Minutes after watching his team squander a 2-0 lead against the Chicago Fire, Toronto FC coach Aron Winter was asked what happened.

"Yes what happened," the Dutch coach repeated. "In the second half, we didn't want to play any more. That's why I think we lost."

The MLS game actually finished in a 2-2 tie but it certainly felt like a loss as Toronto seemed to think the job was done after going up 2-0 just after halftime.

Instead Marco Pappa and Orr Barouch scored in a 13-minute stretch in the second half to earn the struggling Fire the tie on a wet, windy Saturday night.

Toronto (2-4-5) seemed destined for the win after showing some swagger in taking a 2-0 lead on goals by Joao Plata and Maicon Santos. But the home side folded after 60 minutes and the Fire took advantage in a wild finale.

"In the first half we were chasing, pushing up, applying pressure in the front," Winter continued. "In the second half, after the second goal (to go up 2-0) we didn't earn it any more and that's why I think we've given away two points."

Winter also pointed to too much space between his defenders and midfielders, allowing Chicago room to manoeuvre.

Toronto needed a miraculous save from Stefan Frei in the 83rd minute to preserve the tie as the Toronto goalkeeper somehow stuck out a hand to deflect a close-range chip by Dan Paladini that was headed into the goal.

"We let ourselves down after the hour-mark," said Toronto midfielder Julian de Guzman.

"It's a depressing feeling, to be honest when you've worked so hard for two goals and you're up ahead with three points in your pocket and we're not disciplined enough to defend a lead like that," he added. "Especially at this level."

It is just the latest stumble for a rebuilding TFC side that has found more than a few ways to shoot itself in the foot.

Chicago (1-3-5) has not won since March 26 when it defeated Sporting Kansas City 3-2. The Fire remain winless in seven (0-3-4) and now face two more games on the road, where the team is 0-2-3 in 2011.

Still Saturday's comeback is a step back on the right track.

"In the end we were very close to the win," said Chicago coach Carlos do los Cobos. "I think the team deserved to win, but it was a difficult match."

Toronto used its speed to repeatedly trouble the Fire defence in the first half before a sparse announced crowd of 18,674 at BMO Field. Chicago, meanwhile, showed some good possession and passing, but little teeth in the final third of the field.

But the game got interesting during a second-half downpour when Chicago's Pappa curled in a free kick from the edge of the box in the 63rd minute to cut the Toronto lead to 2-1.

Barouch tied it in the 76th. Corben Bone did all the dirty work, beating the Toronto defence at one post and sliding the ball across the goal, where it bounced in off Barouch.

De los Cobos took satisfaction from his team's style of play on the night.

"We are trying to play football," the Mexican said. "This is my intention, this is my commitment with this club, to try to play football. ... I told my players you need to put the ball on the floor and try to play."

Former Toronto FC backup goalkeeper Jon Conway made some good stops but will not remember his homecoming fondly after letting a long-range shot from Santos dribble through his legs in the 47th minute.

Plata opened the scoring in the ninth minute, driving inside from the left flank and hammering a right-footed shot from the edge of the box past a lunging Conway.

The five-foot-two, 140-pound rookie Ecuadorian forward got help from Dan Gargan and Santos, whose runs opened up the Chicago defence.

Just 19, Plata has been an offensive sparkplug since cracking the starting lineup, winning MLS player of the week honours last week. And he continued to showcase his speed and touch.

For most of the game, Plata was matched against Chicago rookie right back Jalil Anibaba, who at six-feet tall, has 10 inches on the TFC rookie. But Plata ran him ragged and drew an ovation when he was substituted in the 60th minute.

A yellow card in the 25th minute for a mistimed de Guzman tackle means a one-game suspension for Toronto's designated player.

"It is stupid and now we are going to miss him," said Winter.

Toronto continues to work through a congested portion of its schedule, which resumes Wednesday in Vancouver for the first leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.

Notes: Toronto fullback Danleigh Borman was unavailable due to personal matters that required him back in South Africa. .... Chicago captain/midfielder Logan Pause (hamstring), midfielder Patrick Nyarko (concussion) and goalkeeper Sean Johnson (quadriceps) sat out the game. Newly signed striker Christina Nazarit, a Colombian under-20 international, did not make the trip.