Nothing going right for Chicago Fire

These are tough times for the Chicago Fire.

Sunday's 2-2 draw against Orlando City SC at Toyota Park did nothing to change that.

Ousted from U.S. Open Cup contention Tuesday with a lackluster 3-1 loss at New England that served only to extend its amazing road winless streak to 39 games across all competitions, the Fire returned its focus to finishing the final two months of the MLS season.

Yet there is little hope for the Fire in MLS play this year. The Fire is 4-11-7, the worst record in the league.

"It wasn't easy. We had a tough week. We're not doing the greatest," Fire captain Razvan Cocis said about rebounding from Tuesday's defeat.

"… We talked about it and we just have to keep going. There's just no other way. We talked about who wants to be in the locker room and who wants to keep going, then (who) needs to stay and needs to work more and more in the practice session and get better as a team and as an individual."

Meanwhile, sources say there are at least three groups interested in purchasing the club from Andell Holdings. Sources close to the club insisted the Fire is not for sale, nor has it received any offers recently.

One local group involves Majeed Ekbal, formerly in real estate and now in corporate branding work, and an unnamed local businessman, sources said.

They have been working on a bid for the Fire for several months. Their plan for rebuilding the Fire is to emphasize local ownership, the club's connection to its fans and to find more sponsorship money by reaching out to big-brand sponsors.

A second group is involved with the Village of Bridgeview. It recently worked with the village to put on the Open Air concert at Toyota Park and members formerly were involved with the Sacramento Kings.

A third group also is based in the Chicago area but remains anonymous.

Meanwhile, first-year coach Veljko Paunovic remains unyieldingly optimistic.

"We all know where we are," Paunovic said. "Without trying to defocus people from where we stand, but we also know that there are improvements and we are going in a direction that we want. At this point we will continue building and working hard."

The Fire scored first Sunday on John Goossens' long blast in the sixth minute, but Orlando City took the lead later in the first half with goals by Cyle Larin and Kaka.

The Fire earned a point for the draw with Razvan Cocis' header off service into the box from left back Brandon Vincent in the 78th minute.

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