Chicago Fire have been held to a goalless draw at home to Real Salt Lake in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago immediately took control of the game in the opening stages and should have been ahead in the fourth minute but Dominic Oduro's header crashed against the crossbar following a teasing Patrick Nyarko cross.
The hosts came close to scoring again just moments later when Salt Lake's goalkeeper Kyle Renish was forced to tip Marco Pappa's shot over the bar.
Salt Lake finally started to come into the match midway through the first half and had their first clear opportunity when Chris Schuler headed Javier Morales's corner wide from close range.
Schuler's chance seemed to encourage the visitors and they finished the first period as the stronger of the two teams.
Salt Lake's dominance continued in the second period and Sean Johnson was called upon twice to deny Paulo Jr and Luis Gil within a matter of minutes.
Despite their superiority in the latter stages of the match, Salt lake failed to force a breakthrough and Chicago almost stole the points but Pappa's speculative long-range effort was impressively saved by Reynish.
Callum Mulvihill
