BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Despite another scoreless adventure, the Chicago Fire did have a few positives come out of Saturday's scoreless draw with Real Salt Lake.
Chicago got a shutout -- its sixth of the season. And a few youngsters earned some playing time. Fire head coach Denis Hamlett called it a tale of two halves, though he still lamented his team's finishing.
"This game was disappointing," Hamlett said. "We wasted 45 minutes in the first half. Second half we went out and played the way we wanted to. Our composure in the final third is what is hurting us. We have to make those final plays."
Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch made two saves on the night. He along with the defense has figured out a method that at least keeps them in games.
"The guy's an All-Star," Hamlett said. "Tonight he made some big plays. He's been doing it all season long."
As always, Busch credited the backline for his success.
"It was another great game for our defense," Busch said. "I am giving them kudos after every game. They held tight in the back. And at the end of the day, we got a point."
Youngsters Daniel Woolard and Stephen King started for Gonzalo Segares and John Thorrington, who were both serving one-game suspsensions for yellow card accumulation.
Woolard started for the second time this season and played the full 90 minutes, at left back. King started for the third time, played 62 minutes on the right of midfield and registered one shot.
"With Gonzalo and John being out, it was an opportunity for other guys to step up," Hamlett said. "Daniel had a good game against D.C. in the Open Cup and he played well last week. I felt he deserved to start. He played well.
"Stephen has had a taste of playing this season. I didn't feel that he found the game as much as I thought he would from the right side. But he did OK."
Both players said they were happy to get the start and contribute to the draw.
"It's nice to come in and get some time," Woolard said. "I played pretty well. I could have done some things better."
King said tonight's start was special for him.
"It was exciting," King said. "It was my first start at Toyota Park in front of our home crowd. Our fans are so exciting."
When the Fire needed some fresh legs, the team called upon youngsters Mike Banner and Patrick Nyarko in addition to veteran Tomasz Frankowski.
Banner created some noise in the midfield. Nyarko almost earned an assist in the 87th minute when he fed the ball to Justin Mapp. Frankowski took a shot in the 88th minute, which was deflected.
"Mike, Patrick and Tomasz came in and made an impact for us, even though they didn't score," Hamlett said.
Chicago finished its two-game homestand and Hamlett said it wasn't all bad.
"We wanted six points, and we got four," Hamlett said. "Now we have to build on the positives and move forward."
The Fire enter the All-Star break in third place in the Eastern Conference. The team returns to MLS action Sunday, July 27 at Kansas City.
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