FOXBORO, Mass. — The Chicago Fire are heading back to the MLS Cup playoffs, despite a 1-0 loss to the New England Revolution.
A first half Matt Polster goal made the difference, sending the Fire home with a defeat to the Revolution for the second time in a month.
There were four changes to the Fire's lineup from the one that had lost to the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday. One was forced, with new signing Andreas Hanche-Olsen making his first MLS start in place of the suspended Jack Elliott. Philip Zinckernagel, Leo Barroso, and Andrew Gutman was all also reinserted into the XI, with Gutman making his first start in almost a month. Revolution Head Coach Marko Mitrović – a former Fire assistant between 2016 and 2019 – was forced to watch from the stands due to yellow card accumulation.
The Fire found the net first, with Philip Zinckernagel putting the ball past Matt Turner early. However, the goal was quickly disallowed for offside. Turner survived a few more frightening moments in the Revolution goal as the Fire attack largely fell silent for the rest of the first half.
In the 26th minute, the home team got their breakthrough; former Chicago right back Matt Polster, making his second straight start in midfield despite playing most of this season on the back line, opened the scoring. The 33-year-old Milwaukee native notched his first strike against the Fire in his tenth attempt, finishing off a great sequence orchestrated by Carles Gil.
Whatever it was that Gregg Berhalter said at halftime seemed to work, as the Fire jumped out with the first big chance of the second half. Robert Lewandowski came close to scoring but was blocked, before a Jonathan Bamba shot was well saved by Turner in the 48th minute. A minute later, three shots were made within about four seconds, but none found the target.
The Fire dominated the half, but New England contained the attack well, and there was ultimately no pathway back into the game. It ended 1-0 to the Revs, with the Fire suffering a second straight defeat, but clinching playoffs nonetheless because of Orlando City's win over D.C. United.
Starting XI (4-3-3) — Brady; Gutman, Mbokazi, Hanche-Olsen, Barroso; Haile-Selassie, D'Avilla, Salétros; Bamba, Lewandowski, Zinckernagel
