Goals from Chris Rolfe just before halftime then Chad Barrett early in the second half enabled the Chicago Fire to overcome a one-goal deficit and defeat the New England Revolution 2-1 on Saturday evening at Toyota Park, giving their playoff hopes a real boost.
Barrett assisted on Rolfe's sixth goal of the season in stoppage time at the end of the first half to tie the contest at 1-1, after a long-range strike from Jeff Larentowicz had given New England the lead. Barrett then gave the Fire the lead for good in the 60th minute recording his team-leading seventh goal of the year.
With the win, Chicago extended its unbeaten streak to six games, but more importantly, put itself five points ahead of Columbus for the eighth and final spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs. With 36 points and two games remaining, the Fire could be in a position to seal their playoff future next Saturday when they travel to D.C. United in the next-to-last weekend of the regular season.
With head coach Juan Carlos Osorio watching from the luxury suites after being sent off in last week's draw with Chivas USA, the Fire got off to a slow start.
New England had its first shot of the night in the seventh minute when forward Pat Noonan tried to head in a Shalrie Joseph pass but it was directed wide right of the Chicago goal.
The Revs followed up with another shot in the 13th minute when Larentowicz sent one goalward from 20 yards out, but it sailed over the Fire crossbar and into the Toyota Park seats.
After Rolfe was fouled, Cuauhtémoc Blanco set up for a free kick 30 yards in front of the New England net, from a nearly identical location as his tremendous free kick goal against Chivas last weekend. Once again, Blanco ripped the dead ball around the Revolution wall and left goalkeeper Matt Reis able to only watch as it seemed ticketed for the upper left-hand corner. But the ball skimmed the top of the crossbar before caroming out of play.
New England responded to the close call from Blanco and recorded two shots on goal in the next two minutes but it was not until the 24th that the Revs made Chicago pay on the defensive side of the field.
After a Steve Ralston corner kick, the ball deflected back out to the MLS ironman, playing as the attacking midfielder for the Revolution with Andy Dorman on the bench. Ralston tried to drive a cross back into the box, but it deflected off Wilman Conde out beyond the top of the penalty area.
Larentowicz came steaming in and ripped a rising drive inside the right post past a diving Matt Pickens, beating the Chicago 'keeper to put the Revs up 1-0.
After the early pressure, Chicago had lost its attacking rhythm. Still just before the end of the half, the Fire were able to pull level as they used every second of the two minutes of stoppage time issued by the referee to their advantage.
Fire defender Diego Gutierrez stole the ball at the midfield stripe and led Barrett down the left side of the field. The Fire forward dribbled into the Rev penalty area and then quickly came back out, before feeding a patient Rolfe standing at the restraining arc. Rolfe immediately sent the pass low toward the left post, beating Reis to tie the contest going into the halftime break.
The intensity of the game continued in the second half when Paulo Wanchope was issued a yellow card in the 57th minute for Chicago.
Wanchope found himself in the middle of the action again in the 60th minute of play but it yielded better results for the Fire. As he corralled a pass from a teammate, Barrett sprinted down the middle of the field and then passed it ahead for a dashing Wanchope. The Chicago forward immediately took a shot on the right side from 18 yards out that was blocked by a diving Reis.
The ball rebounded and settled right in front of the Revs goal where Barrett left no doubt and drilled the loose ball high into the New England net to give the Fire the 2-1 lead.
After he played his part on both Chicago tallies, Barrett was replaced in the 64th minute for Bakary Soumare as the Fire looked to ensure they would take home all three points. The Fire midfielder was later issued a yellow card in the 83rd minute.
While the Revolution had already clinched not only a playoff spot, but also home-field advantage for the conference semifinal series, they had all the momentum over the final quarter of the match. But despite a long-distance shot from Joseph in the 70th minute that beat Pickens low on the turf but came back off the base of the post, the Fire defense held out.
Tim Hilton is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
