REAL SALT LAKE vs CHICAGO FIRE
RIO TINTO STADIUM, Bridgeview, Ill.
Sept. 12, 2009 (WEEK 26) / MLS Game #180
7 p.m. MT (FSC/FSE)
Winners of two in a row, Real Salt Lake return home to face the Chicago Fire in a match vital to both clubs in the chase for the MLS Cup Playoffs. Real have 33 points on the season, sitting in a three-way tie for eighth place overall and the final spot in the postseason - yet have played two more games than the teams they are tied with. The Fire sit in second place in the Eastern Conference and hold one of the two automatic playoff spots - yet while just a point behind East leaders Columbus, they now lead third-place D.C. United by just two points.
REFEREE: Alex Prus. SAR (bench): Frank Anderson; JAR (opposite): George Gansner; 4th: Tyler Ploeger
MLS Career: 153 games; FC/gm: 28.6; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 34; pens: 43
INJURY REPORT: REAL SALT LAKE - DOUBTFUL: MF Javier Morales (L ankle sprain); QUESTIONABLE: DF Robbie Russell (neck sprain); PROBABLE: MF Nelson González (R hamstring tightness); MF Clint Mathis (lower back pain) ... CHICAGO FIRE - OUT: DF Gonzalo Segares (L MCL sprain); DF Daniel Woolard (L ankle sprain); DF Tim Ward (L metatarsal fracture); PROBABLE: MF John Thorrington (sartorius strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: RSL: Kyle Beckerman (caution accumulation; through Sept. 13); Ned Grabavoy (Sept. 13)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: RSL: Tony Beltran, Clint Mathis, Robbie Russell ... CHI: Gonzalo Segares
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: RSL: Nat Borchers, Pablo Campos, Fabian Espindola, Javier Morales, Chris Wingert ... CHI: Jon Busch, Chris Rolfe, Tim Ward
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (9 meetings): Real Salt Lake 1 win, 6 goals ... Fire 5 wins, 13 goals ... Ties 3
IN SALT LAKE (4 meetings): Real Salt Lake 1 win, 4 goals ... Fire 2 wins, 7 goals ... Ties 1
• The teams played to a pair of draws last season, and have drawn three times in their last five encounters.
• The Fire won both meetings in Real's inaugural season, then each team won on their home turf in 2006, the RSL win on June 3 the club's only victory in the all-time series.
• The Fire ended the series at Rice-Eccles Stadium with two wins and a draw in four all-time meetings there; the second meeting this year will be the first-ever appearance for Chicago at Rio Tinto Stadium.
• Coaches record: Jason Kreis v CHI: P4 W0 L2 D3 ... Denis Hamlett vs. RSL: P3 W1 L0 D2
LAST MEETING (MLS):
8/1: CHI 1, RSL 0 (Nyarko 86)
• The Chicago Fire defeated Real Salt Lake by the game's only goal when the teams met for the first time this year, Aug. 1 at Toyota Park.
• A quiet first half nearly saw a goal come in the 72nd minute when Robbie Findley had a glorious chance, only to see his shot come back off the face of the crossbar.
• The Fire hit for the eventual winner four minutes later. Tim Ward flighted in a high cross from the left touchline and Patrick Nyarko got in behind his marker, volleying home inside the left post for his fourth goal on the season and second in the last three games.
• Here's Hamlett's team (4-1-3-2): Jon Busch - Brandon Prideaux, C.J. Brown, Bakary Soumare, Gonzalo Segares - Logan Pause - Marco Pappa (Baggio Husidic 88), Justin Mapp (Mike Banner 65), Tim Ward - Patrick Nyarko, Chris Rolfe (Calen Carr 77). Substitutes Not Used: Stefan Dimitrov, Andrew Dykstra, Dasan Robinson, Daniel Woolard
• Here's Kreis's team (4-2-1-3): Nick Rimando - Chris Wingert, Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave, Tony Beltran - Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson (Andy Williams 84) - Javier Morales - Clint Mathis, Yura Movsisyan (Robbie Findley 46), Fabian Espindola (Pablo Campos 76). Substitutes Not Used: Raphael Cox, Ned Grabavoy, David Horst, Chris Seitz
REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake put their two-game winning streak on the line when they return to action, their last match a 1-0 victory against the Kansas City Wizards on Aug. 29. Real have 33 points from 24 matches on the year, in a tie for fifth place in the Western Conference, also in a three-way tie for eighth place overall and the final spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
LAST MATCH
• Real Salt Lake were coming off another stunning victory at home, this time a 4-0 rout of Chivas USA, while the Wizards had lost three in a row, all by shutout, and had won just once since mid-May.
• RSL scored early and made the single goal stand up. Robbie Russell carried forward up the right flank, sliding a pass inside to Andy Williams, and he slid a square pass to an unmarked Pablo Campos at the spot, who turned home the simple finish for his second goal with Real and second in as many games.
• Real were reduced to 10 men in the 42nd minute when Ned Grabavoy, but the Wizards couldn't break through and saw their scoreless streak extended to 424 minutes, then just three shy of the club's all-time record.
• Real coach Jason Kreis made five changes to the team that defeated Chivas USA 4-0 just three days previous at Rio Tinto Stadium. Chris Seitz made his first start since mid-May in goal in place of Nick Rimando. Robbie Russell returned to the back four in place of Tony Beltran. Raphael Cox, Ned Grabavoy and Clint Mathis also came into the midfield, in place of Will Johnson, Rachid El Khalifi and Fabian Espindola.
• Here's Kreis's team (4-2-3-1): Chris Seitz - Chris Wingert, Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave, Robbie Russell - Kyle Beckerman, Ned Grabavoy - Raphael Cox (Fabian Espindola 72), Andy Williams (Jean Alexandre 46), Clint Mathis - Pablo Campos (Robbie Findley 56). Substitutes Not Used: Tony Beltran, Rachid El Khalifi, Javier Morales, Nick Rimando
TEAM NEWS
• Just 72 hours removed from another big victory at home, Kreis turned over nearly half of his team, giving starts to three players - goalkeeper Chris Seitz, forward Raphael Cox and midfielder Ned Grabavoy - who had only 11 starts between them.
• "I don't feel like there are too many of the guys who should or could be trying to play 90 minutes times three in six days," said Kreis. "We have a lot of guys we believe in."
• But yet again, Real were left a man down when Ned Grabavoy was sent off just before halftime. It was the sixth red card for an RSL player this season, most in MLS, yet Real have gone 1-4-1 in games where they've gone a man down.
• "We always play a man down versus a full side a lot in training. We've done it probably 30, 40 times," said Seitz. "When that happened at halftime, we were all like, 'We've been here before. We've done it in training. It's time to put it to use.' We stuck together, stayed tight, and defended our [butts] off."
• Real were out-shot 15-7 for the match yet managed to hold on for a second consecutive shutout and their fourth in the last five games.
• "We continue to talk about battling, fighting mentality, commitment levels, and effort, and tonight was another example for us as a team that believes in themselves and is willing to work for results," said Kreis. "Without that tonight, we certainly wouldn't have been able to come out of here with three points."
• For Seitz, it was his first career MLS shutout, coming in his first start since May 16, when he spelled an injured Nick Rimando for three consecutive contests and allowed five goals in that stint. "Chris Seitz is somebody that we think has been training extremely well for quite a few weeks now, and he took full advantage of it," Kreis said.
CHICAGO FIRE
The Chicago Fire have now alternated wins and losses for six consecutive matches, their last match a 1-0 home loss to D.C. United on Aug. 29 at Toyota Park. The Fire have 38 points from 24 matches, a point behind the Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference, having played one more game.
LAST MATCH
• The Fire were coming off a stirring 3-2 come-from-behind win against Colorado that gave them two wins in a week-long stretch, while United had been shut out in back-to-back league games and were winless in their last four in MLS play.
• The game's only goal came after 11 minutes. Christian Gomez flighted in a free kick from the right flank and Bryan Namoff slashed into to meet at the top of the box, flicking it over a defender and into the left corner for his second goal on the campaign.
• Fire head coach Denis Hamlett made three changes to the team that came back for a 3-2 win against the Colorado Rapids the week before. Mike Banner came into the back four for the suspended Dasan Robinson, John Thorrington came back from suspension for Peter Lowry, and Patrick Nyarko started up top in place of Stefan Dimitrov.
• Here's Hamlett's team (4-1-3-1-1): Jon Busch - Mike Banner, Austin Washington, C.J. Brown, Brandon Prideaux (Justin Mapp 66) - Logan Pause - Marco Pappa (Peter Lowry 78), Chris Rolfe (Stefan Dimitrov 71), John Thorrington - Cuauhtemoc Blanco - Patrick Nyarko. Substitutes Not Used: Calen Carr, Wilman Conde, Andrew Dykstra, Baggio Husidic
TEAM NEWS
• It was the fifth time in 12 games at Toyota Park where the Fire have been shut out. Their 11 home goals are second-fewest in MLS and their 4-4-4 home record ranks 13th out of the 15 clubs.
• "They just dropped six, seven, eight guys behind the ball," Hamlett said. "Two shots on goal, and they score on one. The story is getting old. We played well in the run of play. We don't do well on one play and get punished." Said Fire forward Chris Rolfe: "They were pretty good defensively. They were very organized. I thought we didn't create many really dangerous chances. A lot of our looks were from outside the 18."
• After starting with five wins and six draws in the first 11 games of the season, the Fire have now been shut out six times in the 13 games since. They have posted clean sheets five times at the defensive end.
• "I thought we could have had a little more balance," Hamlett said. "In our final third, we had some good buildups, but didn't have the right final pass. We had a lot of free kicks and corner kicks, which we didn't do well with." Said Fire forward Patrick Nyarko: "We need to move the ball back and more numbers into the attack. We need to get a lot of guys into there. We need to crush the box and get more balls in there."
• Hamlett employed a real makeshift back four, with Mike Banner - a third-year player who had spent time primarily as a wide midfielder - slotted in at fullback. While Dasan Robinson will be back from suspension for the RSL match, the Fire will still be without Gonzalo Segares, Daniel Woolard and Tim Ward to long-term injuries. The other hope is that Colombian center back Wilman Conde could return from a hamstring injury suffered in mid-July.
• "If not that (RSL) game, then the next one against Columbus (Sept. 20) and that's obviously a big game for us," Fire technical director Frank Klopas said.
• The Fire made news during their break by announced Chris Rolfe will move to Aalborg of the Danish SuperLiga after the completion of the MLS season. But the club could have striker Brian McBride back for the stretch run. The veteran, whose last game was July 11 because of a shoulder injury, has returned to limited training.
• "He's in full go," Hamlett said. "He's looking good. We are still being cautious, and working on his fitness and getting his soccer sharpness back. ... We want to make sure we put him in situations, with the shoulder and bicep, that he has some contact. There is a chance (he would be available to play) this weekend."
