The Fire moved on to the finals of the SuperLiga with a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution last night. Chicago dominated possession for long stretches, and yet they still may have been a bit lucky to come out with the win, as the Revolution hit the woodwork twice. Other observations:
- For all the talk of the Fire's ignominious ouster from the Open Cup, the prize money for SuperLiga is, I think, more significant. So if they're still in one of these tourneys, it may as well be this one, right?
- Obviously, it was great to see Blanco put his stamp on both goals -- and especially great to see Matt Reis get totally owned on the Blanco free kick -- but Brian McBride hasn't been scoring lately in league matches, either. So it was nice of the New England defense to decide not to mark him so he could put one in the back of the net.
- Baggio Husidic looked good going forward through most of the first half, but was caught way out of position on the Revolution goal. Chicago gave up far too much space in the central midfield, compounded by John Thorrington being so deep he was behind all four defenders. Which also put him in the line of fire on the shot, which deflected off him and into the goal.
- Speaking of that goal, recent acquisition Edgeras Jankauskas looked like the real deal for the Revs, and his play was attractive enough for me not to hate him just because he plays for New England. Yet. At 6'4", his matchup against Bakary Soumare was really fun to watch.
- Daniel Woolard got absolutely abused at left back, and if Sainey Nyassi could hit the side of a barn, it might have been a much different outcome. On the one hand, I hope Costa Rica gets bounced from the Gold Cup sooner rather than later so we can get Gonzalo Segares back. On the other, Woolard needs minutes to develop, so the longer we manage to stay in first place while he's playing, the better.
- Fire fans like to rail on Denis Hamlett's subs, but Patrick Nyarko and Mike Banner both made immediate positive impacts on the game, with Nyarko doing well to get behind the defense and Banner providing some good defensive pressure that belies his small frame.