Many critics decry the tentative, defensive soccer on display so far in this year’s MLS playoffs, but Boston Globe writer Frank Dell’Apa says Thursday’s Eastern Conference final between the Chicago Fire and New England Revolution is perfectly poised. New England has the history, having beaten the Fire in all five of their playoff contests at home, while Chicago has the momentum after stopping D.C. United — a team many thought would win MLS Cup this year — as part of a 10-game unbeaten stretch that goes back two months.
The Fire has lost just two matches since Cuauhtemoc Blanco joined the team in July, and it also has two days’ extra rest. “It is odd that some teams will have more rest than others in the playoffs,” Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis noted with dismay. The Revs will be playing their third playoff match in 12 days when they meet the Fire at Gillette Stadium.
The Revs have their defense to thank for getting this far, and the cautious, no-errors approach looks to be the way of Steve Nicol’s men going forward, too. “At the end of the year we were struggling,” Reis said. “We were giving away goals because of mental mistakes … but we’ve been through this. And we’ve figured out what it takes to win a series. In the first game, it’s important not to give anything away, make the other team work for anything they might get.”