July 17, 2010
ELIMINATED
Fire fall to Revs, can’t advance in SuperLiga

BRIDGEVIEW, IL –The opportunity for the Chicago Firer to win a trophy in 2010 is dwindling. Two straight losses in the SuperLiga guaranteed that it won’t come in the annual competition between MLS and Mexican teams. Marko Perovic scored the only goal of the game in the 77th minute to give the New England Revolution a 1-0 win over the Fire at Toyota Park Saturday night.

Revs midfielder Kheli Dube deflected the ball away from Fire defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe where it fell to Perovic who fired a low-driven shot inside of the right post past Fire ‘keeper Sean Johnson.

“Unfortunately, he (Watson-Siriboe) lost the ball and New England had a chance,” said Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos. “Marco Perovic’s strong strike surprised Sean (Johnson) Though we controlled the whole game, they were efficient when it came to the last touch.”

The New England victory – combined with the 2-2 draw between Monarcas Morelia and Pumas UNAM in the second half of the evening’s doubleheader – guarantees the Revs a spot in the SuperLiga semifinals for the third straight year, while the Fire is eliminated. New England won the competition in 2008 and was eliminated by the Fire in the 2009 semifinals.

“We were against a different opponent today, and New England just played better than when we last played them in the league,” said Fire coach Carlos de los Cobos. “We lost and it’s a difficult situation. No one likes to lose matches – the fans, the club, the players, but this is the reality. We’ve been having difficult times in the past few weeks. We are paying the price a team pays when in the process of building a team.

There were two changes to the Revolution lineup which beat Pumas 1-0 on Wednesday night. Reis returned between the pipes in place of Bobby Shuttleworth, while Sainey Nyassi replaced Dube. Nyassi took over his customary right midfield role, while Perovic pushed up into a withdrawn forward position.

Fire Head Coach Carlos de los Cobos made five changes to the lineup he trotted out against Morelia on Wednesday, employing all four Fire rookies. Only four of the Fire’s starting XI, Mike Banner, Wilman Conde, Peter Lowry and Marco Pappa, had seen action for the Fire in 2009.

“Definitely disappointing for us and most of all, for the fans because we haven’t been performing well lately,” said Fire forward Stefan Dimitrov . “There was different formation on the pitch or different players and something was missing and we didn’t look dangerous at all. It’s disappointing to get out of the tournament without that big of an effort, so we are disappointed.”

The Fire placed continuous pressure on the Revs during the early going. Chicago’s best chance of the first came in 13th minute when a deflected ball bounced to Mike Banner outside of the 18-yard box, and he in-stride lined a low blast that bounced off of the left post.

Collins John, playing his first game since June 9, threatened again in the 21st minute when he dribbled toward the touchline and sent an angled cross to a charging Deris Umanzor at the far post. Umanzor directed the ball towards goal, but Revs defender Darius Barnes got back in time to deflect the ball out of play.

In the 28th minute, New England’s Sainey Nyassi made a couple of step over moves and beat a Fire defender, but his cross was grabbed by Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson. A 20 yard shot by Kevin Alston was stopped by Johnson not long after.

The Fire brought in three subs at the half, with Brian McBride, Justin Mapp and Tim Ward coming in to replace Corben Bone, Krzysztof Krol and Steven Kinney.

Mapp almost made an immediate contribution as Marco Pappa found him free at the back post in the 54th minute, but his header was high.

Not long after, Nicol sent in Khano Smith (62nd minute) for Kenny Mansally, Dube (65th minute) for Zack Schilawski and Pat Phelan (69th minute)for Joseph Niouky.


New England Revolution: Matt Reis (GK), Chris Tierney, Darrius Barnes, Emmanuel Osei, Kevin Alston, Kenny Mansally (Khano Smith 62), Joseph Niouky (Pat Phelan 69, Seth Sinovic 93+), Shalrie Joseph , Sainey Nyassi, Marko Perovic, Zack Schilawski (Kheli Dube 65)

Chicago Fire: Sean Johnson, Steven Kinney (Tim Ward 46), Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Wilman Conde , Krzysztof Krol (Justin Mapp 46), Corben Bone (Brian McBride 46), Marco Pappa, Peter Lowry, Mike Banner, Deris Umanzor, Collins John (Stefan Dimitrov 80)