Scoring mode a must for Fire
Down on aggregate, Chicago needs extra goal in second leg match with Revs
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Heading into their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series second leg Saturday against the New England Revolution, they already trail 2-1 before the first whistle is blown.
In the two-game, aggregate goal series, the team with the most goals at the end of regulation of the second game advances. Should the result be a tie, a 30-minute extra time is played, and should that end in a tie, a penalty-kick shootout determines the winner.
What this means for the Fire is that they have to score at least one more goal than the Revs in the first 90 minutes, just to force the overtime. In other words, they have to be in scoring mode.
But the question for the coaches and players is "When do we get that goal?" Is it something you press for immediately, or do you play the game in regular fashion and hope for a breakdown by the opposing defense?
"That's the cat-and-mouse game," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. "Obviously, you think going into it the mindset is the onus is on us to go out and get after the game and try to get an early goal. But if we do that we might open ourselves up in the back, and that is when they can catch us on the counter.
"We have to be smart in terms of being patient and moving the ball," Hamlett said. "We have to make the right decisions. Over 90 minutes, we need to be the team making the right decisions. If we do, we feel confident. We have been a team that created a lot of chances. Now it comes down to finishing our chances."
The Fire have two marks against them going into the game. The first was referred to by Hamlett. While the Fire have had a decent number of scoring opportunities during the season -- the finished fourth in the league on shots on goal and fifth in shots -- there were numerous times when the Fire could not finish. They had 13 multi-goal games, and went 7-1-5 in those contests.
The Fire went 4-6-7 in the games in which they scored no more than one goal. In their last regular season game, they had 14 corner kicks and 13 shots but got their only goal on an ill-aimed header by a Chivas USA player for an own goal. In that game, in which the Fire needed to win to advance to the playoffs (or wait for other outcomes to determine their fate), they managed only two shots on goal.
The other problem is that the Fire have been a poor home team this season, with a record of 5-4-6. No other playoff team had fewer than seven wins.
Oh, and add to that the fact that the Fire could be without three of their starting defenders yet again. Wilman Conde has a pinched nerve, Gonzalo Segares is still suffering from an MCL sprain, and Tim Ward has not played for two months after breaking his foot.
After a terrific start to the season, in which they went without a loss in their first 11 games, the Fire have never been under severe pressure during the season. While the playoff standings got tight at the end of the season, the Fire always seemed lined up for a playoff spot in 2009.
Kent McDill is a contributor to MLSnet.com
