With neither Chicago nor D.C. having anything to take out of last Friday's Eastern Conference Semifinal Series first leg, the two sides will reconvene in the Nation's Capital this Sunday in a one-game, winner-take-all showdown to decide who moves on and who goes home.
Chicago-Fire.com caught up with Fire head coach Dave Sarachan following Wednesday's training session to close the book for good on Game One and see what to expect for Sunday's decisive match at RFK Stadium.
Chicago-Fire.com: To take one last look back at last Friday's first leg and the way it ended, how do you approach the "fallout" from that situation as a coach? Do you tell the guys to shrug it off and forget about it, or do you try to use it as a motivational tool?
Dave Sarachan: "We deserved something out of that game. I think 0-0, at the end of the day, is not the end of the world, but we feel we earned the right to get that goal. You go through a couple of days to figure it out, and then you move on, so now it's behind us. We've moved on and our job now is to look forward, not back."
Chicago-Fire.com: Much of the talk surrounding this series emphasized the Fire needing to get a win at home in the first leg, but does the team feel like getting a win in D.C. is an impossible task?
Dave Sarachan: "Getting a tie was not the end of the world. There's a big emphasis on home field, so when you talk to the D.C. guys they are going to say that they got just what they wanted. But now there's one soccer game and it happens to be at RFK, where we have had some success this year. We don't look at last Friday's game as a disappointment. We just look at it now as a one game final."
Chicago-Fire.com: The lack of offense in last Friday's game was noticeable, but much of D.C.'s woes were caused directly by the Fire's defensive effort, which was one of the best of the season. What did the Fire do differently last Friday to make it so difficult on United's attackers?
Dave Sarachan: "We elevated our awareness and alertness in that game. We made it very hard on D.C. United and I think they were very happy to come out of there with a tie. We made it hard on them. I think we imposed ourselves on them and I think we had the better chances on the day - not that we had a lot of them. Defensively, it was just a higher level of concentration, and that's going to be required again on Sunday."
Chicago-Fire.com: What type of game are you expecting to see on Sunday, the wide-open "goalfests" the two sides played during the regular season or another slug-it-out, physical affair like last Friday?
Dave Sarachan: "We all realize that it's one game to advance to the Conference Championship, so one or two plays will make a difference. It's not going to be a wide-open game like the earlier games were because both teams will be putting in a lot of work on both sides of the field. It's going to just take one special play that will turn the game."
Chicago-Fire.com: What is the one thing you stress to your squad this week on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball?
Dave Sarachan: "Offensively, the key is to put them on their heels and get numbers forward when we win balls. Defensively, just pick up where we left off. Stay with their key guys, close space the best we can and make it hard on them."
Chicago-Fire.com: RFK Stadium is one of, if not the hardest place to play in MLS, and the atmosphere this weekend will certainly be no different. Do you think that type of caustic atmosphere can work to the Fire's advantage at all on Sunday?
Dave Sarachan: "Years ago, when I was a player, these kind of games, home or away, brought out the best in you. That atmosphere alone, whether they are cheering for or against you, I think is great. And I think our guys will relish the moment. As I said before, we've had success at RFK and we're not afraid to go into RFK. We're really looking forward to it."
