Fire ties Red Bulls; fitness an issue for Chaves

When Diego Chaves scored his fourth goal of the season on April 23, it looked like the Fire might finally have found a double-digit scorer, the club’s first since Damani Ralph notched 11 goals in 2004.

But after the Fire’s 1-1 tie Sunday against the New York Red Bulls, Chaves remains stuck on 4 goals. Midfielder Marco Pappa passed Chaves for the team lead with his fifth goal of the season, an equalizer in the 58th minute in front of 16,961 at Toyota Park.

The scoring drought is a big part of the reason the Fire is 2-4-11 this season. Goals have been hard to come by, for all the players, not just the 25-year-old Uruguayan.

“Today I had one chance,” said Chaves, who did not get the start Sunday, entering as a 58th-minute substitute. “For me it has been luck. The last few games I didn’t have any. Getting one chance was good.”

Fitness is an issue for Chaves, according to technical director/interim coach Frank Klopas, because Chaves signed with the club late in the preseason.

“From an aerobic standpoint he’s not there,” said Klopas, also blaming the travel required in MLS for wearing down Chaves. “Anaerobically he’s there when he does some sprints, but you can see that late in the games he gets tired. The preseason is very crucial when you come from the beginning. He’s a quality player, and we just have to manage that.

“Look, he’s frustrated because he wants to help the team, but they know we have a team and we rely on other players and Diego’s going to get us forward.”

“I think it has dropped a bit,” Chaves said of his fitness level. “I’m getting tired too much in the games. I think I run sometimes senseless.”

The Fire players say they’re having some bad luck, and to some extent they’re right. Chaves’ double-post shot against San Jose comes to mind.

But clearly that’s not the only reason they only beat a pedestrian goalkeeper like New York’s Bouna Coundoul once, on a shot Coundoul really should have stopped.

Part of it is the lack of a true playmaker, an attacking midfielder who can make the final pass to put a striker like Chaves in position to score. That missing piece could arrive shortly after the summer transfer window opens July 15.

“I think we have good attacking midfielders,” Chaves said. “I think we’re just a bit out of rhythm.”

Part of it is the Fire’s finishing ability has been far from clinical. The Fire has struggled just to get off shots inside the box, and Sunday was no different.

“We had chances,” Klopas said. “Our quality in the final third has to be better, with the final pass, with the shots, the decision-making, for sure, we’ve got to keep working.”

It will take more than 1 goal — Sunday’s was the team’s third in the six games since Klopas took the coaching reins on Memorial Day — to claim the scoring drought is over.

Meanwhile, the unbeaten streak is at seven games, but it’s weighted with six ties. At some point the Fire will need more goals and some wins.

“I’m excited because I scored the goal, but it’s not enough,” Pappa said. “We need to get 3 points, and hopefully the next time we can do better.”