Fire rallies to tie Toronto

TORONTO — Marco Pappa and Orr Barouch scored in the second half to help give the Chicago Fire a 2-2 tie with Toronto FC in windy and rainy conditions Saturday night.

Joao Plata opened the scoring in the ninth minute and Maicon Santos gave Toronto (2-4-5) a 2-0 lead in the 47th, but Pappa countered for the Fire (1-3-5) in the 63rd and Barouch tied it in the 75th.

Pappa curled in a free kick from the edge of the box.

Barouch then tied, with the ball bouncing off him as he fell. Corben Bone beat the Toronto defenee at one post and slid the ball across the goal, where it bounced in off Barouch.

“In the end, we were very close to the win,” said Fire coach Carlos do los Cobos. “I think the team deserved to win, but it was a difficult match.”

Toronto goalkeeer Stefan Frei made a great save on Dan Paladini’s close-range chip in the 83rd minute to preserve the tie in the downpour.

“In the second half, we didn’t want to play any more,” Toronto coach Aron Winter said.

The Fire is 0-3-4 on the road.