The second participant in the MLS Eastern Conference Final will be determined tonight when the New England Revolution faces the Chicago Fire in Game Two of their First Round playoff series.
New England will try to join Real Salt Lake in the East Final by building on its 2-1 victory in Game One. The Fire will be under pressure to find a series equalizer, and must try to crack a New England defense that has allowed one goal or less in eight straight matches.
I will be providing live commentary throughout the match so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):
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FINAL- That's all for me tonight. Please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on tonight's match in the comments section below.
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FINAL- Now Chicago must take on Real Salt Lake and RSL will create some match-up problems for the Fire. Robbie Findley is a speedy and effective forward who Dasan Robinson and C.J. Brown will be hard-pressed to stay with.
In case you were wondering, the Fire was 1-0-1 vs. Real Salt Lake this season, beating Real Salt Lake at Toyota Park, 1-0, on August 1, then tied RSL at Rio Tinto Stadium on Sept. 12.
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FINAL- You do have to feel for the Revs to some degree. They gave it a valiant effort and were ultimately done in by a blunder by Osei. Stevie Nicol got more out of this team than anybody could have hoped for.
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FINAL- Some great performances from Blanco, Pappa, Nyarko and Thorrington tonight as the Fire attack delivered while the Revs attack faltered.
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FINAL- FIRE 2, REVS 0, and Chicago wins the series, 3-2, on aggregate. The Fire will now host the Eastern Conference final next Saturday against Real Salt Lake.
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95th Minute- Busch gets his hands on a cross attempt.
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95th Minute- Less than a minute to go.
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93rd Minute- Revs running out of time.
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92nd Minute- Revs offside on what looked like a dangerous ball in.
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91st Minute- Five minutes of stoppage time.
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89th Minute- WOW, Phelan was OH SO CLOSE with a header!!!!
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88th Minute- Here come the Revs, and you can expect Joseph to ge forward now, looking for an equalizer.
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86th Minute- Pat Phelan comes in for Osei. Baggio Husidic is comin in for Pappa.
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84th Minute- Nyarko stripped Osei near the end-line, then fed Blanco, who took a touch and finished from close to give the Fire the lead. GREAT play by Nyarko and finish from Blanco.
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83rd Minute- GOAL FIRE!!!!!! CUAUHTEMOC BLANCO with the finish!!!! And it was Nyarko who created that whole play. Fire 2, Revs 0 and the Revs lead the series!!!
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82nd Minute- Who will step up for the Revs? Will it be Joseph with some more late-game heroics?
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82nd Minute- Nyarko with a nice feed to the near-post, but Thorrington can't get enough on it for a real chance.
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81st Minute- Nyarko stripped Heaps and fed Blanco, who made a move to create space and sent a shot off the crossbar. What a chance for Chicago.
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80th Minute- BLANCO OFF THE CROSSBAR!!!!!!!!!!
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79th Minute- Thorrington caught a knee to the jaw from Larentowicz. Thorrington is definitely fazed after that one.
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78th Minute- Reis catches Blanco's long kick easily.
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77th Minute- Did Prus just give Osei a chest bump? Fire with a long free kick.
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74th Minute- The Fire in control but still haven't found the go-ahead goal.
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72nd Minute- It WAS NOT a red card on Castro, he's been replaced by Wells Thompson. Strange sequence, Referee Alex Prus points to Castro to leave the field after he kicked the ball away, and people really thought it was a red card (including MLSNet's Match Center). He was sent to receive treatment, but the Revs decided they couldn't wait any longer and put in Thompson.
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70th Minute- CASTRO RED CARD!!! The Revs are a man down after Castro kicked away a ball in disgust. Not sure about that call.
Not really sure if it was a red card, but let's get confirmation on this one.
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69th Minute- Castro has a cut on his hand and has been sent to have it treated. Revs are down a man.
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67th Minute- The Fire keep on pressing, and are controlling play right now.
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63rd Minute- The Revs are struggling to find answers in its attack.
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62nd Minute- Castro is hurt and looks like he may come out.
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60th Minute- Joseph clears a cross from right in front of an empty Revs net. Fire corner.
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58th Minute- Nyarko is hurt, took some studs to the ankle fro Joseph. He's up now.
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56th Minute- McBride is coming out. He's still hurt after that collision with Reis. Patrick Nyarko is set to come in.
Could this be the last time we see McBride in a Fire uniform?
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54th Minute- The Fire keeps on terrorizing the right side of the field. Chicago needs to do more with these opportunities.
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52nd Minute- McBride is hurt, and so is Jaskauskas. McBride is shaking it off.
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51st Minute- Reis steps up and thwarts a Fire sequence. He delivered a pretty good punch that caught McBride.
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50th Minute- Neither team has really come out and taken over the game.
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46th Minute- We're back. No subs. Scratch that. Maurico Castro is in for Mansally.
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HALFTIME- Blanco enjoyed a strong first half. Will Joseph respond in the second half? He could wind up moving forward to get into the attack, and has been very dangerous as a second-half forward option. The Revs needs him to get more involved and really put his stamp on the game.
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HALFTIME- You have to give credit for Fire fans tonight for establishing a great atmosphere for this match. The Revs aren't likely to be shaken by the environment, but the Fire has certainly received a boost from the home crowd.
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HALFTIME- Chicago overcame a rough early start, and began to have more success in the attack once it started bypassing the central midfield successfully and working around Joseph and Larentowicz to feed its playmakers in the final third. Blanco and Pappa have been very active, while Thorrington has also provided vital energy in the middle.
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HALFTIME- Fire 1, Revs 0. Chicago has erased the deficit from the first leg, and we should get a very competitive second half.
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45th Minute- Here's a question. Why is it that the Fire has figured out that it should go after Heaps, but the Revs haven't really done the same with Woolard?
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45th Minute- The Revs will likely go in trailing and must shake things up in their attack because it has failed to create much lately.
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42nd Minute- Fire keeps the pressure on, and Reis does well to catch a dangerous cross. This game is going back and forth and this pace can't be maintained. Who will tire first?
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40th Minute- This series is now tied at 2-2 and the Revs will be forced to attack more to find a goal. Their attack has slowed down after a good first 25 minutes.
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39th Minute- Chicago is continuing to attack the Revs on the right side, where Heaps is struggling to deal with Blanco and Pappa.
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38th Minute- Pappa does great to steal a ball and force a diving save from Reis.
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37th Minute- Jankauskas took Pappa out with a tackle from behind and draws a yellow for his trouble.
Fire firmly riding some momentum right now.
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36th Minute- Blanco laid it off to Prideaux, who found Pappa with the pass and Pappa delivered a great pass to Thorrington, who finished it off.
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35th Minute- GOAL FIRE!!!! John Thorrington with the finish on a BEAUTIFUL passing sequence. WOW. Fire 1, Revs 0.
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34th Minute- McBride sends a corner wide of goal with his shoulder. Chicago is starting to wake up.
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33rd Minute- Fire with another corner as Chicago continues to pick on Jay Heaps.
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32nd Minute- Chicago corner kick is taken short by Blanco, the ball into the area is cleared away.
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31st Minute- Chicago put together a nice counterattack, but the final pass is lacking and the Revs dodge a bullet.
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30th Minute- Blanco does well to get loose and put some dangerous balls in the area, but nobody can create a chance with those passes.
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28th Minute- The Revs look very comfortable tonight. You wouldn't think they're the road team.
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24th Minute- Blanco and McBride nearly connect on a pass. Good looking sequence there, more promising from Chicago.
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23rd Minute- Right now the Fire just looks flat.
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22nd Minute- JANKAUSKAS HITS THE CROSSBAR!!! His header was great, but hit woodwork. WOw, Chicago dodged a bullet.
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20th Minute- Mansally nearly beats Busch to a ball at the edge of the area, but Busch kicks it clear. Brown got torched on that play.
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19th Minute- Fire with a free kick now, right side of the field, 30 yards from goal. Pappa's kick goes right to Reis. What a waste.
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18th Minute- Blanco is down and holding his face. Mansally gets a yellow card for hitting Blanco with a shoulder away from the ball.
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17th Minute- Thorrington looking very active early on. He could be a key difference-maker tonight.
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16th Minute- Pappa does well to get past Heaps, but his cross doesn't find anybody.
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13th Minute- New England's defense is looking very organized tonight. Not sure if Chicago will be able to find chances tonight.
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12th Minute- Fire can't put one on goal as Thorrington's shot is wide.
Still waiting for McBride to be involved in this match.
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11th Minute- Revs are pouring numbers forward and Chicago holds up well and finds a counter.
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10th Minute- Great work from Kevin Alston to track back and break up a dangerous chance for Chicago. Blanco getting involved now.
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9th Minute- Larentowicz's header is wide on the corner.
Chicago off to a slow start tonight. No real sense of urgency. The Revs have been more active.
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8th Minute- The Revs with a corner kick. And what's wrong with Dasan Robinson? He's running like Blanco, which isn't a good thing.
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7th Minute- Denis Hamlett's decision to play Daniel Woolard tonight is going to be a crucial one. Nyassi's speed could cause problems for Woolard.
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6th Minute- Busch catches a Mansally free kick with ease.
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5th Minute- Where in the world is Wilman Conde? He's missing yet again and you have to wonder why he really hasn't been available.
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3rd Minute- Nyassi is hurt, but he's back on his feet. He took a ball to his chest. Nothing serious.
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2nd Minute- Wondering what my prediction is? I see Chicago erasing the deficit and winning the match and series, but it won't be easy.
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1st Minute- We're underway
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PRE-GAME- Shalrie Joseph and Cuauhtemoc Blanco are the stars to watch tonight? Which one will have the bigger impact?
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PRE-GAME- The first 15 minutes of this game are going to be key. Can Chicago put the pressure on and get an early series equalizer?
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PRE-GAME- Here is New England's lineup:
----------------Dube----------Jankauskas------------
Mansally------Larentowicz---Joseph---------Nyassi
Heaps-----------Osei--------Barnes------------Alston
--------------------------Reis---------------------------
Here is Chicago's lineup:
---------------------McBride------------------------------
-------------------------------Blanco---------------------
Pappa-------------Thorrington---------------------Rolfe
------------------------Pause-----------------------------
Woolard--------Brown-------Robinson-------Prideaux
-------------------------Busch---------------------------
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