In a series filled with tight and physical matches, the New England Revolution and Chicago Fire stuck to form as they played out a 0-0 draw at Gillette Stadium.
New England enjoyed the lion's share of the possession and went close multiple times in the first half, but the Fire rode their luck and looked increasingly dangerous on the break at the end of both halves. All of that grit and industry went for naught as the match ended scoreless.
In the end, neither side left the match ultimately satisfied with the victory required to help bolster their playoff hopes, though the Fire went a long way to sealing their berth by picking up a critical road point ahead of Chivas USA's visit on Thursday night.
New England made two changes to the side that lost 1-0 to Columbus last Saturday. Edgaras Jankauskas (strained right adductor) returned up front for the first time in three matches. Jankauskas' return allowed Kenny Mansally to shift back to his preferred berth wide left and dropped Wells Thompson to the bench. Jeff Larentowicz (right knee bone bruise) replaced Pat Phelan in central midfield after missing the past two matches. Matt Reis shook off a left ankle sprain suffered on Thursday to take his normal place between the posts.
Fire coach Denis Hamlett made three alterations from the starting XI that lost 1-0 in Los Angeles on Oct. 2. Dasan Robinson replaced Wilman Conde (right hip contusion) in central defense after the Colombian wasn't deemed fit enough to travel. Chris Rolfe (left hamstring strain) returned froma two-game absence to play on the right side of midfield with Justin Mapp dropping to the bench. Baggio Husidic made his first start since July 11 in place of Peter Lowry. Cuauhtemoc Blanco settled for a place on the bench after his exploits with Mexico earlier this week.
With Toronto FC's 1-0 win against Real Salt Lake going final as the match kicked off, New England had ample motivation to start out on the front foot and the Revs followed through accordingly.
Mansally's blocked header at the far post signaled New England's intent after just two minutes after Kevin Alston's cross from the right. Alston and Sainey Nyassi posed the primary danger to the Fire backline down the right wing in the opening stanza as the Fire struggled to keep its defensive shape with its makeshift backline.
The defensive disorganization meant Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch had plenty to do to keep his side in the match. A fine dive to his right kept Nyassi's sharp angle drive out after 24 minutes after Larentowicz's clever feed played him through. Busch then had to leap to clutch Mansally's dipping free kick two minutes later as the Revs continue to press forward.
New England's eagerness to open the scoring allowed Chicago ample room on the counter and the Fire started to enter the match more earnestly as the match progressed towards halftime. Most of the Fire's best work came from Marco Pappa down the right side as the Fire switched around their wide players and shunted Rolfe up front.
Rolfe spurned the best chance of the half on 39 minutes as his chip skipped just wide of the far post. Pappa's ball released him in behind and Rolfe managed to carve out an opportunity on the vacated net after Revs goalkeeper Reis took a poor angle to the ball and came nowhere near it.
Mansally attempted the audacious on the stroke of halftime as he volleyed from all of the 30 yards. The effort skimmed past the near post and the sides entered the break on level terms.
New England continued to seek the goal it needed to stoke its playoff chances and went close twice inside the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Nyassi continued to pose problems down the right side and forced Busch into another sharp angle save five minutes after the interval when he wriggled free on the byline and fired at the near post.
Then it was Alston's turn to surge down the right side in the 57th minute as he used his pace to create separation when he streaked into the penalty area. All of that good work dissipated when Alston squared the ball into the middle of Kheli Dube's stride and the chance frittered away as the ball skipped through the Zimbabwean forward's legs.
Controversy ensued five minutes later as Osei's blunder at the back set Rolfe free behind the Revolution back line. Rolfe rounded Reis and the Revolution goalkeeper appeared to make contact to haul the Fire striker to the ground. Referee Jorge Gonzalez saw it differently, handing Rolfe a yellow card for simulation and giving New England a significant reprieve.
The home side didn't seize on its second chance as well it may have hoped. Jankauskas flicked substitute Mauricio Castro's effort over the bar after 73 minutes, but the Revs struggled to turn their territorial advantage into clear cut chances.
Much like it did in the first half, Chicago improved as the second half progressed and looked dangerous on the counter. Brian McBride nearly fed Baggio Husidic a late winner with 10 minutes to play, but the rookie midfielder couldn't meet McBride's slide rule pass to the far post and condemned the match to a scoreless finish.
The result means the playoff fortunes for both clubs will go down to the final week of the season. The Fire entertain Chivas USA on Thursday night at Toyota Park, while the Revolution travel to take on the Columbus Crew on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the 2009 calendar.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com
