Fire climb from early hole to win
Chicago's victory over Revs gives them series sweep
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- Highlights: CHI 2, NE 1
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Disappointment and disaster would have been more appropriate after Wilman Conde coughed up a ball on the edge of the penalty area and the ball ended up over the end line. Taylor Twellman climbed over Logan Pause and headed home the resulting corner kick.
Spotting a lead to a team that hasn't lost in any competition since June 21 isn't considered good form.
"I think we put ourselves in a hole with being behind so early," Fire head coach Denis Hamlett said. "We were a little too casual to start, which led to the corner kick. (New England) has been dangerous all season, especially the last month. All their goals seem to come off set pieces."
The Fire stuck to thieir task, not letting the early goal trouble their play. New England had heavy legs from its SuperLiga triumph on Tuesday and struggled to keep up with the Fire's tempo in midfield.
"We got behind, but I think our guys felt that we were playing well," Hamlett said. "We were moving the ball. We weren't quite in synch in the final third, but we just kept moving the ball and kept having patience. It paid off in the last 10 minutes."
Those last 10 minutes might not have happened without Shalrie Joseph's dismissal. Joseph stopped Cuauhtemoc Blanco from taking a quick throw-in, picking up his second yellow card.
The Fire hadn't created much offensively despite their possession in midfield, but Joseph's dismissal cleared some space for a late charge.
"When Shalrie went out, I think that gave us a little bit of a boost for the last 15 minutes and we definitely took advantage of that," Fire striker Chris Rolfe said.
Gonzalo Segares threw his team an 81st-minute lifeline with a lengthy, knuckling blast that somehow eluded Revs 'keeper Matt Reis.
Conde redeemed himself five minutes later by poking home from close range after Reis saved a Tomasz Frankowski shot to give the Fire a late winner.
"Conde is a big-time player," Hamlett said. "He understands what it takes to play in this league and how to play. He knew he was at fault for that first goal and he found himself in a spot where he was just alert enough to get in on the end of that play. It was a great ball that Marco (Pappa) played across. Tomasz took a good shot and Reis made a good save, but Wilman was there to tap it in."
The late heroics reinforced portions of the team talk prior to the game, Hamlett said.
"We said to our guys we have to make sure that we play 90 minutes tonight," Hamlett said. "It's a credit to this group. They've been working hard and they left it all on the field tonight. It's good to see our guys get the three points tonight, because I thought we played well enough to deserve the points."
Rolfe said getting a third consecutive win against New England will help the Fire if the two teams meet again in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
"This was a big win for us on the road," Rolfe said. "We swept them this year, and that's huge for us, especially in terms of gaining confidence going into the playoffs and potentially meeting up with them again at some point; that definitely helps us mentally."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
