The New England Revolution Reserve squad (0-5-4, 4 pts.) played to a 0-0 draw with the Chicago Fire Reserves (2-3-2, 8 pts.) on Monday morning at Payson Park Field. Despite late scoring chances for both teams, neither was able to find the back of the net.
For New England, goalkeepers Doug Warren and T.J. Tomasso combined for the shutout, each playing 45 minutes in the draw. Chicago's Matt Pickens and David Mahoney combined for the Fire's clean sheet, also each playing one half.
In the first half, both teams went close with Chicago carrying the edge in play. After New England forward Willie Sims' volley toward the left post in the 12th minute was saved by Pickens, Revs midfielder Khano Smith saw two of his shots go wide - one in the 14th minute to the right and one in the 19th minute to the left.
Chicago picked up the pace and controlled play the remainder of the first half, with Warren making several saves to preserve the nil-nil scoreline. In the 26th minute, Fire midfielder Floyd Franks worked through traffic in the left center channel and shot far post from 16 yards out, forcing Warren to make a save in the 26th minute. In the 30th, Warren again stepped up, collecting Ryan Johnson's header from inside the six-yard box off a broken corner kick.
The Fire again threatened in the 34th minute when guest midfielder Angel Rivillo launched a shot from 35 yards out that was on target, but inches high. One minute later, Warren saved forward Calen Carr's header shot from 12 yards out toward the right post.
Chicago continued to sustain the attack as the second half opened, and went close in the 57th minute when midfielder Brian Plotkin picked up a rebound off guest player Omar MacFarlane's shot and - with an open net - shot wide right. In the 65th minute, guest player Hemir Niebles nearly scored when he sent in a looping shot just high of net after a quick passing sequence at the top of the penalty area with MacFarlane.
After checking into the game in the 60th minute, New England midfielder Miguel Gonzalez - making his last appearance for the Revolution before making his debut with the U.S. National Under-20 Team at the Busan International Youth Tournament in Busan, South Korea - helped pick up the Revs' attack playing out on the left wing.
In the 67th minute, Gonzalez had the team's best chance of the game when he put a perfectly-weighted shot on frame from 12 yards out, just outside the penalty area, but Mahoney was able to get his fingertips on the ball to make the save.
Plotkin again looked to put the Fire up in the 72nd minute, but his blast from the edge of the 18-yard box in the left-center channel aimed toward the far post went high.
The Fire had one final chance as time wore down when MacFarlane took a shot from the left-center channel to the far post, forcing Tomasso to make the save in the 86th minute. On the ensuing corner kick, Johnson connected with a header off of Plotkin's service, but his shot found the upper right corner of the goal frame and kicked back into play, where the Revs managed to clear the ball.
The New England Reserves return to action when they travel to Columbus, Ohio, to face the Crew Reserves on Sunday, Sept. 3, at 10 a.m. Chicago's Reserves are in action next on Sunday, Aug. 27, when they host the Colorado Rapids Reserves at 10 a.m.
Chicago Fire Reserves vs. New England Revolution Reserves
August 21, 2006 - Foxborough, Mass. (Payson Park Field)
Scoring Summary:
None
CHI - Matt Pickens (David Mahoney 45), Leonard Griffin (Brian Plotkin 45), Jim Curtain (Gonzalo Segares 45), Alex Ughiovhe, Jordan Russolillo, Diego Gutierrez (David Henning 45), Angel Rivillo, Ryan Johnson, Floyd Franks (Landy Mattison 45), Calen Carr (Hemir Niebles 45), Omar MacFarlane.
Substitutes Not Used: None
NE - Doug Warren (T.J. Tomasso 45), Avery John, Pat Haggerty, Anders Kelto, Danny Wynn, Khano Smith (Miguel Gonzalez 60), Tony Lochhead, Goeff Walker, Adam Williamson, Kyle Brown, Willie Sims (Adrian Melville 60).
Substitutes Not Used: None
Misconduct Summary:
NE - Wynn (caution) 43
CHI - Niebles (caution) 64
Referee: Niko Bratsis
Referee's Assistants: Russ Wolf, Victor Matheson
Fourth Official: Scott Kchmarik
Time of Game: 1:40
Weather: Partly sunny, 71 degrees
