A game of two halves at Toyota Park saw the New England Revolution emerge with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against the Chicago Fire, built on the back of an excellent first-half display and an effort after the break that owed more to the side's character and spirit than its ability to maintain possession on a consistent basis.
"We're delighted to get three points," said Revolution head coach Steve Nicol. "In the first half we were deservedly ahead. We were keeping the ball well and making good decisions. The second half was the complete opposite. All (Chicago) did was give us trouble. We didn't pass the ball well but, luckily, we've got some boys with big hearts and we toughed it out."
Nicol was referring to the sustained pressure after the break, which saw the Fire mount attack after attack on Matt Reis' goal. That Dave Sarachan's side had only Nate Jaqua's 51st-minute goal, which cut in half a lead given to New England by goals from Steve Ralston and Andy Dorman, to show for its efforts at the end of the game was due in no small measure to a resolute performance by the entire Revolution side in defense of its own net.
"Taylor (Twellman) was getting back there. Shalrie Joseph and Jeff (Larentowicz) were getting in there too," said Nicol. "When you lose a goal that early in the half you know it's going to be a long time. It encouraged them to come forward but we got some bodies in the way of their shots. We dodged some bullets but we'll take it."
As well as benefiting from some brave defending, as white shirts blocked several Chicago efforts, and some profligate finishing from the home side, New England also gained the benefit of referee Tim Weyland's doubt in the 71st minute. Andy Herron had a goal disallowed after he was deemed to have pushed covering defender James Riley in order to tap home a ball he had played past Reis. It looked a borderline call but the defender admitted he always expected to have it go his way.
"I felt I had the position on (Herron). As a defender, you expect to get that call. I wasn't sure whether (Weyland) had given it or not but I knew I had been fouled," said Riley, who emerged with great credit from a game in which he was constantly put under pressure by the 6-foot-3, 180 lb. Jaqua.
"He's a player who makes good runs and has size. He tries to post up and bring other players in. You try to double him up but he'll win most things in the air," said Michael Parkhurst, twinned in central defense with Riley. "A couple of times, he laid it off and guys were able to run into the box, but we all came up big to stop things."
Though the Revs ended the game with their backs to the wall, their first-half performance displayed some of the best attacking soccer the side has played for some time. The side's two goals were both well worked, with Ralston curling home a low shot following a neat turn to lose his marker, followed by Dorman's unerringly accurate left-footed drive, which was set up by a clever run and reverse pass by Twellman.
"The two finishes were great. (Ralston's) was as smooth as silk while Andy's was just great placement," said Nicol.
Said Ralston: "I'll take them any way they come. I just felt the guy to the side of me and tried to get in. I saw a lot of daylight and it was nice to finish it off. It felt good to score as I haven't been getting into the attack much recently."
Ralston spoke for his teammates and coaching staff when he admitted that, following a run of seven games in 21 days, he is looking forward to relaxing a little at home. New England is off now until next Friday, when Real Salt Lake comes to Gillette Stadium.
Following that, three more road games are on the docket and the veteran midfielder knows that, although a 3-1-3 record over this most recent bunch of games is something to be happy with, his side cannot afford to take its foot off the gas, with regular season games staring to run out.
"It will be nice to be home and see our families; we've done a lot of traveling. We need to keep winning to position ourselves well," Ralston said. "It would be nice to catch (first-place) D.C. (United), but we need to focus on ourselves and playing for 90 minutes. That is something I don't really feel we have done enough of this season."
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
