FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New England Revolution head coach Steve Nicol was displeased with his team's performance in the first half of a 1-0 loss Sunday to the Chicago Fire, and he let his team know it at half time.
"They've matched us [in formation]," Nicol said. "It's all down to hard work."
Nicol felt the hard work wasn't there in the first stanza. The Fire grabbed the eventual game-winner in the 24th minute as Chris Armas played Andy Herron behind the Revolution defense and drove the ball home past a stranded Matt Reis.
The Revs boss wasn't happy with his players' decision-making, either.
"We kept trying to play the ball in the middle of the field when it was obvious that it wasn't working," Nicol said.
But the team improved in the second half with the insertion of Jose Cancela into the contest. In large part thanks to Cancela, the Revs created several good chances in the second half. Still, they couldn't find the back of the net.
Cancela forced a diving save out of Fire 'keeper Zach Thornton in the 64th minute, and Pat Noonan rattled a shot off the crossbar moments later. Striker Taylor Twellman had two apparent goals disallowed.
"I think the kick up the back side helped," Nicol said. "We deserved (a result) but we didn't execute."
Nicol pointed to a missed chance by Twellman in the 49th minute as the turning point in the match. The striker was inexplicably left open six yards from goal but directed his header wide of the post with the goal at his mercy.
"You have to score a free header in the middle of the six yard box," Nicol said.
Arguably the more vital altercation occurred far earlier as Jay Heaps and Chad Barrett scuffled early in the first half after Heaps put his hands in Barrett's face when the two were jostling for a header. Barrett retaliated by pushing Heaps to the ground.
Both players were shown yellow, and Nicol was livid that Barrett was allowed to remain in the game.
"If you lift your hands to anybody on the field, you should leave the field," Nicol said. "They should have been down to ten men."
Heaps was left fuming in the locker room after the contest.
"I was told a two-handed push to the chest was a red card," Heaps said. "I've never seen anything like it in my eight years in the league."
Heaps predicted the two teams will have another spirited contest on Wednesday as the pair duel again on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.
"It'll be a special night on Wednesday," Heaps said. "If I was a fan, I'd watch."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
