Going Wild: New England Revolution 2, Chicago Fire 2
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Chicago Fire didn't have to worry about playoff qualification entering Decision Day, and while there may have been an ounce of complacency, they did just enough to preserve a home wildcard game.
Despite a 2-2 draw with the Revs, an eliminated team with nothing to play for, the Fire maintained 8th position in the Eastern Conference standings but missed the chance to jump as high as 6th had they won.
Sticking with the five-at-the-back formation that has served the Fire so well over the last month, Gregg Berhalter returned from the international break with effectively his strongest possible starting eleven. The center back trio of Jack Elliott, Joel Waterman, and Sam Rogers returned from the 2-2 draw with Toronto FC, and Rominigue Kouamé returned to midfield for the first time since midsummer as the partner for Djé D’Avilla.
43 seconds into the game, New England got off to the best possible start. There was an error playing out of the back for the Fire as D’Avilla lost control of a routine Chris Brady pass, allowing Alhassan Yusuf to pounce and open the scoring within a minute.
After that moment of madness, the game played largely like what one would expect from the last game of the regular season, especially one in which the home team has absolutely nothing to play for. It wasn’t until the 30th minute that Philip Zinckernagel, the Fire’s locked-in season MVP, waltzed through the middle of the field and, after a deflection, forced a save from Revs #1 Matt Turner. Andrew Gutman came close a few moments later with a blast from close range.
The Fire approached halftime down a goal, but results elsewhere were going their way if they hoped to climb the standings and avoid the Wild Card game. 7th-placed Orlando City were down 2-0 to already-eliminated Toronto FC by that point, with the Canadians totally dominating the game. All Chicago had to do was find a way to win in Foxboro, and they would climb the standings dramatically.
For the second successive match, Berhalter moved away from the back five mid-game. This time, it came at halftime, as he introduced homegrowns Brian Gutiérrez and Sergio Oregel Jr. at the break, withdrawing Rominigue Kouamé and Sam Rogers. In the early minutes of the half, the momentum flipped, and both Philip Zinckernagel and Jonathan Bamba were quickly denied by Turner.
In the 56th minute, the Fire came the closest they had yet through the halftime substitute Oregel. The 20-year-old midfielder drilled a shot inches wide of the post from close range, but Turner’s goal was not threatened. In the 57th minute, Maren Haile-Selassie was Berhalter’s third sub, replacing Bamba.
The Fire missed chance after chance as the game progressed. They looked more and more desperate, with the likes of Gutiérrez and Zinckernagel snatching at chances with efforts that didn’t come particularly close. Jack Elliott headed wide with an 80th-minute attempt as playoff home-field advantage seemed to be quietly slipping away.
Nonetheless, they didn't quit there. Zinckernagel combined well with Hugo Cuypers and Maren Haile-Selassie, finding a way through the defense and blasting a shot past Turner from close range. The game was tied at one apiece, and the Fire had all the momentum.
They continued to knock on the door, and it seemed like it would give in. Gutiérrez, Zinckernagel, and late substitute Justin Reynolds all had shots that came close in dramatic fashion, but Turner stood on his head.
The breakthrough didn't come, and instead it came at the other end, totally against the run of play. Young Israeli international forward Dor Turgeman found a way to put the ball into the net, despite a rough day at the office. Any remaining ounce of home field advantage seemed to have slipped away from the Fire, and they were gearing up for a road game in Orlando in the Wild Card.
It changed in an instant. Joel Waterman's shot in the 99th minute of play was goalbound, but Turgeman – moments after giving his team the lead – deflected the ball into his own net. The Wild Card returned to Chicago, with Orlando now set to travel to Bridgeview this week.
Player Ratings
Starting XI (5-2-3) — Brady (5); Gutman (6), Elliott (5.5), Waterman (7.5), Rogers (6), Dean (7); D'Avilla (6), Kouamé (5); Bamba (7.5), Cuypers (7), Zinckernagel (8)
Substitutes — Gutiérrez (7), Oregel (6.5), Haile-Selassie (7), J. Reynolds (7)
