Fire defeat New England, 2-1

Story courtesy New England Revolution Communications

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (August 9, 2008) - Taylor Twellman made his first start of the 2008 regular season and scored in the third minute, but late goals from Gonzalo Segares and Wilman Conde lifted the visiting Chicago Fire to a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution in a key Eastern Conference battle on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.

With the win, the Fire (9-5-5, 32 pts.) swept the three-game, regular-season series and pulled within one point of the first-place Revolution (10-5-3, 33 pts.). Chicago previously defeated New England, 4-0, on Apr. 3 at Toyota Park, and 3-0, on May 3 at Gillette Stadium.

The Fire was aided by the 74th-minute ejection of New England defensive midfielder Shalrie Joseph, who was shown a second yellow card for delaying a restart. Chicago scored both of its goals after taking the man advantage, as Segares and Conde scored in the 81st and 86th minutes, respectively.

Twellman provided an instant impact in his first league start of the season, giving the Revolution the lead in just the third minute. Mauricio Castro sent an out-swinging corner kick to the penalty spot, and Twellman rose above Fire midfielder Logan Pause to power a header towards the right side of the net. Chicago goalkeeper Jon Busch got a hand on the shot, but the pace of the header was too much and Busch could only push it into the side netting.

The visitors almost evened the score in the 25th minute, as Marco Pappa came inches from scoring his first MLS goal. John Thorrington found space in the left side of the area and delivered a low cross to the back post. The midfielder didn’t make solid contact with his first-time effort and sent a looping shot towards goal, which almost fooled New England goalkeeper Matt Reis. However, Reis managed to push the ball onto the crossbar and eventually over the end line.

New England came out strong to start the second half and Cristman narrowly missed a great chance in the 48th minute. Twellman played a clever back-heel to the surging Cristman, who burst through the Chicago back line and found himself one-on-one with Busch. Cristman chipped his shot over the Fire ‘keeper as he charged off his line, but his effort went just wide of the far post.

The Revs continued to create the majority of the scoring chances, with Joseph threatening to score in the 72nd minute. Steve Ralston’s free kick from the right side was met by Joseph eight yards from goal, but the Grenada international’s header bounced over the crossbar.

Joseph, who was making his 150th career start for the Revolution, was issued a second yellow card just three minutes later, however, reducing the Revs to 10 men. Both teams responded to the ejection by altering their formations, with New England bringing on defensive midfielder Pat Phelan for Cristman and Chicago introducing midfielder Mike Banner for defender Brandon Prideaux.

The result of the changes was almost immediate, as Chicago leveled the score at 1-1 in the 81st minute. Segares took control of the ball near midfield and pushed forward towards the Revs’ goal, and after no one closed him down, he fired a 30-yard, left-footed shot. Reis appeared to be comfortably positioned to make the save, but at the last second, the knuckling shot swerved to Reis’ right and slipped into the net.

Just five minutes later, Conde provided the game-winner with his first career MLS goal. Fire forward Tomasz Frankowski, who had entered the match less than one minute earlier, settled a Pappa cross in the box and fired a shot from close range, which Reis saved. However, a scramble ensued on the rebound, with Conde ultimately bundling the ball over the line.

Reis finished with six saves, while Busch stopped four shots.

After a brief return to MLS regular-season action, the Revs will now continue defense of their 2007 U.S. Open Cup title, as the club will travel to RFK Stadium for a semifinal match against MLS foe D.C. United at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 12. New England will resume league play on Saturday, Aug. 16, when the club will visit the San Jose Earthquakes at 10 p.m. ET.

New England Revolution vs. Chicago Fire August 9, 2008 – Foxborough, Mass. (Gillette Stadium)

Scoring Summary:
NE – Taylor Twellman (Mauricio Castro) 3
CHI – Gonzalo Segares (unassisted) 81
CHI – Wilman Conde (unassisted) 86

New England Revolution: Matt Reis (GK), Chris Tierney (Khano Smith 88), Jay Heaps, Jeff Larentowicz, Chris Albright, Mauricio Castro, Shalrie Joseph, Steve Ralston ©, Sainey Nyassi, Adam Cristman (Pat Phelan 76), Taylor Twellman
Substitutes Not Used: Doug Warren (GK), Amaechi Igwe, Brandon Manzonelli, Wells Thompson, Rob Valentino
STATS: Shots 15; Shots on Goal 5; Saves 6; Corner Kicks 5; Offsides 1; Fouls Committed 11

Chicago Fire: Jon Busch (GK), Gonzalo Segares, Wilman Conde, Bakary Soumare, Brandon Prideaux (Mike Banner 78), Justin Mapp (Chris Rolfe 61), Logan Pause, John Thorrington, Marco Pappa, Cuauhtemoc Blanco ©, Andy Herron (Tomasz Frankowski 86)
Substitutes Not Used: Nick Noble (GK), C.J. Brown, Stephen King, Lider Marmol
STATS: Shots 11; Shots on Goal 8; Saves 4; Corner Kicks 4; Offsides 7; Fouls Committed 13

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Shalrie Joseph (caution) 58
CHI – Gonzalo Segares (caution) 65
NE – Sainey Nyassi (caution) 69
NE – Shalrie Joseph (second caution/ejection) 74
CHI – Marco Pappa (caution) 77
NE – Matt Reis (caution) 87
NE – Jeff Larentowicz (caution) 88

Referee: Kevin Stott
Referee’s Assistants: Joe Fletcher (SAR), Sean Hurd (JAR)
Fourth Official: Alex Prus
Time of Game: 1:50
Weather: Partly cloudy and 74 degrees
Attendance: 19,240