Fire Sun Nov 08 2009

Fire Headed to Eastern Conference Final

After the loss in the first leg to the New England Revolution, the Chicago Fire were down one goal going into the final match of the semifinals. All they needed was two goals...and to shut out the Revs. They accomplished both last night in their 2-0 win at Toyota Park, granting them a spot in the Eastern Conference Championship.

The Fire got started early with numerous attempts on goal and a few close calls. Finally, in the 35th minute, the Fire took the lead. Marco Pappa, after receiving a pass into the box from Brandon Prideaux, cut inside a Revolution defender and sent the ball back to John Thorrington. He curled the ball into the left side of the net putting the Fire up 1-0. But their mission was not over.

In the 83rd minute, the Fire secured their second goal. Chris Rolfe sent a ball to the right corner and Patrick Nyarko was able to take control of it. He sent the ball into the box for Cuauhtemoc Blanco. As Revolution goalie Matt Reis came out to challenge him, Blanco launched the ball over his head and between two defenders to score the second goal. Victory was in sight.

The Fire defense continued to fend off every push from the Revolution. The crowd got louder and louder as the five minutes of stoppage time ticked by with no response from the Revolution.

Now the Fire will host Real Salt Lake this coming Saturday, November 14 at 8 p.m.

— Vanessa Day / Comments (0)