Revolution squelch Fire for trip to Cup

Midfielder Clint Dempsey scored his first goal of the postseason to give New England just its second MLS Cup appearance in their 10th season. They will take on the Los Angeles Galaxy next weekend at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.

Dempsey gave the home team a dream start by opening the scoring after just four minutes of play, and it proved to be the only tally of the contest. Daniel Hernandez started the play with a free kick near midfield, finding an unmarked Shalrie Joseph on the right side of the box. His cross-turned-shot beat Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton and scuttled across the face of the goal when Dempsey slid through to poke it into the unguarded net.

The match was not without its controversy though. The visitors appeared to have leveled the score in second-half stoppage time, but a strike from Gonzalo Segares was waved off thanks to an offside call.

The early goal opened up the game, and the Fire were first to create a quality chance in reply. Chicago's forward partnership of Chris Rolfe and Nate Jaqua linked up in the 16th minute after a booming clearance from Thornton. Jaqua climbed high to flick the ball on to Rolfe, and the rookie did well to get off a left-footed shot from a tight angle, but New England goalkeeper Matt Reis gobbled it up with little difficulty.

The match was physical from the outset, with members of both teams flying into tackles fearlessly. Jaqua fell victim to the physicality of the contest in the first half, initially by earning a yellow card in the 27th minute and then when he was forced off the field in the 43rd due to a concussion. Another rookie, Chad Barrett, came on to replace him.

The 1-0 score held until the intermission, though Jack Stewart and Thiago both had chances for Chicago shortly before the whistle.

The end-to-end action continued after the break, but the Fire struggled to produce many quality chances. The Revolution almost also lost a man to injury shortly after halftime, but winger Steve Ralston was able to fight through a slight hamstring tweak to stay in the game.

Barrett had the first clean look at the target just past the 60-minute mark. His low drive from 18 yards forced a good save from Reis, who dived to his left to parry the effort. Two minutes later it was Thiago's turn, though he too was thwarted by Reis, this time as he extended to his right.

New England head coach Steve Nicol eventually did choose to remove Ralston, replacing him with Uruguayan playmaker Jose Cancela with 22 minutes remaining. The Fire countered with an offensive switch of their own three minutes later, inserting Costa Rican striker Andy Herron while withdrawing Rolfe.

The Fire sent bodies forward for the final 10 minutes, but they found it difficult to penetrate New England's tightly-packed defense. Stewart found a little space on the left flank, but his cross had too much air under it and was easily handled by the Revs.

Reis raced out of his goalmouth twice in the 89th minute to pick off long, searching crosses, neither of which the Fire had a legitimate chance to finish. Four minutes of stoppage time were added, and the hosts were content to pack it in and protect their lead.

The tactic nearly backfired two minutes after the full 90 minutes were completed, when Segares slipped in behind the Revolution defense, took advantage of a hesitation from Reis as he came off his line, and hit the back of the net for Chicago -- only to see the flag of referee's assistant George Gansner go up for offside and rule out the goal.

The decision was tight and the Fire were furious with the call. Herron saw his afternoon end early when he shown a red card for verbally abusing Gansner.

The final whistle was blown minutes later, though emotions were still running high as the teams pushed and shoved in the center of the park. In the end, it was all smiles for the Revolution, who will have a chance to avenge their dramatic 2002 MLS Cup loss to the Galaxy when they meet next Sunday at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The title tilt is scheduled to kickoff at 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen live on ABC Sports.

MLSnet.com Man of the Match: Matt Reis (New England Revolution)

Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.