Fire, TFC look to start second half right
Teams tied for fourth in Eastern Conference entering match
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TOYOTA PARK, Bridgeview, Ill.
July 12, 2008 | 7:30 p.m. CT (FSC/FSE; RogersSN)
WEEK # 16 | GAME # 109
Tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Fire and Toronto FC come together at Toyota Park looking to kick-start the second half of their season. The Fire are now winless in their last five league games as they've fallen back in the pack in the division. Toronto FC are still unbeaten at home for the season - but have won just once away from BMO Field, where they have 10 of their final 16 games on the campaign.
REFEREE: Jorge Gonzalez. SAR (bench): Adam Wienckowski; JAR (opposite): Jeff Muschik; 4th: Abbey Okulaja MLS Career: 20 games; FC/gm: 27.9; Y/gm: 4.0; R: 6; pens: 9
INJURY REPORT: CHICAGO FIRE - OUT: FW Andy Herron (concussion); DF Dasan Robinson (R ankle sprain); QUESTIONABLE: FW Tomasz Frankowski (R quadriceps contusion); PROBABLE: FW Calen Carr (R mid-foot sprain) ... TORONTO FC - OUT: DF Todd Dunivant (ankle); DOUBTFUL: FW Danny Dichio (concussion); QUESTIONABLE: DF Olivier Tebily (ankle)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: CHI: Bakary Soumare (five cautions; through July 12)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: CHI: Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Diego Gutierrez, Gonzalo Segares, John Thorrington ... TOR: Maurice Edu, Laurent Robert
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CHI: Brandon Prideaux ... TOR: Jeff Cunningham, Amado Guevara
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (3 meetings): Fire 1 win, 5 goals ... Toronto FC 1 win, 4 goals ... Ties 1 AT TOYOTA PARK (1 meeting): Fire 0 wins, 1 goal ... Toronto FC 0 wins, 1 goal ... Ties 1• This is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season, the only one at Toyota Park. They will conclude their season series on Oct. 12 at BMO Field.
LAST YEAR (MLS):
5/12: TOR 3, CHI 1 (Dichio 24; Goldthwaite 51; Edu 75 - Rolfe 36)
7/7: CHI 1, TOR 1 (Barrett 70 - Edu 78)
7/29: TOR 0, CHI 3 (Guerrero 37; Carr 58; Franks 75)
• The teams evenly split the season series in Toronto FC's first season in the league, each winning once with the third match ending in a draw.
• The teams split the two contests in the province of Ontario, while the draw came in the lone matchup in Bridgeview.
• Coaches record: Denis Hamlett v TOR: first game ... John Carver vs. CHI: first game
CHICAGO FIRE
The Chicago Fire continued their recent success against the Columbus Crew, yet still saw their winless streak continue as the Crew came back to snatch a 2-2 home draw on Saturday evening. The Fire are tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 21 points from 14 matches, level with Toronto FC, a point behind third-place D.C. UnitedLAST MATCH
• The Crew were riding a three-game unbeaten streak in which they had scored eight goals, while the Fire had seen their league winless run reach four games.
• The Fire hadn't scored in 333 minutes of league play coming into the game, but that streak ended quickly. In the eighth minute, Cuauhtemoc Blanco caught out the Columbus offside trap with a ball played over the top that Justin Mapp ran onto. Mapp's first-time blast came back off the base of the left post, but Chris Rolfe followed up and hooked home the rebound with a side volley.
• Then in the 25th minute, the Fire doubled their lead. A flowing move from their own half concluded when Gonzalo Segares overlapped on the left and drove in a low ball that Calen Carr slid it to deflect home for his second goal of the year.
• But the Crew began their fightback just 11 minutes later. Guillermo Barros Schelotto stripped Fire defender Bakary Soumare on the left side of the area and clipped a cross into the area that Emmanuel Ekpo knocked home at the near post for his second goal in as many games.
• Under withering pressure, Columbus finally hit for the equalizer three minutes from the end. Again Schelotto was the instigator, serving a cross into the goalmouth mix that Steven Lenhart saw fall right to his feet, and he bundled a shot through and off a crowd for his second late equalizer in three weeks.
• Fire head coach Denis Hamlett made two changes to the team that played to a scoreless draw against San Jose. After giving Tomasz Frankowski and Andy Herron a run-out at forward, he went to Calen Carr up top and Chris Rolfe in an attacking midfield role.
• Here's Hamlett's team (4-3-2-1): Jon Busch - Brandon Prideaux, Wilman Conde, Bakary Soumare, Gonzalo Segares - John Thorrington, Diego Gutierrez, Justin Mapp (Lider Marmol 86) - Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Chris Rolfe (Stephen King 78) - Calen Carr (Chad Barrett 65). Substitutes Not Used: Mike Banner, Nick Noble, Patrick Nyarko, Daniel Woolard
• "It's disappointing. We had such a good start to the game, got two goals and then to give it away that first goal it does feel like a loss," Hamlett said. "But then again, given our stretch we had where we couldn't score goals and we got two tonight we have to draw some positives whenever you go on the road. Our guys are (ticked off) because we thought we had two points in the bag and let it slip away."
TEAM NEWS
• The Fire had last scored in a league game on June 7, when Chad Barrett found the back of the net in the 27th minute of a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas. Rolfe, who grew up in Kettering, Ohio and went to the University of Dayton, has six goals and two assists in 11 matches against Columbus.
• "It always feels good to get a goal, especially in front of friends and family here at home. It was a big goal for us because it got us on the board early," he said.
• But the Fire allowed two goals in a game for the fourth time in their last seven league matches as the Crew pulled level.
• "We didn't do a good job killing the game. At times we did ... 60, 70, maybe 80 minutes we got a hold of the game and started knocking it. If we had continued doing that defensively we would have ended up with three points instead of one," goalkeeper Jon Busch said. "At the end of the day it was a point on the road. It was a great game. Both teams had chances to get the third."
• Said Hamlett: "At times we didn't make the right decisions. As they were pushing that leaves them open to counters. We didn't well with that. ... If we could have done better with those counters maybe we would have gotten that third goal and closed the game out."
• On Tuesday, the Fire crashed out of the U.S. Open Cup in a 2-1 extra-time quarterfinal loss to D.C. United at the Maryland SoccerPlex. Daniel Woolard gave the Fire a 36th-minute lead, but Francis Doe scored in the 77th minute to pull United level, then Bryan Namoff headed home a Jaime Moreno corner (his second assist) for the game-winner in the 99th minute. Both teams played a man short for the final overtime period after Cuauhtémoc Blanco and Marc Burch were sent off.
• Here's Hamlett's team: Jon Busch, Brandon Prideaux, Bakary Soumare, Wilman Conde, Daniel Woolard (Justin Mapp 84), John Thorrington, Logan Pause (Cuauhtémoc Blanco 91), Chris Rolfe, Stephen King, Mike Banner (Gonzalo Segares 72), Chad Barrett (Calen Carr 66).
• "Very simple - we don't finish our chances and we make one mistake and we get punished for it," said Hamlett. "We get some very good looks and our guys right now, they have to step up to the plate and finish those chances because at the end of the day, that is what this game is about."
TORONTO FC
Toronto FC return to the league wars after a weekend away, their last match a 2-1 loss to the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium on July 28. TFC is level with the Chicago Fire for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 21 points from 14 matches, now 12 points behind the pace-setting Revolution.LAST MATCH
• The Revolution were returning home after seeing their seven-game unbeaten streak come to an end the weekend before, while Toronto FC were heading back out on the road after a win and a draw at BMO Field that kept them unbeaten at home for the 2008 season.
• After just 11 minutes, the Revolution went into the lead. Adam Cristman's contested header from a Kheli Dube cross clanked off the base of the right post, and Ralston came in behind to tap it into the open goal for the opener.
• Just before the hour mark, Ralston doubled his haul and the Revolution lead. Again it came from a rebound off the woodwork -- this time a sublime volley from Dube that crashed back off the face of the crossbar. Ralston calmly brought it down, cut back to avoid a defender and curled a perfectly placed effort off the inside of the right-hand post for his sixth goal of the season.
• Toronto FC pulled a goal back 11 minutes from the end, when Amado Guevara swung a free kick into the area, aiming for Maurice Edu. Shalrie Joseph outjumped the young midfielder, but instead headed the ball into his own goal. The Reds nearly snatched a late equalizer when Jarrod Smith was first to the rebound of a remarkable Matt Reis save, but Michael Parkhurst was stationed right on the line to chest away his goal-bound attempt.
• Toronto FC boss John Carver made three changes to the team that played to a scoreless draw with the Kansas City Wizards the previous weekend. Tyrone Marshall, Maurice Edu and Amado Guevara all returned from international duty, coming in for Olivier Tebily, Kevin Harmse and Jeff Cunningham.
• Here's Carver's team (4-4-1-1): Brian Edwards - Marvell Wynne, Tyrone Marshall, Marco Velez, Jim Brennan - Rohan Ricketts (Julius James 65), Maurice Edu, Carl Robinson, Laurent Robert (Jarrod Smith 64) - Amado Guevara - Danny Dichio (Jeff Cunningham 56). Substitutes Not Used: Nana Attakora-Gyan, Kevin Harmse, Andrea Lombardo, Greg Sutton
• "New England is a good side, that's why they're at the top of the league and have been in the playoffs the last couple of years. I said to the guys before we went out there, 'Today is about a benchmark -- today is the benchmark of how far we have come,' and I'm standing here now really disappointed because I thought we could have gotten something out of the game, and deserved something from the game," said Carver. "But I'm not going to fault my guys because they have given everything for their coach today and they've shown me some good signs. I think we've come a long way."
TEAM NEWS
• For TFC, it was a third consecutive loss away from home in league play. "We've got players that can win games for us if we get players in the right areas," Carver said. "For long periods of the game, we didn't get them in the right areas. We had chances. If we've got a guy who can put the ball in the back of the net, it might be a different story."
• Since the Revolution match, the Reds have played two games in the Canadian Championship, the country's qualifier for the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League. On July 1, TFC lost 1-0 at home to the Vancouver Whitecaps at BMO Field, the lone goal coming from the penalty spot in the 36th minute, converted by Martin Nash.
• The loss was Toronto's first at BMO Field since Sept. 22, 2007, as the Reds had reeled off a 6-0-4 record at home in their last 10 MLS games.
• "They couldn't pass the ball, there was no communication, there was nothing. It was lifeless, it was lackluster," Carver said. "I'll take full responsibility because I picked the team and I sent that team out there in the first half and that team that went out there in the first half didn't perform to the level that I want. I think I picked the wrong team. There wasn't enough energy on the team, there wasn't anybody closing down."
• Then on July 5, TFC played to a 1-1 draw with Pachuca CF at BMO Field, losing 4-3 in a penalty shootout for the Carlsberg Cup. Julius James scored Toronto's lone goal, heading home a corner kick in the 69th minute, answering Damian Alvarez's opener.
• The game offered a chance for some of the club's younger squad members to see action, including 16-year-old Abdus Ibrahim, Tyler Rosenlund, Nana Attakora-Gyan and Tyler Hemming. Of these four, midfielder Hemming has the most playing time in MLS, with 72 minutes.
• "It's something that we want at the club," said assistant coach Chris Cummins. "We want players pushing players. As [head coach John Carver] has said many times, nobody's safe. If somebody comes in and does well, then they get their chance."
• On Wednesday night in Vancouver, TFC fought back from a halftime deficit before settling for a 2-2 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Canadian Championship, the qualifier for the CONCACAF Champions' League. Eduardo Sebrango put Vancouver ahead in the 43rd minute, but goals from Maurice Edu (61) and Rohan Ricketts (75) nosed the Reds in front, though a late goal from Sebrango leveled terms again.
• The draw moves Toronto to within two points of Montreal Impact, who lead the Canadian Championship standings with one game remaining. Toronto must now win their match at home against Montreal on July 22 to win the tournament, and go on to be Canada's representative in the CONCACAF Champions League.
• Here's Carver's team: Greg Sutton, Marvell Wynne, Tyrone Marshall, Marco Velez (Kevin Harmse 85), Juluis James, Rohan Ricketts, Maurice Edu, Carl Robinson, Laurent Robert, Amado Guevara, Jeff Cunningham
