past Melia and seemingly stopped at the line by defender Amadou Dia, was initially called a no goal. However, the video showed it did in fact clear the goal line.

The Fire also snapped a four-game losing streak to Sporting Kansas City, who have earned only this point from two matches since winning three in a row.