all on the road.
• But it was the visitors who took a 10th-minute lead. A corner came in from the right and was half-cleared, corralled by Dave van den Bergh just outside the area. He lashed home a skimming shot that took one deflection then bounced off Fire defender Diego Gutierrez as he tried to clear from the goalmouth, bouncing into the corner of the goal as Matt Pickens continued to dive the other way.
• The Fire pulled level in the 54th minute. Cuauhtemoc Blanco wriggled free on the right and bent in a cross for the back post, where Chris Leitch had impeded Chad Barrett on his run to goal, and the penalty was given. Blanco banged home the 12-yard kick for his third goal since coming to MLS.
• Fifteen minutes the Red Bulls leveled terms through their own penalty kick. A corner came in from the left and, inexplicably, Fire defender Wilman Conde reached up and slapped it away. He was shown a red card by referee Baldomero Toledo, and Juan Pablo Angel converted from the spot for the 15th goal of his first MLS season.
• Yet down a man, the Fire pulled back level barely a minute later. From a free kick out on the right, Blanco swung his service into the mixer where Gonzalo Segares got up to send a glancing header inside the left-hand post and leave honors even on the night.
• Red Bulls manager Bruce Arena made three changes to the team that crashed 3-0 away to Chivas USA the weekend before. Dane Richards and Dema Kovalenko came back into the team in wide midfield roles with Dave van den Bergh moving to left back as Kevin Goldthwaite went to the bench and Clint Mathis was out for personal reasons. Francis Doe made his first MLS start, coming in up top for John Wolyniec.
• Here's Arena's team (4-4-2): Ronald Waterreus - Chris Leitch, Jeff Parke, Seth Stammler, Dave van den Bergh - Dane Richards, Claudio Reyna, Joe Vide (Hunter Freeman 94+), Dema Kovalenko (Mike Magee 75) - Juan Pablo Angel, Francis Doe (John Wolyniec 79). Substitutes Not Used: Sal Caccavale, Jon Conway, Kevin Goldthwaite, Markus Schopp
TEAM NEWS
• While it perhaps a bit of gift to be handed the lead in the second half, Arena was less pleased that the Red Bulls didn't maintain the advantage longer - especially with a man advantage.
• "I would have liked obviously the three points. I'm disappointed we didn't get the three points. We didn't do a good job I think after getting the second goal, and obviously that lapse in concentration costs us some important points," Arena said.
• While the result stopped the poor run of results away from home, even more important was taking a point. It left the Red Bulls with a "magic number" of seven points over the Colorado Rapids to claim a postseason spot - any combination of seven points won by the Red Bulls and lost by the Rapids would guarantee a playoff place for New York.
• "To get this point on the road tonight from the team that really is chasing us is important," Arena said. "The result is good for us; probably not as good as for Chicago, but you know I think it's important for us to have the right kind of mentality at this time of year to be able to go on the road in a tough place and get a point and be in a position to have three."
• The Red Bulls were short-handed in the attack. Jozy Altidore missed a third consecutive match and was not a part of the 18-man gameday roster, still suffered from a calf strain, while Clint Mathis was away from the match due to family reasons and did not return in time to make the trip to Chicago.
• For Dema Kovalenko, it was his first start since June 10, against D.C. United. He had made just three substitute appearances since, totaling 63 minutes in all, recovering from facial injuries over the last month suffered in a auto accident which followed closely on the heels of his coming back from a groin injury.
• Angel's goal put him one away from the New York club record, set by Adolfo Valencia in 2000 - and that total came in 31 matches. Angel has 15 goals in 19 games, missing the opening five games of the year while still awaiting his visa paperwork.
• "Aside from Alex Rodriguez, he's having one of the great seasons of any athlete in the metropolitan New York area," Arena said of Angel. "And it still goes unrecognized, and that certainly is sad. But we're hopeful that we can build this product to a point where we do get recognized in this very difficult sports community."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
The New England Revolution guaranteed their spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs with a 4-2 victory against FC Dallas in a U.S. Open Cup Final preview, last Saturday at Gillette Stadium. The Revolution now have 45 points from 24 matches tightening the Eastern Conference race, pulling back to within four points of idle D.C. United with both teams having five matches yet to play.
LAST MATCH
• The Revolution were looking to get back on track after a 4-2 loss to D.C. United that left them seven points behind the MLS overall leaders by the beginning of the weekend. FC Dallas had rebounded from back-to-back losses with a 2-0 win against Toronto FC their last time out.
• Khano Smith had been dangerous from the start for the Revolution, and in the 29th minute he whipped in a low cross from the left flank that Pat Noonan turned home at the near post with a flick of the outside of his right boot. But FC Dallas pulled level just six minutes later. Dax McCarty swung in a high free kick from well out on the right, and Carlos Ruiz acrobatically rose up at the far post to twist a header back into the goal.
• After the break, the Revolution put the game away. Noonan grabbed his second in the 65th minute, finishing off a lovely short-passing movement. Steve Ralston took over from Jeff Larentowicz in the area and pulled back a quick pass for Noonan, who hooked it home for his sixth goal on the year, the goals his first since Aug. 2.
• Then in the 78th minute, FCD 'keeper Dario Sala couldn't hold Andy Dorman's rolling cross from the left, and Taylor Twellman found Ralston on the doorstep, who finally prodded the ball over the line on the second attempt after Sala blocked the first.
• The Hoops pulled a goal back in the 84th minute when Ruiz powered home a header from a Dominic Oduro cross on the right, but Smith scored a deserved goal for his work on the night in the 90th minute, lashing home a right-footed drive from well outside the area that beat Sala inside his right-hand post.
• Revolution head coach Steve Nicol made one change to the team that lost 4-2 at D.C. United the Sunday before. Jay Heaps was slowed by injury, and James Riley took his place in the back three.
• Here's Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Reis - James Riley, Michael Parkhurst, Avery John - Steve Ralston, Jeff Larentowicz, Shalrie Joseph, Khano Smith - Andy Dorman - Taylor Twellman, Pat Noonan (Adam Cristman 79). Substitutes Not Used: Jay Heaps, Marshall Leonard, Chris Loftus, Sainey Nyassi, Wells Thompson, Doug Warren
• "We really thought this was the start of our end-of-season run. We really need to start our season off again. We've been winning and losing, winning and losing, and it's not really our pattern. We wanted to impose ourselves," said Paul Mariner, standing in for Nicol on the sidelines after he was sent off in the 4-2 to D.C. United the weekend before.
TEAM NEWS
• A key to the match - and to the Revolution success generally - was the improved flank play. Two of the goals came from crosses, and right winger Steve Ralston had a goal and two assists while Khano Smith on the left had a goal and an assist. The all-time MLS assist leader, Ralston now leads the league with 11 assists - he has finished as the season assist leader just once, in 1999, when he had 18 for Tampa Bay Mutiny.
• We've worked very, very hard in training this week, emphasizing that we need to get the ball in out wide to Steve [Ralston] and Khano [Smith] and it just seemed like they both did exceptionally well tonight," Mariner said.
• Said Pat Noonan: "At halftime we made adjustments, people finding the ball more and finding the holes more with more movement, giving us more options and keeping the ball on the ground. We were able to do that. People kept moving off each other and we created opportunities. We got the ball wide, got some services and Khano (Smith) and (Steve) Ralston started taking guys on and played some balls in."
• While the Revolution have kept clean sheets in three of their last 10 games, over the same stretch they have allowed three goals in three separate games and four goals in another, as well as the two against FCD.
• "We need to get back to clean sheets. It's all about possession of the ball. As you can see, the quality of the league is improving. Carlos' (Ruiz) goal was a very good goal from their point of view, a very poor goal from our point of view. The service in was very good. Obviously we'll look at that on the DVD, but we need to start to address that," Mariner said. "But it's a collective thing; it's not just the back three and (Matt) Reis. It's a collective thing."
• Of the Revolution's five remaining games, three are on the road. But a victory at Giants Stadium would put them 11 points ahead of the Red Bulls with just 12 points available in the race for second place in the Eastern Conference and home-field advantage for the conference semifinals.
• "We have to win as many games as we can at home. We've found that most teams like to sit in a little bit on us, so we really do have to use the width (of the field) and we have to be a little more patient ... the players want to do well for themselves, and for the home crowd," Mariner said.
