Fire defense returning to full strength
Chicago relying on reserve backline through playoff charge
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With starters Wilman Conde and Gonzalo Segares out due to extended injury, Fire coach Denis Hamlett started Dasan Robinson and Daniel Woolard at center back and left back, respectively.
Robinson had nine starts prior to Saturday, and Woolard had only four starts and had not played since Aug. 9 when he injured his ankle in a game at Houston.
The Fire defense survived, holding the Revolution to just four shots on goal in a 2-0 victory, winning the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series 3-2 on aggregate to advance to Saturday's conference final against Real Salt Lake,
"It was nice to get back on the field," Woolard said. "It was a big game to be in. It was exciting to play at home."
The Fire defense has been a puzzle for Hamlett for what seems like the entire endless summer. Injuries to Conde, Tim Ward and Segares, plus the transfer to France by Bakary Soumare, forced Hamlett to be creative in his use of defensive reserves.
This season, 10 players have had at least four starts defensively, including midfielder Mike Banner. For last Saturday's game, besides Robinson, Woolard, C.J. Brown and Brandon Prideaux, the only other defenders Hamlett had available to use were Banner and Austin Washington.
For Saturday's Eastern Conference Championship, Hamlett might have Conde back, and Ward is no longer on the injury report, so the Fire could be getting healthy in the back at just the right time.
Woolard's situation has been frustrating, for both the player and the team.
In his third year out of Midwestern State University, Woolard suffered a high right ankle sprain in May and it required months of rehabilitation, including a lengthy period when he could not do anything at all on that foot.
He came back to play in July, and eventually got some starts in place of Segares while he was with the Costa Rican national team. In the August game at Houston, Woolard was inserted into the game in the fifth minute when Segares left the game with an injury, then Woolard had to leave in the 60th minute due to his second high ankle sprain, this time to his left ankle.
"It has been frustrating, having two ankle injuries, and they have both taken longer than expected to recover," Woolard said. "But I worked hard to get back. It was nice to be rewarded for that work."
The game also put the defense to an interesting test, because the Fire offense had the run of play most of the game. The Revs were lying back in wait, and hoping to get a counter that could be converted into a goal that would have propelled them into the Eastern Conference final.
Because of the tempo of the game, the Fire defense had to worry about falling asleep, even if for a moment, while the offense did its thing.
"That could have been a problem, but I think we were all in tune for the whole 90 minutes," Woolard said. "We knew we had to get a shutout, and we knew we needed to get goals. We were all in tune."
Hamlett, who has been tested weekly to create a cohesive defensive unit, said his belief in Woolard was paid off against the Revolution.
"His training has been solid, and I knew we needed another guy to take care of (Sainey) Nyassi on the flank," Hamlett said. "He had a very good game and took Nyassi out of the play for the most part of the game. Daniel is just a solid guy, and when he can get forward he tries to help out."
Kent McDill is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
