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Chicago Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas and former head coach Carlos de los Cobos have been at the helm for 11 games apiece this year. So this is an opportune moment to take a look at how things have changed -- or not changed -- under their leadership this season.

De los Cobos was fired on May 30 after 11 matches and a 1-4-6 record (nine points). He was dismissed following a 0-4-5 stretch that included a winless May against teams such as the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto FC and the San Jose Earthquakes.

Klopas has not fared much better. As the interim head coach for the Fire's past 11 matches, the team is 1-3-7 (10 points). His club is dead last in the Eastern Conference with a 2-7-13 record and 19 points. And with a double-digit points deficit separating Chicago from a playoff position based on the current standings, the Fire likely will miss the postseason for a second straight year.

That notion cannot be sitting well with the Fire brass -- the likelihood of being one of only eight teams on the outside of MLS's expanded playoffs system.

Klopas' side had a modest stretch in June and July where the Fire posted a 1-0-6 mark. Since then, though, Chicago has a 0-3-1 record and has shown an extreme lack of consistency. This past week included a positive effort (albeit a 1-1 draw) against the Philadelphia Union last Wednesday, followed by their worst defensive performance of the season against Vancouver in a 4-2 loss on Sunday.

Fire captain Logan Pause dismissed any fatigue factor from having to play two matches in a five-day stretch.

"I don't think anyone would or should say that was the reason [for Sunday's loss]," Pause said. "We came off a pretty solid performance on Wednesday, and then [Sunday] we definitely played like the last-place team."

From a results standpoint, there really is only one clear-cut category where the Fire had shown improvement during Klopas' tenure, and that is the defense. This might not be the best time to state this considering Chicago's horrendous four-goals-allowed effort against Vancouver. But despite that match, the Fire have allowed only 11 goals in 11 games under Klopas. Chicago gave up 19 goals in De los Cobos' first 11 matches this season.

Other than that, Chicago has not made any positive strides in the standings. The offensive output has taken a massive hit under Klopas, with the team posting only eight goals during his tenure versus 15 goals under De los Cobos this year. The Fire also have not earned a victory at Toyota Park with Klopas at the helm.

Chicago has created its share of scoring chances, and the Fire have had some stretches of possession. But those traits gloss over the reality that this team has not had a consistent finisher.

The Fire have talked all season about the difficulties of trying to gel with a revamped group and a young roster. But MLS's newest teams have quickly adjusted and shown stretches of success.

The second-year Philadelphia Union has turned into one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and Peter Nowak's club has led the East standings on several occasions. Third-year Seattle Sounders FC currently is in the top third of the Western Conference and is the league's top spectator draw. And this year's two expansion teams, the Portland Timbers and Vancouver, posted a combined 3-0-1 record against the Fire.

Coaching changes aside, when the Fire's 2011 season is in the books, the focus has to be on the organization's handling of its personnel. And that falls on Klopas and his staff's technical side of the job.

The Fire dropped the ball in the offseason when they did not address their glaring central midfield need. Now Chicago has Sebastian Grazzini, and he is rushing to gain full fitness in a matter of several weeks.

The Fire did come out on the positive end by trading Calen Carr for Dominic Oduro, who netted his team-leading sixth goal Sunday. But Oduro's final touch still is an issue, and he was not Chicago's original attacking option in the first place.

The Fire were touting their Uruguayan tandem of Diego Chaves and Gaston Puerari heading into the season. Puerari showed promise but netted only one goal and was transferred to Club Atlas. Chaves had four goals in the Fire's first six games. But he has yet to find the back of the net since his April 23 tally against the Houston Dynamo. Klopas also publicly talked about fitness being an issue with Chaves in late June.

The tone of the Fire's season would be drastically different if Chicago turned some of its league-leading 13 draws into wins. Things would be different if Orr Barouch and the Fire did not hit the woodwork so frequently.

But close does not cut it in this results-driven business, and the Fire have not delivered for a second straight campaign.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Chicago Fire technical director and now interim head coach Frank Klopas wears his Fire passion at the highest level.

Klopas' soccer roots are embedded within the Fire organization and the city of Chicago, and he wants to see this club return to its glory years that he experienced as a player. But Klopas also is responsible for assembling the bulk of this year's Fire squad, which has posted a 1-4-6 record this season under recently fired head coach Carlos de los Cobos.

Klopas did not want to take the coaching reigns, but this assignment is personal.

"I'm going to do everything possible to make sure that when I was technical director to do the work to bring the right players here, and now as a coach, to make sure that myself and the staff do everything humanly possible to prepare the guys and give them every opportunity to be successful," Klopas said. "Then I can walk away with my head high and say I've done everything possible that I could. Then I will feel good about it."

The Fire dismissed De los Cobos on Monday, and the team is in the midst of a nine-game winless streak heading into Saturday's match against Seattle Sounders FC at Toyota Park.

Klopas said that the decision to let go of De los Cobos -- which was made on Sunday and announced the following day -- was an ongoing evaluation following a playoff-less 2010 and a one-win start to 2011.

You cannot fault the Fire for giving De los Cobos enough time to adapt to MLS. He had 41 matches under his belt.

"In Greece, I had a coach that they hired, and before preseason was over they fired the guy," said Klopas, a native of Greece. "It was crazy. They paid the guy a couple million dollars. Why didn't they hire me?"

De los Cobos met with the Fire earlier in the day in his final gathering with his former players.

"It takes some pretty strong character to show up in front of a big group that decided to let you go and face your former players," Fire captain and defensive midfielder Logan Pause said. "He thanked the guys and he thanked everyone for the opportunity. We all wished him well."

Klopas said Tuesday that the Fire will not make drastic changes as far as their attacking approach on the pitch. Set-piece defending is one specific focal point that Klopas wants to see some drastic improvement.

"This is not the time when you are experimenting stuff," Klopas said. "You do stuff like this in preseason, when you have two months to be trying to figure things out. I think we just have to fine tune certain things. If you look at every game, I think that as a team we have created opportunities. This team always scores goals. On the other hand, we have allowed a lot of goals."

Klopas headed his first training session on Tuesday. As the week progresses, tweaks to the system certainly will arise. Fire defender and midfielder Gonzalo Segares said there will be reinforcement about tape studying -- focused both at their own tendencies and the tendencies of their opponents.

In the grand scheme, however, the Fire's success boils down to work ethic and game-day execution.

"Things don't change from our end," Pause said. "I think we need to work harder. I think we need to work more intelligently on the training field. And I think I can help continue to move that forward. But in terms of my job, it's to help the team however I can on the field. That's not really going to change too much."

The Fire's poor record ultimately paved the way to De los Cobos' departure, and perhaps the coaching switch will serve as another wake-up call as Chicago attempts to rectify the worst start in team history.

"Maybe some guys felt that they didn't get an opportunity with Carlos, and others did," Segares said. "I'm sure guys will try harder to show they belong in the starting 11 and raise the intensity in practices. There's going to be more hitting and stuff like that, which is good. I like that. Maybe we need some of that."

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire's seemingly endless winless streak continues to press on, but things could have been much worse.

Fire defender Cory Gibbs' 80th-minute header salvaged a 2-2 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday in front of 11,926 at Toyota Park. But Chicago's winless streak reached nine games (0-4-5 during that stretch), leaving them at 1-4-6 overall.

"Right now we're not getting results," Fire captain Logan Pause said. "Listen, let's be honest. One win out of 11 is not good enough, and we know that."

Gibbs' diving header struck just inside the near right post to equalize the match. Baggio Husidic sent the ball in from the right side, and Gibbs dove straight forward. Former Fire and current Quakes goalkeeper Jon Busch was trying to cover the near right post, but he could not get there in time. Gibbs ripped off his shirt in celebration, taking a yellow card in the process.

Dominic Oduro also scored for the Fire, posting the 100th regular-season goal in team history.

Both Fire goals came after Chicago fell behind on two different occasions in the second half. Ramiro Corrales and Chris Wondolowski netted goals to garner 1-0 and 2-1 leads, respectively, for the Quakes.

"We are not focused in important moments of the games," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said. "A dead ball, a set piece we conceded a goal in the first minutes of the second half. That is a very important moment for us to lose focus."

The Quakes (3-4-4) looked like they had the upper hand following Wondolowski's tally in the 74th minute. Wondolowski, who will be joining the U.S. National Team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, headed the ball inside the far left post. He had plenty of space to receive the ball from Anthony Ampaipitakwong, and Yamith Cuesta did not get back in time to mark up Wondolowski.

"He wasn't marked," Gibbs said. "I think Cuesta didn't know that he was in front of him or whatever the situation. I was on the front side of him covering the space for the cross, and [Wondolowski] was open. You can't do that. Those are the things you need to tighten up on specifically. We can get specific and say, 'How should we have organized it?' At some point we need to take ownership and step up to it and just play focused."

Corrales got the Quakes on the board with a header off of an Ampaipitakwong corner for a 1-0 lead. Corrales rose above a couple of Fire players -- Cristian Nazarit being the closest. He sent the ball into the right side of the net past Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson, who was making his first start since a 4-2 loss to the Portland Timbers on April 14.

Oduro leveled the match at 1-1 in the 56th minute. Nazarit took the initial shot, which grazed off of Quakes defender Steven Beitashour and hit the left post, then ricocheted and hit the right post -- incredibly reminiscent of a sixth-minute strike by Diego Chaves that also hit both posts. In this case, however, the ball dropped into the middle of the goal area and Oduro was there to clean up for the tally.

Analysis: Only one win is in the books through 11 games -- almost a third of the 2011 season. The team preaches "baby steps" and "improvements," but clearly it is not showing on the scoreboard, where it matters most.

The Fire posted a 0-1-3 record in May, a month that included a majority of teams at the bottom halves of their respective conferences. The schedule only gets harder, and the Fire will be without midfielder Marco Pappa, who will represent Guatemala in the Gold Cup and miss a couple of Fire matches.

Chicago had a reasonable first-half performance on Saturday, but the defensive effort was a letdown after the break. Allowing San Jose's leading scorer, Wondolowski, to have significant space is not acceptable for a team that is struggling to simply stay afloat in the Eastern Conference.

Is there a breaking point where the Fire will resort to significant changes personnel-wise, or coaching-wise? Is there a point where the patience has worn thin?

Chicago already has a double-digit points deficit behind the East-leading Philadelphia Union (20), which is playing in only its second season. Pending a total reversal of fortune and results, the Fire are well on their way to a second straight playoff-less campaign.

Philadelphia Union forward Carlos Ruiz simply had one of those goals where you just tip your cap and try to move on.

Ruiz's long-distance strike in the 75th minute was the difference in a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday at PPL Park in Chester, Pa.

Ruiz's game-winner came shortly after his free-kick chip was cleared out of the box by Fire second-half sub Logan Pause. From about 30 yards out, Ruiz took a left-footed shot that went over Fire goalkeeper Jon Conway, skimmed off the bottom of the crossbar and went into the goal for a 2-1 lead.

The winning tally stretched Chicago's winless streak to eight games, after the Fire (1-4-5) had previously earned a draw in four consecutive matches heading into Saturday.

"He just hit it as hard as he could," Conway said of Ruiz's strike. "I'm not sure if he was even trying to get it on frame. I felt I was in a good spot, but it just dropped into the goal."

Michael Farfan had a 64th-minute goal for Philadelphia (5-3-2), which moved into first place in the Eastern Conference after the previously first-place New York Red Bulls played to a 2-2 draw against the Houston Dynamo. Farfan's goal took a slight deflection off of a Fire defender, and Conway could not react to the late change in trajectory.

Dominic Oduro scored the Fire's lone goal in the 67th minute to tie the score at 1-1. Oduro got past Farfan and slotted the ball just inside the near right post past Union goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon.

Ruiz's game-winning goal came only a few minutes after Gaston Puerari nearly tallied a go-ahead goal for Chicago. Puerari, who came off the bench as Baggio Husidic was given the start, stayed even with the Union's back line in the 72nd minute and found an opening as he drove toward Mondragon. Puerari's shot got past Mondragon, but Union defender Sheanon Williams bailed out his goalkeeper with a huge goal-line stop to keep the match level.

The Fire's struggles have certainly taken a toll on the team this year. Conway noted that the Fire's tendency is to play better when their backs are against the wall -- not the type of habit or situation Chicago would prefer to face.

"To be honest with you, I think we're better off playing anxiously," Conway said. "There are times when we've taken goals and been slapped in the face, and then we come back out with vigor and we're moving the ball crisper to get back into the game."

This time around, however, Ruiz's tally proved to be the final word.

Analysis: Things just can't get much worse for the Fire, who have only two points to show for their efforts in May -- a month that in retrospect should have been one of the easiest stretches in Chicago's schedule.

The Union's defense has been steady for most of the season, but its offense was lacking heavily entering Saturday's match. Now the Fire are responsible for surrendering the Union's only multi-goal game of the season.

The Union was the front-runner in high-percentage scoring opportunities. Ruiz had some strong scoring moments in the 36th and 37th minutes, and Carlos Valdes just missed the frame in the 25th as the Fire somehow escaped the first half unscathed.

Among the Fire's few accomplishments, Chicago had a patient and composed start to the match for about 15 minutes, but the Fire did not sustain that composure. Oduro's goal was a nice piece of individual work, and Puerari probably deserved a goal to his name.

A big personnel question has to be directed toward head coach Carlos de los Cobos making two substitutions in the 60th minute, when the match was still level. Pause entered for midfielder Corben Bone, and Puerari subbed for Husidic. Puerari probably should have been the starter in the first place, but the move to bring in Pause was questionable considering what De los Cobos was saying about his midfield entering the match.

De los Cobos elected to go with a defense-focused substitution with a half hour left on the clock. Was he focused on bunkering at that stage? The Pause substitution would have been more appropriate with a Fire lead or a draw with less than 10 minutes left on the clock, not 30.

De los Cobos did not stick with his attack-focused central midfield, and there were no immediate signs that called for that switch in the 60th minute.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Nearly two months have passed since the Chicago Fire's last victory, and it is almost a moot point that Chicago has not lost, either, in its past four matches.

Chicago travels to PPL Park in Chester, Pa., to take on the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, and the Fire are hoping to get more than a point against the second-place team in the Eastern Conference.

"We are close to winning," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said. "I believe in this. We are close to winning."

Close is an accurate description for a team that is tied for the league lead with five draws. But Chicago also is one of only three teams with just one victory on the season (Sporting Kansas City and the Vancouver Whitecaps being the other two).

The Fire (1-3-5) have yet to win on the road this season and have not won since a 3-2 home opener victory over Kansas City on March 26.

"Them playing at home, we know it's going to be a tough game," Fire defensive midfielder and team captain Logan Pause said of the Union. "In-conference, they're higher up the table than we are, so it is a challenge. The results really haven't been going our way."

The Fire likely will continue with their 4-1-4-1 formation, where Chicago has heavily possessed the ball in recent games. But against Toronto FC last week, the Fire produced a better attack in the final third when they switched to two men up top in salvaging a 2-2 road draw.

"I agree, when we played with two forwards and we put another guy in front, we had more presence in the attacking zone," De los Cobos said. "But in the first half I think we had some good moments, too. The most important thing for me is playing with order. The systems are only our guides to follow."

The Fire will not make a whole lot of tweaks to the starting lineup -- if any -- following the Toronto match. Center back Josip Mikulic continues to nurse a shoulder injury, so the center back duo of Cory Gibbs and Yamith Cuesta will stay the same. Goalkeeper Jon Conway is maintaining his starting role, even with backup Sean Johnson participating in full training again following a quad injury.

Pause is working his way back to full health from a hamstring injury, but De los Cobos said Thursday that he will continue with the same central midfield of Daniel Paladini and Corben Bone, who is coming off his first complete match of the season against Toronto.

"We can see that he has great qualities," De los Cobos said of Bone. "He's very good with the ball -- a good distributor with the ball."

Former Fire player and Union head coach Peter Nowak has seen his squad struggle in recent weeks, in the midst of a 0-2-1 stretch. But Philadelphia (4-3-2) has thrived at home with a 3-0-2 mark. The Union has scored a league-low six goals, but it also has allowed only six goals, which ties for second-lowest in MLS.

"With a guy like Peter, they're going to be a well organized team, and a team that fights," Pause said. "Outside of the last couple of games, they haven't allowed many goals this year. They're a hard team to play against."

Only five players have scored a goal for the Union this season, with Carlos Ruiz leading the club with two. Sebastien Le Toux, who posted a stellar 14 goals and 11 assists last season, is sitting on just one goal and one assist this year.

Momentum has been hard to come by for Chicago, but the Fire have a little bit of steam following a second-half run last week against Toronto. Chicago overcame a poor hour-long stretch as late goals from Marco Pappa and Orr Barouch helped garner a draw at BMO Field.

"In the first half of the Toronto game, we struggled as a team," Pause said. "The last half of the second half, all of a sudden there's a sense of urgency, and we're like a different team. We're trying to keep that. We're trying to put a 90-minute, complete game together."

In other Fire personnel news, forward Diego Chaves was limited a bit in training this week with a foot contusion, but he is expected to be ready. De los Cobos also said this week that forward Cristian Nazarit should be available for selection.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire and Toronto FC have some similarities in that both sides underwent some significant turnaround heading into the year, and both are struggling near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

The Fire head to BMO Field this Saturday to take on the Reds, and both sides could use a lift.

Chicago (1-3-4) is in the midst of a 0-3-3 stretch and is winless since its home opener on March 26 against Sporting Kansas City. Toronto (2-4-4) did garner its second win on May 7 against Houston, but the squad is coming off a 1-0 loss to FC Dallas on Wednesday.

The Reds have the home-field advantage in their corner this weekend. Toronto is a respectable 2-1-3 at BMO this season.

"We're definitely anticipating for them to come at us in the first couple of minutes, especially with the crowd -- it's always a hostile crowd," Fire defender and midfielder Gonzalo Segares said.

The Fire defeated Toronto, 1-0, during the preseason's Carolina Challenge Cup. Chicago grabbed a first-half lead with a Marco Pappa goal before having to play the final 55 minutes shorthanded because of a Logan Pause red card.

With Dwayne De Rosario no longer with the Reds, the focal point of the team is midfielder Julian de Guzman. As far as a consistent goal scorer, Toronto has not established a primary source on the offensive end just yet. But the Reds display an attack-minded 4-3-3 formation.

Forward Joao Plata, a 19-year-old Ecuadorian, tallied a goal and an assist during Toronto's 2-1 win over Houston, garnering MLS Player of the Week accolades for his efforts.

"Their soccer goes through de Guzman, so we've got to take extra care of him every time he has the ball and pressure him so he doesn't create anything," Segares said. "The Plata kid can score some goals. We saw most of them in Charleston, but they have had a couple changes."

For a third straight game, Chicago should bring out a similar lineup as the Colorado Rapids and Vancouver Whitecaps matches. Defender Cory Gibbs did not dress against the Whitecaps, but Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said Gibbs is ready. Midfielder Michael Videira (concussion) was taken off the MLS Injury Report earlier in the week.

But Pause is questionable with a hamstring strain, and midfielder Patrick Nyarko is out with a concussion.

Recent Fire signing Cristian Nazarit is traveling with the team, but De los Cobos said the forward will be on the bench.

"Nazarit is working hard, but his level of fitness is not ideal," De los Cobos said. "But he's coming with us. He'll stay on the bench. He wants to play, but he needs some time."

While the Fire have notched a point in each of their three previous games, Chicago continues to hold an eighth-place stance in the East standings. This month is supposed to be the Fire's time to make a move because they are in the midst of one of the easiest stretches in their schedule. They have already faced expansion Vancouver, they take on a Toronto side that is seventh in the East this Saturday, and they wrap up May against the Western Conference's worst side, the San Jose Earthquakes.

The possession aspect against Vancouver was a positive, but the goal scoring needs to show up like it did at the start of the campaign.

"It's key for us to go over there from the beginning of the game and get possession of the ball and just create chances," Segares said. "They're pretty motivated and they won their game against Houston, but we can go anywhere and get some points. Hopefully the results will start coming our way."

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire offense possessed the ball for almost 70 percent of their scoreless draw against the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps last Saturday.

They garnered a miniscule point in the standings and no goals to show for their efforts.

The team's finishing touch has been absent for more than a month now. Chicago (1-3-4) showed promise right out of the gate, particularly with a three-goal effort en route to a 3-2 win over Sporting Kansas City on March 26, followed by a 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on March 30 in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play-in match.

The Fire have not posted a multi-goal effort since then, and the 4-2 loss to the Portland Timbers on April 14 included both defenses swapping own-goals.

So where has the finishing gone? How can a team that has the ball for two-thirds of a game not manage to tally a single goal?

"The confidence is always important, and maybe it's the technique in the moment, the way that you shoot the ball, the way that you have reception of the ball after you shoot," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said. "Maybe it's the pressure of this moment because the player -- I'm talking generally -- has a good option and he misses, which is part of this game."

True, unfinished chances happen all of the time in soccer. But with only five goals over a six-game stretch, while posting a 0-3-3 mark during that span, the Fire have to be beyond frustrated that they have not capitalized during most of these moments.

Diego Chaves, who leads the Fire with four goals, had the closest attempt against Vancouver with a shot that hit the right post.

"I've seen goal scorers completely miss-hit it and it goes in the back of the net," Fire defender and midfielder Gonzalo Segares said. "Other times, you hit it really cleanly and it doesn't go in. I think that toe poke that Diego had, he placed it well but was unlucky it hit the post."

The problem for the Fire is that nobody else has truly stepped up beyond Chaves. The Uruguayan had a hot start to the season with three goals in the team's first three games, but the rest of the Fire's goal production has been minimal.

Dominic Oduro did net a goal during a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy in April, but Oduro has had other strong chances to put the ball away. His latest was a one-on-one chance against Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly in the 32nd minute, when Oduro tried to shoot at the near left post and lofted the ball over the crossbar.

"Dominic did everything well, and he even said that he felt that if he placed it at the side that everybody saw, he felt that the goalkeeper was leaning that way," Segares said. "So he tried to kill it the other way. Things happen so fast, you've got to make decisions really fast. The good thing about it is that we're creating the chances, and I'm pretty positive that eventually they're going to be in the back of the net."

The number of chances and possession might dwindle a bit as the Fire hit the road in front of a typically rowdy BMO Field crowd in Toronto.

But Toronto FC has had three losses in which it has given up three or more goals in each match. The Fire should have their opportunities. They just need to start putting them away.

"It's a talent. It's a natural talent," De los Cobos said. "It's necessary to work every day, and I think a very important part is the mentality of this moment, and the conviction to do it."

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Chicago Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos stands by his approach -- possession game, attractive soccer and offensive-minded soccer.

The Fire handled the possession aspect on Saturday against the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps. The clear problem was that Chicago had no final touch and played to a scoreless draw in front of 11,680 at Toyota Park.

The Fire (1-4-4) are winless in six straight games.

"I want to play football," De los Cobos said. "For me, it's very easy to put the ball forward with long balls, but I don't like it. I'm going to die with my idea, with my philosophy to play. It's possible to happen whenever. I believe in myself. I believe in my players."

The theme on Saturday was missed chances, but they were amplified by the fact that Chicago had plenty of space to work with and high-percentage scoring chances throughout the night. The Fire's productivity, however, resulted in only a 4-2 shots on goal advantage over the Whitecaps.

In the first half when Dominic Oduro lofted a shot over the crossbar at close range in the 32nd minute, and at the time it was the best scoring chance for either side. Marco Pappa played a perfect ball to Oduro, who then attacked toward the left side of the box, cut inside to his right and lost the Whitecaps' defense. Oduro had only Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly in his way, but his shot toward the upper left of the frame sailed over the bar and into the Section 8 crowd.

In the 44th minute, Diego Chaves hit the right post as Oduro and then Pappa worked the ball from right to left to create Chaves' scoring chance. Chaves had another close call in the 18th minute when Chaves and a pair of Whitecaps defenders converged on Oduro's send toward the box. Chaves took a spill, and whether or not there was contact, Vancouver defender Alain Rochat disrupted the play.

In the 64th minute, Corben Bone had a strike shortly after a Pappa free kick, but Bone's shot also sailed over the crossbar. Chaves and Gaston Puerari also had some second-half strikes that reached the fans and did not go on frame.

"I think we had control of the game, maybe 70, 75 minutes, but at the end of the game we had some problems," De los Cobos said. "We feel some frustration because we had opportunities to win this match. We lost some order, and we have all the time in the game."

The Whitecaps (1-3-4) rarely got into the offensive third with a dangerous threat, but in the 75th minute, Eric Hassli had an opportunity that might have been better than Oduro's. Hassli received the ball from Davide Chiumiento as he stayed even with the Fire's back line and found himself with plenty of space against Fire goalkeeper Joe Conway. Hassli attempted to fake out Conway and attack to the left, but his maneuver -- if it even qualifies as a maneuver -- was ineffective and Conway snagged the ball.

Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson was not part of the bench roster because of a right quad injury, so Alec Dufty was the backup to Conway. Midfielder Patrick Nyarko also was missing because of an undisclosed illness that has lingered for the past several days. Fire defender Cory Gibbs, who rejoined the team in full training on Thursday following a hamstring injury, did not dress Saturday.

Analysis: The Fire went with the same starting lineup in back-to-back games for the first time this season. So the combination of playing a poor Whitecaps side and the Fire having some continuity on their own side had to play a big factor in their possession game.

But Chicago wasted plenty of key scoring chances, taking 12 shots in all, but only putting four on frame. The Fire had more than enough room to work with as the Whitecaps defense sagged back on a regular basis.

Oduro's finishing has been brought into question before his Fire tenure, but his first-half chance with only Nolly in his way was a chance that needed to be a goal. Chaves' chance at least hit the frame, but that too would have changed the game. Minimally, the Fire should have produced a 2-0 halftime lead, but the Whitecaps escaped with a point on the road.

The Fire's lack of productivity with their final touch or two created a match that was painstaking to watch. And the brand of ball that De los Cobos wants to play has not come to fruition.

While possession and build-up are keys toward an attractive brand of soccer, the team's lack of offense Saturday was not attractive soccer. Only four shots on goal while the team has the ball at its feet for most of the game was not attractive soccer. Botching fantastic scoring opportunities against an expansion side that was ineffective was not attractive soccer.

Chicago was the better side against Vancouver. But considering the Fire's profound absence of finishing, their scoreless draw was a just result.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- This is not quite a do-or-die part of the MLS season, but the Chicago Fire have quickly dug themselves into a hole over a five-game winless streak.

May represents a critical month for the Fire, who are second-to-last in the Eastern Conference. With three of Chicago's four May matches against teams with losing records, it is the club's best situation to make up some ground.

One of those teams is expansion Vancouver Whitecaps FC, which the Fire hosts for the first time Saturday at Toyota Park. Vancouver's defense has allowed the second-most goals (14) among MLS clubs, but Chicago's offense has been in a little funk with only three goals in its past three games.

"We need to win -- it's very important for us to win Saturday," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said. "The guys are trying to finish, but that's part of the game. Sometimes it doesn't happen."

The Fire (1-3-3) have yet to earn a league victory since their 3-2 home opener over Sporting Kansas City on March 26. Chicago instituted a 4-1-4-1 formation last week during a 1-1 road draw against the defending MLS champion Colorado Rapids. It is expected that De los Cobos will tout a similar approach and lineup on Saturday. The lineup against Colorado featured first-time Fire starter Daniel Paladini and 2010 draft pick Corben Bone in the midfield. De los Cobos also liked playing Gaston Puerari within that midfield group.

"I like him [in the midfield] because he's coming from behind to arrive in the box and can always create an opportunity on net," De los Cobos said of Puerari. "With Gaston, Daniel and Corben, that's the creation that we are looking for. There were moments in the last game where we had chances to score, and we had the opportunity to put [a lineup] together with some players with specific qualities and skills, like offensive build and quickness with the ball."

One likely addition should be defender Cory Gibbs, who was in full training on Thursday for the first time in about two weeks after suffering a hamstring injury.

"I feel like I'm at full strength," Gibbs said. "Day by day, every hour that goes by, I feel better and better."

The defense and midfield have taken significant hits in the injury department. Gibbs appears to be back in full swing, but center back Josip Mikulic injured his shoulder in the Rapids game. Captain and defensive midfielder Logan Pause injured his hamstring and Michael Videira suffered a concussion.

While Vancouver (1-4-3) has allowed its share of goals, so has Chicago. The Fire have given up 13 tallies, including 10 goals in April en route to a 0-3-2 mark.

"It will get better," Gibbs said of the defense. "We're just trying to progress. Reducing the amount of goals that we give up per game and taking what we do in training as seriously in terms of intensity, this spell is going to wear off fairly soon."

The Fire signed 20-year-old Colombian forward Cristian Nazarit this week. He joined the team in Thursday's training, but is not going to be available Saturday. De los Cobos did say that there is a possibility that Nazarit could be an option the following week if all goes well.

"He's a good player -- strong, smart, witty," Gibbs said of Nazarit. "This first session [on Thursday] was good for him, and I think he'll be a key asset for us in the future."

There are some Fire-related ties within the Whitecaps. But former midfielder John Thorrington is out with a calf strain. And it turns out that one-time Fire PDL defender and University of Illinois-Chicago alum Jay DeMerit did not make the trip with the team as he battles a groin injury. On the sidelines, though, will be a familiar face in former Fire head coach and assistant coach Denis Hamlett.

Hamlett, who was let go by Chicago following the 2009 season, spent a year away from MLS before landing a position as an assistant for the Whitecaps. Hamlett had coached the Illinois Institute of Technology's men's soccer team for one season.

"It was good for me in the sense that I needed to re-energize myself and spend some time away from the daily grind of being in MLS," Hamlett said about a week after his hiring with the Whitecaps. "But at the same token, I was watching a lot of the games and was ready to get back to the coaching world. I enjoyed my time with IIT. I kept in touch with [Whitecaps director of soccer operations] Tommy Soehn and it developed rapidly."

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- When Chicago Fire captain and defensive midfielder Logan Pause injured his hamstring on Wednesday of last week, it caused head coach Carlos de los Cobos to rethink his strategy heading into their game against the defending MLS champion Colorado Rapids.

Initially, the Fire were training to play a standard 4-4-2. But when Pause was out of the picture, De los Cobos adjusted with a 4-1-4-1.

Chicago posted a 1-1 draw on the road, and the formation switch could stay in place, especially if Pause and midfielder Mike Videira (concussion) are unable to go this Saturday when Chicago hosts the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps at Toyota Park.

Last week's match in Commerce City, Colo., opened the door for Fire midfielders Daniel Paladini and Corben Bone, who made their first starts and appearances this season. Uruguayan forward Gaston Puerari dropped back in the midfield as well, leaving fellow countryman Diego Chaves as the team's lone attacker.

"We came out and played our system, and went attacking with four, five guys," Paladini said. "We're losing maybe a forward, but gaining an extra guy in the middle. We didn't go to Colorado to back up and play defense."

That was a big problem the previous week on April 23, when the Fire dropped back and settled for a 1-1 draw against the Houston Dynamo at Toyota Park.

While there are still plenty of wrinkles in the system, Chicago did demonstrate at times a more aggressive game, especially compared to the Houston match. Much of that has to do with the attacking demeanor of the Fire's midfielders against the Rapids. Paladini, who is used to being on the attacking side, played last week's match as a holding midfielder.

"I've talked to my dad and he doesn't like me there. I've played an attacking role all my life," Paladini said. "But I like it. I feel like I can control the game there and spray the ball out wide."

Paladini and Bone had not seen the pitch in regular-season play heading into the game, but Paladini said there was a comfort factor as they were thrown into the mix.

"We're similar players, but we didn't get to play too much together because we were in a different system," Paladini said. "In the reserve games, we've been playing together and connecting. So to us, it was no surprise in the game what we were going to do. Throwing Gaston in there, who has a great first-touch, we know what each other wants."

If Pause and Videira are not ready this weekend, the Fire in all likelihood would tout a similar lineup against Vancouver.

"With Logan and Mike Videira, they are more of defensive midfielders, and we were going with a different style," Paladini said. "Our outside midfielders were being the creators [beforehand]. Now with me and Corben, we grew up as attacking midfielders and have always been more on the creative side. There are just certain balls that Corben and I play than what Mike or Logan would play, and that's nothing against them. Obviously Logan's been very successful in this league."

Last week's game represented the Fire debut of the 26-year-old Paladini, who is in the midst of his second MLS stint. He spent some minimal time with Chivas USA in 2008 before he decided to join the lower-tier Carolina RailHawks in 2009 and 2010 to get some needed playing time.

"It was hard to practice and be a backup to Jesse Marsch and Paulo Nagamura -- these guys are good," Paladini said of his time with Chivas. "So I had to wait, and I didn't want to do that again. I talked to my dad and agent, and came to the conclusion that I should go to Carolina. You hear of some players who get blacklisted from MLS. I had a chance in Carolina to play 30 games [a season], but I knew I had to play really well in those 30 games. It couldn't be a two-goal, two-assist year. Thankfully my name got out there."

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- In the midst of a four-game winless streak and only one point in hand during April, the Chicago Fire are regularly deciphering their shortcomings to turn around a poor start to the 2011 season. The Fire hover near the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 1-3-2 record, with Saturday's game at the defending MLS champion Colorado Rapids on the horizon.

Chicago's defense has been an obvious detriment to the team in recent weeks as the Fire have allowed 12 goals this year, which currently ties for second-most in the league. But the midfield also has been a growing point of concern.

In the Fire's most recent 1-1 draw against the Houston Dynamo, Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos made some changes to every line. That included the insertion of Libertyville native and center midfielder Baggio Husidic, who started for the first time this season. Husidic got the call over Michael Videira, though Videira eventually subbed for Husidic in the second half.

"Even though people criticize our center midfield for not being that creative, I think we have guys in there that on their day can do it," Fire midfielder Patrick Nyarko said. "Baggio is an excellent passer with the ball from midfield, but we just need to get more possession out there. It starts from the back all the way up front."

It is unknown if Husidic will immediately be brought back into the starting lineup this Saturday. The 23-year-old University of Illinois-Chicago alum was a regular who contributed on the offensive end with five goals and three assists in 22 games in 2010.

"He's been a player that shows his ability to score some goals and add a bunch of assists," Fire defensive midfielder Logan Pause said. "He's a box-to-box midfielder that can help not only on the defending end but help create things going forward."

"I think he's trying to gain his confidence back and his touch back," Nyarko said. "I was speaking to him before the [Houston] game and he's talking about how he hasn't played in a while and he didn't know how it's going to go and stuff like that, and I told him it was going to be fine. He knows how to play the game. It was his first game back [since the season opener], so let's see what the next couple of games hold. I think working himself back in, he'll be a dangerous asset for us."

Midfield shortcomings:
The Fire's production within the midfield has not been up to par this season, to say the least. The possession has not been strong. The creativity has been lacking. And that has led to some unattractive soccer during a winless streak.

"We obviously haven't had possession at most parts of the game," Nyarko said. "Either the center backs get under pressure and just whack the ball and not bring it up -- I have yet to figure it out. But it definitely shows in long periods of the game that we're not moving and not passing the ball along. I think that will come a long way to help us if we try to keep possession of the ball at most parts of the game. That's where we look the most dangerous, when we keep the ball on the move and try to create chances off of that."

"We're not getting the results, but that's not to say there are times in the game where we are putting some good soccer together," Pause said. "I think that's something we are focusing on, and some of that in time will take care of itself. We need to make sure that we're sticking with what we're doing, continuing to plug away and focus on the details, and hopefully the results will come."

Complementing front line:
The massive personnel turnover for a second straight season has something to do with things not meshing from time to time. But at some point the Fire need to create some regular flow between the midfield and forward lines to start digging out of this hole and string together some points.

In this past game, recent acquisition Dominic Oduro got his first start ahead of Uruguayan forward Gaston Puerari. Nyarko was on the same page with Oduro in terms of seeing eye-to-eye with passing and receiving the ball, but dependable Uruguayan forward Diego Chaves, who tends to drop back into the midfield, was not in sync with Oduro against Houston.

"Diego hasn't really had the time to play with him, and I know [Oduro] from a while back," Nyarko said. "He talked to me about how he likes to move and how he likes the ball to be played. I kind of looked for that, and being a quick player like myself, I know it's really dangerous to break defenses down.

"I think Diego builds a really great partnership with Gaston, and they know each other's movement and they try to play off each other a lot. I think a couple more games together -- and it all comes down to the lineup changes and all that -- [Chaves and Oduro will] get to know each other. Diego is a smart, clever soccer player. He's one of the best I've played with, and he'll learn the movements quickly."

Defensive compensation:
The Fire burned themselves in last week's game by falling into a defensive mode when they were clinging to a 1-0 lead. Preserving the win, rather than going for the win, had a trickle effect on every line. Several Fire players were noticeably worn out down the stretch, and the Dynamo tallied a second-half equalizer.

"I think we all shut down," Nyarko said. "I blame that a little bit on the mini-losing streak that we went on. We shut it down and tried to get that one-goal win. We all dropped back -- way back -- and we're just booting balls and they're coming straight back to us. When that happens, the forwards have a tendency of also dropping and not getting stretched out.

"We have to do a better job of pushing guys up and taking that risk, play like it's 0-0 instead of playing like we're 1-nil up."

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- With the pressure mounting on the Chicago Fire to produce a positive result following three straight defeats, the home side held a late lead but could not hang on en route to a 1-1 draw against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday in front of 12,473 at Toyota Park.

Dynamo defender Bobby Boswell scored in the 83rd minute off of a corner kick to tie the score late at 1-1. Chicago did end its losing streak, but the Fire (1-3-2) missed out on a good opportunity to grab three points against a fellow Eastern Conference side that is known for capitalizing on its set pieces.

"We knew that one of the things that makes that team successful is set pieces," Fire captain Logan Pause said. "Giving up a goal on a set piece, it's just a bummer. We worked on it. It was actually my man who scored."

"They have big guys, big players," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said of Houston (2-1-3). "It's a shame, because it was one of the last minutes of the game again."

Diego Chaves tallied his team-leading fourth goal for the Fire for a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute. The Fire took advantage of Houston defender Corey Ashe coughing up the ball to Chicago midfielder Marco Pappa. Pappa took the Fire the other way and found Chaves inside the box, as Chaves slotted the ball past Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall.

De los Cobos made some significant roster adjustments, whether it was by choice or because of injury. As expected, Yamith Cuesta took the place of the injured Cory Gibbs (hamstring). Midfielder Baggio Husidic started instead of Michael Videira. And forward Dominic Oduro started against his former Dynamo squad, replacing Uruguayan Gaston Puerari.

Of that grouping, Cuesta had the most notable performance. He had the defensive stop of the match in the 23rd minute when he cleared a likely Will Bruin goal near the goal line. Fire defender Josip Mikulic was out-muscled by Bruin, and Bruin shot the ball over Fire goalkeeper Jon Conway and toward the goal. But Cuesta converged and cleared the ball away for a Dynamo corner kick.

The Fire defense held the Dynamo offense at bay until the 83rd, when Boswell rose up above a flurry of players and headed the ball toward the inside of the right frame past Conway to salvage a road point.

"We had that 1-0 lead, and we just kind of played not to give away a goal instead of just continuing to play the way we did," Husidic said. "Unfortunately that's what happens. They got a goal late off of a corner kick. We are very disappointed that we didn't get three points today."

For the most part, the Fire produced better scoring opportunities than the Dynamo. One of the most glaring was in the 66th minute, when Oduro was one-on-one against Hall and hit the crossbar. Patrick Nyarko had a stellar pass from the left side, stretching for the ball to beat his defender on the left side to get the ball to Oduro. A few minutes earlier in the 62nd, Husidic missed a great chance in the middle of the box as his shot sailed well over the crossbar.

"My options opened up, and I think I just got too excited," Husidic said. "I couldn't believe it and whiffed on it. I wish I could have it back again."

Analysis: It was not a pretty game for either side on Saturday. The Fire and Dynamo both lacked fluidity in their passing and movement. Chicago escaping with only one point when the team had a lead and potentially three points for most of the match completely soured the opportunity.

Cuesta had a positive match, whether it was the clutch first-half clearance on Bruin or a multitude of other clearances in the box. But as far as De los Cobos' lineup changes, he really was the only addition who had an impact on the pitch.

Giving the nod to Oduro over Gaston Puerari was a surprising move. Oduro did have the lone goal in the Fire's 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy the previous week, while Puerari missed a big scoring chance in that match. But the Puerari and Chaves pairing felt much more in sync. Nyarko, on the other hand, seemed to mesh with Oduro's movement, but the finishing has been an issue for Oduro.

A point is better than nothing, and the Fire climbed out of the cellar and moved into eighth place in the East. But the Fire's choppy play on the pitch will not cut it next week against the defending MLS champion Colorado Rapids.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire's current three-game losing streak is creeping into the realm of historic proportions if the team cannot turn things around Saturday when it hosts the Houston Dynamo at Toyota Park.

One more loss would put this stretch among only a handful of four-game Fire droughts, the most recent being a four-game skid in May of 2007.

"The mentality's always strong, but the confidence, we've lost a little bit of," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said Friday following training.

The Fire (1-3-1, four points) have had to rely on some of their younger personnel to shoulder the load this season. Second-year goalkeeper Sean Johnson and 2011 first-round draft pick and defender Jalil Anibaba thrust themselves into starting roles. But both have been prone to some big mistakes in recent matches.

De los Cobos decided before last week's 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy to turn to 33-year-old goalkeeper Jon Conway, who will return to the starting lineup Saturday against Houston. De los Cobos said that Anibaba continues to maintain his starting right back role.

"I think patience is the key, for everybody," 12-year veteran Conway said. "A lot's expected of these young guys, but they are young guys. You've got to realize that being thrown into this sort of environment, this quick and as tough as it may be, sometimes it takes a little bit longer. For me, all I do is show up and train like I have for my whole career and just train hard, and maybe that translates over to them and they can take that from me. I have had a long run of things, fortunately, and maybe that helps them out with getting over what they have to get over."

The mentality within the Fire camp is that in most games this season, the team could have turned around its fate with more consistent play and eliminate some lapses on both ends of the pitch. In Chicago's losses to L.A. and Seattle Sounders FC, the Fire certainly had their moments to change the tone of both games and potentially garner some points.

"I think we're close," Conway said. "I think we're doing a lot of things well in spells and then showing a bit of our youth and not concentrating. We can get better all the way around, fine tune things and we'll be OK."

The Fire are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table. Houston moved over to the East this season as the West brought in the expansion Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps. The Dynamo sits in the upper third of the East with a 2-1-2 record and eight points.

Fire defender Cory Gibbs missed training this week and will not play because of a hamstring injury he suffered in the second half of Chicago's loss to L.A. Colombian Yamith Cuesta, who was acquired from Chivas USA, will get the start in Gibbs' place, playing to the left of Josip Mikulic.

De los Cobos also is pondering a change within the midfield, and Libertyville native Baggio Husidic's name has come to the forefront. De los Cobos said "it's possible" for Husidic to see an increased role. Husidic has seen limited action this year after scoring five goals last season.

"I might make some changes in the middle, because one part of the midfield I think we need to improve is the creation," De los Cobos said.

Houston enters Toyota Park having won its past two matches -- a 3-1 decision over Vancouver on April 10, followed by a 1-0 win against the New England Revolution last Sunday. The Dynamo defense has allowed only four goals in five games this season.

Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis is among the league leaders with three assists this season, and goalkeeper Tally Hall enters the weekend third in saves with 19.

Chicago acquired Dominic Oduro from Houston in exchange for Calen Carr earlier this season. Carr still is out with a concussion injury and has not played this year. Oduro tallied the Fire's lone goal during their loss to the Galaxy last week.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Los Angeles Galaxy was without its star power Sunday, but the struggling Chicago Fire could not withstand the rest of L.A.'s depleted roster as Chicago dropped its third straight, 2-1, in front of 18,203 at Toyota Park.

Former Fire forward Chad Barrett and Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez provided the Galaxy's scoring as L.A. earned a victory without Landon Donovan (knee inflammation), David Beckham (suspended), Juninho (suspended) and Jovan Kirovski (suspended).

Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos adjusted a couple of things defensively with the addition of 33-year-old goalkeeper Jon Conway for second-year goalkeeper Sean Johnson, and center defensive back Josip Mikulic returned to the fray in place of Dasan Robinson.

But the defensive lapses continued, particularly on Barrett's goal in the 42nd minute. He was left all alone in the middle of the Fire's defense.

"Those little breakdowns that we've been having defensively have been hurting us a lot," Fire midfielder and defender Gonzalo Segares said. "That definitely brought the momentum down."

The Fire (1-3-1) found some late life as second-half substitution Dominic Oduro beat Gonzalez one-on-one at a difficult angle from the right side and slotted the ball past Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts to cut L.A.'s lead to 2-1.

Chicago created a couple more chances, including two sequences when Conway left his goal and went into the offensive third. Shortly into stoppage time, Conway pushed up on a Marco Pappa corner kick, and Ricketts had a huge opportunity to punt the ball toward the empty net. Instead, Ricketts was too busy directing things with his teammates, and Conway eventually trudged back into the net.

Conway made one save in his Fire debut, and it was not even with his gloves. In the 26th minute, the Galaxy's Todd Dunivant took a shot at close range and Conway saved it with his chest.

The move to bring in Conway over Johnson does not appear to be a temporary one.

"Conway is still playing," De los Cobos said. "I don't know how long, how many games more. It depends. For now, Jonny will play in the next game."

The match would have taken a much different tone for the Fire if they put away some high-percentage scoring chances in the first half. Gaston Puerari had a chance in the 25th minute as he chipped the ball over Ricketts, but it went wide of the goal. Then in the 29th, Segares got behind the L.A. defense and pushed his shot wide right, as well.

"I wish I could have options like that more often so I could have done better," Segares said. "I definitely should have put that in the back of the net. I had my first touch with my head, got it into the middle and I knew they were chasing me. Once Ricketts came I tried to poke it to the side. It passed him, but it passed [wide]."

In the 70th minute, Fire defender Cory Gibbs injured his leg and the team was reduced to 10 men on the pitch. Team officials did not confirm the extent of Gibbs' injury, other than saying it was his left leg.

Ricketts had three saves -- all in the second half -- for the Galaxy (3-1-3).

Analysis: The Fire cannot get all of their elements clicking on both sides of the pitch. Defensively, the number of lapses were at least minimized compared to the Portland loss, though that is not saying much.

Chicago had prime chances to get on the board first with Puerari's and Segares' first-half chances, and they were not optimistic scoring chances -- they were chances that almost always should be put away. Scoring on one or both of those opportunities would have changed the entire strategy of the game for both sides.

De los Cobos spent the post-game continuously defending the team's work ethic and taking full responsibility of the team during this three-game losing streak. But sooner or later the work-hard attitude needs to produce some results.

The Galaxy came into Toyota Park with some major components out of the lineup, and L.A. was not even playing all that well entering Sunday's game.

A topic that also came up after the match is the absence of a "midfield instructor" on this Fire team, as captain Logan Pause's and Michael Videira's traits are more geared toward the defensive side than offensive side.

"That's something that I'm giving the group a chance to [develop]," De los Cobos said. "Logan and Mike are guys that are better defensively. That's part of our search, of looking for somebody to come up with those offensive options."

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Chicago Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos typically stresses the importance of maintaining a similar lineup from game to game, as any coach would prefer. But with back-to-back road losses and the team's worst defensive effort of the season on Thursday, De los Cobos might have some important personnel decisions to make as the Fire attempt to end their little skid when they host the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday at Toyota Park.

The Fire posted road losses to Seattle Sounders FC on April 9 and the expansion Portland Timbers on Thursday, and the focus is on Chicago's recent shaky defensive efforts. Chicago allowed a season-high four goals against Portland in a 4-2 loss. Second-year goalkeeper Sean Johnson had one of his poorest efforts of the season against Portland, including the inability to secure the ball that directly led to the Timbers' third goal.

Following Saturday's training, De los Cobos was not ready to state a firm answer as to whether Johnson would return in the net on Sunday, or whether he is leaning toward 33-year-old Jon Conway making his Fire debut.

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know," De los Cobos said. "Right now, I don't know. I need to think. I need to talk with [Sean] first. ... We have a good player like Jonny. I think Jonny is very good to stick with us because he can help transmit his experience to Sean and to help him mature."

One person who is back in the mix is center defensive back Josip Mikulic. The Fire missed the stability of Mikulic, who had an effective first two games of the season. Mikulic then injured his quad during 11-vs.-11 training the day before Chicago's Lamar Hunt U.S. Opener Cup qualifier against the Colorado Rapids on March 30.

"Right now, it's perfect," Mikulic said of his leg. "Not to worry -- I'm ready."

Dasan Robinson took over for Mikulic during the Fire's two road games against Seattle Sounders FC and Portland. Again, De los Cobos did not state with certainty as to which way he will turn on Sunday at center defensive back. An own goal against Portland and some noticeably slow movement on the pitch probably do not help Robinson's cause, though De los Cobos said he was pleased with Robinson's effort on the road trip.

"I need to analyze [the situation] because Dasan occupied the space, and he worked very good in the matches against Seattle and Portland," De los Cobos said. "I'm one to think about these situations and analyze different circumstances. [Sunday], I'll make my decisions."

The Fire (1-2-1) are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. And while the season is incredibly young, Chicago already has reached an important juncture as the Fire cannot afford a third straight game without some points in their pocket.

The last time the Fire hosted the Galaxy, it marked an undisputed turning point for the worst during Chicago's 2010 season. On Sept. 4, 2010, Chicago maintained a scoreless draw for much of the match while playing shorthanded (Gonzalo Segares was ejected in the 21st minute). Collins John tallied an 88th-minute free kick goal for a 1-0 Fire lead as Toyota Park was abuzz. But instead of sweeping the season series against the eventual Supporters' Shield winners, L.A.'s Omar Gonzalez headed home a game-tying goal off of a Landon Donovan corner kick for a 1-1 draw.

The Fire had other opportunities to stay in the playoff hunt following that match, but last year's campaign went mostly downhill from that point.

Chicago has a couple of elements in its favor this Sunday -- a return home to Toyota Park, and a Galaxy side that is remarkably shorthanded.

The Galaxy confirmed Saturday to ESPNChicago.com that Donovan (knee inflammation) is unavailable for Sunday's game. David Beckham (yellow card accumulation, suspended), Juninho (two yellows on Wednesday, suspended) and Jovan Kirovski (second game of two-game suspension) also are not available for the Galaxy (2-1-3).