Chicago Fire earns draw

Coach Veljko Paunovic loved the Chicago Fire's 0-0 draw Saturday at Toyota Park against defending Eastern Conference champion Columbus Crew SC.

Or at least he liked it a lot.

"We got to keep our clean sheet," Paunovic said. "That's what we wanted. We saw in the first two games that we have to be more solid defensively, so I think we did a good job in our defense.

"We tried hard to score and push a little bit higher in the second half. We did have some opportunities. But still I believe the team performed very, very well. I'm very happy with what the team did today defensively."

The Fire managed just 4 shots and possessed the ball just 41.7 percent of the game. At this point in the Fire's rebuilding plan, Paunovic is willing to sacrifice goals and wins for shutouts and draws. Don't expect many games like the team's season opener two weeks ago, a wild 4-3 loss to New York City FC.

Playing again with five defenders and not much of a midfield presence, the Fire frustrated Crew attackers Kei Kamara, Ethan Finley and Federico Higuain. The Fire allowed Columbus 12 shots, most of them from distance and only one of them very dangerous.

"Give the Fire credit," said Crew coach Gregg Berhalter. "They defended with a lot of guys. That's what's happened. Teams are making it tough on us, even if they're at home."

The downside of those tactics is a dull game. The upside is the Fire (0-1-2, 2 points) - last place a season ago - is gaining confidence. And there's the hope that midseason reinforcements will allow it to attack more later in the season.

"It's a big improvement for us and something we can build off of," rookie defender Jonathan Campbell added.

Fire players from goalkeeper Matt Lampson to striker Gilberto clearly support the defensive tactics.

"Defensively today was fantastic," Lampson said, going out of his way to support his coach.

"It's a very good formation," Gilberto said, adding he wasn't frustrated by the lack of service.

The Fire played without speedy midfielder David Accam due to a left knee sprain. Accam said he expects to return for the next game April 2.

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