The Chicago Fire (26 points) saw their playoff hopes end during their loss to Seattle Sounders FC (39 points) Sept. 25 at Toyota Park.

Despite the chilly weather, over 17,000 fans packed the stadium, in hopes of seeing the Men in Red finally get a win.

Instead they saw a sometimes hard-fought match end with Seattle forward Blaise Nkufo sneaking the ball past Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson in the 88th minute, giving Seattle a final 1-0 victory.

“We had good opportunities [to score] during the game,” said Head Coach Carlos de los Cobos. “But we didn’t have clarity or patience.”

Although the Fire had eight shots at goal, not a single one unnerved Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller. On the other hand, the Sounders kept their attack alive and although the score only read 1-0, it easily could have been 5-0, with Johnson having five saves during the game.

With the loss, the Fire now has played seven games without getting a win; they also haven’t scored in 362 minutes.

After the match, de los Cobos spoke about the reality of the team, saying that inexperience and injuries hurt the Fire this season and took the team’s recent failures as his responsibility.

The Fire is now 12 points behind the Colorado Rapids for the 8th and final MLS Cup Playoff spot with six games left to play.

Next up for the team: a visit to the San Jose Earthquakes and FC Dallas. The team will head back to Toyota Park Oct. 8 when Columbus Crew stops by.