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Chicago Blow By Revolution in Playoffs
The injury-plagued New England Revolution put up a tough fight early on, but the Chicago Fire, led by star Cuauhtemoc Blanco, proved to be the stronger squad on the night.
Nov 6, 2008 11:58:36 PM
Chicago Fire 3 – 0 New England Revolution
CHICAGO -- Revenge is sweet.
The past three years, the Revolution have knocked the Chicago Fire out of the MLS playoffs. But on Thursday night, the Fire turned the tables. A dominating 3-0 win over the Revolution at Toyota Park advanced the Fire into the MLS Cup semifinals.
A scintillating, balletic performance from Chicago’s Mexican superstar Cuauhtemoc Blanco created havoc all night long. He conjured up the first goal, finished by Chris Rolfe just before the halftime break. The Fire then got two second-half goals from Wilman Conde and Gonzalo Segares.
The Fire will face the winner of the Columbus Crew-Kansas City Wizards series, which finishes up on Saturday.
The Revolution entered the game undermanned, without leading scorers Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston. Plus, midfielder Khano Smith was suspended for a red card in the final regular season game, and rookie Chris Tierney, who started leg one, was out with a thigh injury picked up in training. He was replaced by green leftback Amaechi Igwe.
Chicago, on the other hand, were fully loaded and playing well, led by Blanco, Rolfe, Brian McBride, and Justin Mapp. Those four handled the attacking, while Conde and Bakary Soumare closed down every New England attack.
First Half
Both sides were energetic in the opening minutes, but the Fire created the most half-chances in the first stanza.
Rolfe made his intentions known early. Off a corner kick from the right side, he lashed a volley on net that Revs centerback Michael Parkhurst cleared off the line. In the 9th minute, Rolfe hit a volley, off a nice drop pass from John Thorrington that flew wide. But the two half chances proved Rolfe was active after failing to make an impression in the first leg.
Six minutes later Gonzalo Segares, who was a terror on Chicago’s left side all night, drove into the final third and played the ball wide to Mapp. The left winger slammed a low cross back into the middle and Segares flicked a redirection just past the right post.
The Revs attempted to mount an attack, playing through Shalrie Joseph, who was a game-time decision with a strained MCL, and looking for the forwards. But without Twellman’s ability to hold up the ball, they were unable to provide much danger.
In the 40th minute, things got worse for the Revs. A hard, late tackle from Thorrington caught Jeff Larentowicz’s ankle and knocked the steady central midfielder out of the game. His replacement was rookie Pat Phelan, and his inexperience would become a factor later on.
But first, it was Phelan’s inexperienced teammate Igwe who was set to be schooled when Chicago broke the deadlock in stoppage time. Segares’s clever pass from the left wing picked out Blanco with space just outside the penalty area. The Mexican legend turned and swerved a shot toward the far post. Reis did well to make the diving save but he was helpless when Rolfe, left unchecked by Igwe, tapped in the rebound.
Second Half
The Revs needed to dig deep if they were going to get back into the game. Chicago just needed one more goal to ice proceedings. Four minutes in, they had the game.
Mapp was fouled on the left side and the crafty winger curled in a well-placed left-footed freekick. Conde darted in, overpowering Phelan, and slamming a header home from six yards. It was the Columbian’s second goal against the Revs this season, and it was the most devastating.
But the Revs weren’t done. In the 58th minute, striker Kenny Mansally came close after a quick one-two with his Gambian compatriot Sainey Nyassi. He collected the ball in the D and curved a left-footed shot through Soumare’s legs and toward the lower left 90. It looked targeted for the back of the net until Jon Busch, recently named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, dove to his right and pushed the ball around the post.
In the 74th minute, Chicago added a final tally. Costa Rican international Segares and Rolfe were once again involved. Rolfe danced around Jay Heaps on the right side and slotted a cross into the six, where Segares was first to react and had the easiest of tap-ins for the goal.
The game then degenerated as the Revolution took out their frustrations on Chicago players, particularly Blanco, whose flicks and backheels pricked his opponents’ pride. In the 83rd minute, Chris Albright was shown a second yellow card for a cynical tackle on Blanco and handed his marching orders.
But by then, the damage was done and the game was over.
The Fire now move on to the Conference Final, a one-match knockout round set to take place next week. If top-seeded Columbus wins against Kansas City, the Eastern Conference Final match will be at Crew Stadium. If KC wins, Chicago will host the game.
-- Greg Lalas, Goal.com
CHICAGO -- Revenge is sweet.
The past three years, the Revolution have knocked the Chicago Fire out of the MLS playoffs. But on Thursday night, the Fire turned the tables. A dominating 3-0 win over the Revolution at Toyota Park advanced the Fire into the MLS Cup semifinals.
A scintillating, balletic performance from Chicago’s Mexican superstar Cuauhtemoc Blanco created havoc all night long. He conjured up the first goal, finished by Chris Rolfe just before the halftime break. The Fire then got two second-half goals from Wilman Conde and Gonzalo Segares.
The Fire will face the winner of the Columbus Crew-Kansas City Wizards series, which finishes up on Saturday.
The Revolution entered the game undermanned, without leading scorers Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston. Plus, midfielder Khano Smith was suspended for a red card in the final regular season game, and rookie Chris Tierney, who started leg one, was out with a thigh injury picked up in training. He was replaced by green leftback Amaechi Igwe.
Chicago, on the other hand, were fully loaded and playing well, led by Blanco, Rolfe, Brian McBride, and Justin Mapp. Those four handled the attacking, while Conde and Bakary Soumare closed down every New England attack.
First Half
Both sides were energetic in the opening minutes, but the Fire created the most half-chances in the first stanza.
Rolfe made his intentions known early. Off a corner kick from the right side, he lashed a volley on net that Revs centerback Michael Parkhurst cleared off the line. In the 9th minute, Rolfe hit a volley, off a nice drop pass from John Thorrington that flew wide. But the two half chances proved Rolfe was active after failing to make an impression in the first leg.
Six minutes later Gonzalo Segares, who was a terror on Chicago’s left side all night, drove into the final third and played the ball wide to Mapp. The left winger slammed a low cross back into the middle and Segares flicked a redirection just past the right post.
The Revs attempted to mount an attack, playing through Shalrie Joseph, who was a game-time decision with a strained MCL, and looking for the forwards. But without Twellman’s ability to hold up the ball, they were unable to provide much danger.
In the 40th minute, things got worse for the Revs. A hard, late tackle from Thorrington caught Jeff Larentowicz’s ankle and knocked the steady central midfielder out of the game. His replacement was rookie Pat Phelan, and his inexperience would become a factor later on.
But first, it was Phelan’s inexperienced teammate Igwe who was set to be schooled when Chicago broke the deadlock in stoppage time. Segares’s clever pass from the left wing picked out Blanco with space just outside the penalty area. The Mexican legend turned and swerved a shot toward the far post. Reis did well to make the diving save but he was helpless when Rolfe, left unchecked by Igwe, tapped in the rebound.
Second Half
The Revs needed to dig deep if they were going to get back into the game. Chicago just needed one more goal to ice proceedings. Four minutes in, they had the game.
Mapp was fouled on the left side and the crafty winger curled in a well-placed left-footed freekick. Conde darted in, overpowering Phelan, and slamming a header home from six yards. It was the Columbian’s second goal against the Revs this season, and it was the most devastating.
But the Revs weren’t done. In the 58th minute, striker Kenny Mansally came close after a quick one-two with his Gambian compatriot Sainey Nyassi. He collected the ball in the D and curved a left-footed shot through Soumare’s legs and toward the lower left 90. It looked targeted for the back of the net until Jon Busch, recently named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, dove to his right and pushed the ball around the post.
In the 74th minute, Chicago added a final tally. Costa Rican international Segares and Rolfe were once again involved. Rolfe danced around Jay Heaps on the right side and slotted a cross into the six, where Segares was first to react and had the easiest of tap-ins for the goal.
The game then degenerated as the Revolution took out their frustrations on Chicago players, particularly Blanco, whose flicks and backheels pricked his opponents’ pride. In the 83rd minute, Chris Albright was shown a second yellow card for a cynical tackle on Blanco and handed his marching orders.
But by then, the damage was done and the game was over.
The Fire now move on to the Conference Final, a one-match knockout round set to take place next week. If top-seeded Columbus wins against Kansas City, the Eastern Conference Final match will be at Crew Stadium. If KC wins, Chicago will host the game.
-- Greg Lalas, Goal.com
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