BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Substitute forward Calen Carr scored a late goal to give the Fire a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution in front of 14,056 at Toyota Park Wednesday night. Fire midfielder Baggio Husidic and Revolution forwardMarko Perovic provided the other goals.
Carr – making his season debut – gave the Fire the lead in the 85th minute. The speedy forward collected midfielder Freddie Ljungberg’s pass on the left wing and took off, cutting in along the top of the box before firing a low right footed shot inside the near post.
New England turned up the pressure after falling behind and probably should have been awarded a penalty in the 90th minute when Perovic appeared to be fouled in the box. But referee Michael Kennedy swallowed his whistle, and theRevs went home disappointed.
Chicago head coach Carlos de los Cobos made two changes to the lineup that played New York to a 0-0 draw on August 8. Designated Player Nery Castillo made his first start in a Fire uniform, coming in forMike Banner on the left wing. Reacquired defender Gonzalo Segares made his season debut, coming in forKrzysztof Krol at left back.
Revs Manager Steve Nicol made just one modification to the squad that defeated Houston 1-0 last Saturday. Right backKevin Alstonrecovered from injury to replace Khano Smith in the starting XI.
Perovic took advantage of a Wilman Conde misstep to give the Revs the lead in the 16th minute. Conde slipped at the edge of the area, allowing Perovic to pick up the loose ball and run into the box for a one-on-one chance with Fire keeper Sean Johnson. The Serbian forward made no mistake, rounding the rookie goalie and slotting home from the right edge of the 6-yard box to give New England the early lead.
Husidic hit back in the 32nd. The play began when Chicago forward Brian McBride hit a weak shot from the top of the 18. The feeble effort deflected off Revs defender Darrius Barnes, falling to an unmarked Husidic in the right side of the box. The second-year midfielder coolly converted his golden opportunity, comfortably sliding his shot inside the far post.
Midfielder Shalrie Joseph nearly gave the Revs the lead in the 51st minute. The All-Star midfielder picked up a loose ball 25 yards from net and immediately hit a low right-footed drive towards the left post. Johnson did well to keep the effort out, diving to his right to deflect the ball away from danger.
The Fire should have taken the lead in the 57th minute. Husidic found defenderDasan Robinson at the back post with a fantastic early cross from the left wing, but the right back couldn’t convert, struggling to control the ball before sending an off-balance right footed flick over the crossbar.
Each team resumes their MLS schedule on Saturday. Chicago will travel to Houston to take on the Dynamo while the Revs will head to Kansas City to face off with the Wizards.
New England Revolution 1, at Chicago Fire 2
Toyota Park
Attendance: 14,056
New England Revolution (6-10-3)
Chicago Fire (6-5-6)
Scoring Summary:
NE -- Marko Perovic 5 (unassisted) 16
CHI -- Baggio Husidic 4 (unassisted) 32
CHI -- Calen Carr 1 (Freddie Ljungberg 1, Baggio Husidic 4) 85
Misconduct Summary:
NE -- Pat Phelan (caution; Dissent) 13
NE -- Cory Gibbs (caution; Persistent Infringement) 26
CHI -- Nery Castillo (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 38
CHI -- Wilman Conde (caution; Reckless Tackle) 39
NE -- Marko Perovic (caution; Reckless Foul) 43
NE -- Emmanuel Osei (caution; Reckless Tackle) 52
NE -- Darrius Barnes (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 92+
New England Revolution -- Matt Reis, Kevin Alston, Emmanuel Osei, Darrius Barnes, Cory Gibbs (Seth Sinovic 69), Sainey Nyassi, Shalrie Joseph, Pat Phelan (Jason Griffiths 69), Chris Tierney (Khano Smith 68), Ilija Stolica, Marko Perovic.
Substitutes Not Used: Roberto Linck, Kenny Mansally, Zack Schilawski, Bobby Shuttleworth.
Chicago Fire -- Sean Johnson, Dasan Robinson, C.J. Brown, Wilman Conde, Gonzalo Segares, Marco Pappa (Kwame Watson-Siriboe 89), Baggio Husidic,Logan Pause, Nery Castillo (Mike Banner 46), Brian McBride (Calen Carr 69), Freddie Ljungberg.
Substitutes Not Used: Steven Kinney, Krzysztof Krol, Peter Lowry, Andrew Dykstra.
Referee: Michael Kennedy
Referee's Assistants: -Chris Strickland; Paul Scott
4th Official: Abiodun Okulaja
Time of Game: 1:51
Weather: Sunny-and-80-degrees
