For the second consecutive game the Fire got on the board inside five minutes as Fire captain Logan Pause intercepted an errant Revolution pass inside the center circle before feeding a through ball into the path of Patrick Nyarko. The Ghanaian striker was able to get a slight touch on the ball inside the box before a charging Matt Reis upended him and referee Michael Kennedy pointed to the penalty spot.
Argentine midfielder Sebastian Grazzini tallied his third league goal since joining the club in July as he stepped up and coolly buried his penalty kick low and to Reis’ left to give the Fire a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute.
Four minutes later, the Fire doubled their lead when a sliding tackle from Josip Mikulic pushed the ball into the path of Grazzini in the middle of the park. The Argentine settled before putting a through ball between two Revolution defenders and into the path of a sprinting Dominic Oduro who rounded Reis just inside the 18-yard box before tapping in his team leading 11th goal of the year in the ninth minute.
The Fire made it 3-0 in the 30th minute when Pavel Pardo slipped a searching ball for Oduro through midfield. The Ghanaian attacker ran on to it, holding up before finding a charging Nyarko up the middle. Oduro played a forward pass to his fellow countryman as the Rev’s ‘keeper met the ball at the top of the penalty area and played a weak touch into the path of Nyarko who collected and finished into the empty net, tallying his first goal of the campaign to take the Fire into the half up 3-0.
Oduro nearly made it 4-0 12 minutes after halftime when Fire right back Dan Gargan played a looping ball forward for Nyarko. The fleet striker battled off challenges from Revolution defender Darrius Barnes, breaking free to center a pass for Oduro who’s flicked effort was well-saved by Reis in the 57th minute.
New England looked to cut into the Fire lead and came close to pulling one back two minutes later as central midfielder Shalrie Joseph swung a ball to the right finding Ryan Guy with loads of space. The Revs winger caught Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson cheating off his line and sent in a hooking cross to the back post which beat Johnson but came off the cross bar in the 59th minute.
In the 75th minute Guy laid off a ball for defender Kevin Alston on the right who collected and cut past three Fire defenders and into the box before blasting a low, blistering shot to the back post that Johnson dove to save before being cleared away by Josip Mikulic.
Taking a 3-0 lead into the 90th minute, the Revolution finally found their scoring touch when Alston sent a hopeful cross to the top of the penalty area where Johnson collided in the air with second half substitute Diego Fagundez. The ball fell to Guy who scuffed his effort into the empty net to pull things to 3-1.
Late into stoppage time the Revolution cut the score to 3-2 as Fagundez back heeled a pass for Milton Caraglio at the top of the 18. The Argentine striker played a square ball across the box to Guy who slotted past Johnson for his second goal in as many minutes but the comeback wasn’t enough as referee blew the full time whistle just seconds later.
The Fire now embark on a daunting march to the U.S. Open Cup Final in Seattle, Wash. The Men in Red leave behind Toyota Park to take on Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 8:00 p.m. CT (My50) and will challenge the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 3:00 p.m. CT (TeleFutura) before the Cup final at Century Link Field on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 9:00 p.m. CT (Fox Soccer). The Men in Red’s next home fixture is Wednesday, Oct. 12 against Brimstone Cup rival FC Dallas at 7:30 p.m. CT (CSN). Tickets are available by calling 1-888-MLS-FIRE (657-3473), or by heading to the club’s official website at Chicago-Fire.com.
The victory extends the Fire’s home winning streak to five matches across all competitions, marking the first time the club has won five consecutive games at home since September 2006.
Dominic Oduro’s ninth minute strike takes his team leading goal total to 11, leaving him two behind D.C. United’s Dwayne De Rosario in the Budweiser Golden Boot race.
With his 30th minute strike Patrick Nyarko tallied his first goal of the 2011 MLS campaign.
After scoring a fifth minute penalty and assisting on Oduro’s goal in the ninth minute, Argentine midfielder Sebastian Grazzini left the match in the 25th minute with a strain to his left hamstring.
Fire defender Cory Gibbs missed the match after picking up a red card in last Saturday’s 3-2 win over Chivas USA.
The Fire have won four of their last five MLS regular season matches, with only the LA Galaxy earning more points from their last five MLS encounters.
Chicago Fire 3 – 2 New England Revolution
Chicago Fire: Sean Johnson; Dan Gargan, Josip Mikulic, Jalil Anibaba, Gonzalo Segares; Marco Pappa, Pavel Pardo, Logan Pause ©; Sebastian Grazzini (Baggio Husidic 25’); Patrick Nyarko (Diego Chaves 66’), Dominic Oduro (Orr Barouch 77’)
Substitutes not used: Jon Conway, Yamith Cuesta, Corben Bone, Daniel Paladini
New England Revolution: Matt Reis; Kevin Alston, Franco Coria, Darrius Barnes, Chris Tierney; Ryan Guy, Benny Feilhaber, Shalrie Joseph ©, Kenny Mansally (Kheli Dube 57’); Milton Caraglio, Zach Schilawski (Diego Fagundez 71’)
Substitutes not used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Otto Loewy, Zak Boggs, Pat Phelan, Ryan Kinne
Scoring Summary
CHI – Sebastian Grazzini (penalty kick) 5’
CHI – Dominic Oduro (Sebastian Grazzini) 9’
CHI – Patrick Nyarko (unassisted) 30’
NE – Ryan Guy (unassisted) 90’
NE – Ryan Guy (Milton Caraglio, Diego Fagundez) 92’+
Misconduct Summary
NE – Franco Coria (Caution; Reckless Foul) 27’
NE – Darrius Barnes (Caution; Dissent) 46’+
CHI – Dan Gargan (Caution; Delaying a Restart) 76’
CHI – Baggio Husidic (Caution; Tactical Foul) 86’
Referee: Michael Kennedy
Referee’s Assistants: Kermit Quisenberry, Paul Scott
4th Referee: Jasen Anno
Attendance: 14,567
Source: Chicago Fire Communications
Photos: Brian Kersey/Chicago Fire Photo