Fire, Crew play to scoreless draw; Fire back in 1st
The captain can still play.
Healthy again and with a rare chance to start, Fire defender C.J. Brown stepped back into the lineup and helped the Fire to a 0-0 draw against Columbus on Saturday night in front of 18,123 fans at Toyota Park.
It was the 252nd MLS game Brown has started in his 12 seasons, passing Eddie Pope for 15th on the league's all-time leaders list.
"It's an honor," said Brown, 34, the last of the Fire originals. "It's nice. It's a lot of work, I guess. It's been a good career for me. It's been fun, challenging. ... It's fun to be able to get in games and help out the team."
It wasn't an easy spot Brown stepped into Saturday. The first-place Fire (6-3-7, 25 points) had to shut down league scoring leader Guillermo Barros Schelotto while missing central defender Wilman Conde to a minor injury as well as defensive midfielder Logan Pause and left back Gonzalo Segares, both to the Gold Cup.
"Concentration-wise, it's not hard for me to concentrate because I know what they have to offer," Brown said of the Crew. "Without (forward Alejandro) Moreno they're still a tough, tough group to play against. I thought defensively our team did well against them."
Brown has succumbed to injuries more often than not the past two seasons, but he played well Saturday, showing that when healthy he can still pull his weight.
"I feel good," Brown said. "It's up and down every day, but overall things have been good. I've been staying away from the injuries, cross my fingers, and I'm just plugging along, waiting for my turn, and every so often I've been getting them."
Offensively, the Fire didn't lack for chances, firing 18 shots, 11 of them on goal.
"It was definitely a game where we should have scored a few, especially in the first half," Fire forward Brian McBride said. "It was disappointing. On the positive side, defensively our guys were very solid. When we move the ball quickly we cause other teams problems. Now we just need to put it all together."
The Fire plays again Wednesday at New England in the SuperLiga semifinals before returning home next Saturday to face San Jose. The team will try again to get its first home victory since April 5.