The Chicago Fire continued their 2008 dominance over the New England Revolution with a resounding 3-0 victory on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
Chris Rolfe set the visitors on their way in the 29th minute from a John Thorrington through ball. Thorrington then curled an effort inside the far post shortly after the break to double the lead before Stephen King notched his first MLS goal in the 76th minute to complete the win.
Although New England pressed forward in the second half, it could not create the chances it needed to scrap back into the contest as the Fire fully earned the win with their defensive resolve and counterattacking incisiveness.
Tomasz Frankowski (injury) and Wilman Conde (illness) didn't make the trip for the visiting Fire. Thorrington earned a start in central midfield with Chris Rolfe making his first start of the season up top alongside Chad Barrett.
Sainey Nyassi picked up a quadriceps injury in training this week, leaving Wells Thompson to continue on the right flank. Steve Ralston made the bench for the first time since dislocating his left shoulder, though Revolution head coach Steve Nicol said he'd prefer to hold him out if possible.
It appeared that both teams were holding out in the first 20 minutes as neither team could string passes together or obtain possession.
But when Chicago finally strung together four passes, it created the game's first goal. It was a simple move, rotating the ball from left to right. Short passes connected Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Logan Pause and Thorrington before Thorrington slid a diagonal ball into Rolfe. Rolfe, kept onside by the lagging Michael Parkhurst, calmly nestled his effort into the far side for the 29th-minute opener.
The goal sparked the lethargic Revolution into action. Mauricio Castro curled an effort into Jon Busch's stomach two minutes after the goal before blasting well wide from an Adam Cristman knockdown shortly thereafter.
While the Revs established some possession but couldn't create any threatening chances, Chicago's incisiveness created what should have been the second. Rolfe wriggled free in the left corner after a ball over the top of the defense and drove a low cross into the near post. Chad Barrett could have put the final touch on it, but stayed upright when a slide probably would have connected with the effort.
The second goal arrived five minutes off the break after another fluid passing move. Rolfe collected an errant cross down along the byline and played a diagonal ball towards Blanco, who dummied the ball to Barrett. The striker's simple drop pass allowed John Thorrington to curl his effort around Reis and into the far corner.
Nicol had seen enough and made a double substitution to shake up his side. The changes increased the home side's impetus to press forward, and the Revs pinned the Fire back inside its own penalty area for stretches. But aside from Kheli Dube's half chance that was alertly snuffed out by the onrushing Busch, the Revs simply couldn't create the opportunities to score.
Yet Chicago continued to counterattack and found its third in inside the last quarter of an hour. New England lost the ball in midfield and Thorrington played the ball over the top for Blanco to chase. Reis rushed out and cleared back to Thorrington's foot. The ball worked its way to Barrett, who drove through Albright and forced Reis off his line to save. The ball deflected to the penalty spot and substitute Stephen King slid the ball into the vacated net for his first MLS goal.
The Revs had a late shout for a penalty turned down after Gonzalo Segares bundled over substitute Argenis Fernandez in the penalty area, but the slight Costa Rican didn't get the benefit of the doubt from referee Jair Marrufo as the Revolution couldn't find a break after a miserable night.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
