They're still not up to snuff

Revolution can't control Fire again

Revolution midfielder Mauricio Castro wishes the Fire's Cuauhtemoc Blanco would get off his back. (Stephan Savoia/Associated Press)

FOXBOROUGH - After sustaining a four-goal loss while playing shorthanded for 83 minutes against the Chicago Fire last month, the Revolution seemed eager to prove themselves in a rematch last night. But playing with a full team barely made a difference for the Revolution, this time the Fire taking a 3-0 victory.

The Fire (4-1-1, 13 points) remained composed defensively against the Revolution's pressure tactics, then went through Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Chris Rolfe to set up goals by Rolfe (29th minute), John Thorrington (50th), and Stephen King (76th). The Revolution (3-3-1, 10 points), who visit Chivas USA next Sunday, squandered their best chance as Mauricio Castro shot directly at goalkeeper Jon Busch in the 31st minute, then failed to threaten until after adding Steve Ralston as a second-half substitute.

"We were consistent, consistently bad," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said. "We were second. Every single way you look at it, we were second. We didn't move the ball quickly. Give them credit, they've outdone us, they kept good spots defensively, and waited until we break down and hit us. We were second in every department - passing the ball, reading the game, challenging for the ball, finishing, you name it and we were second."

That could have described the Revolution's first half against the Fire in the second game of the season, and Nicol believed that would be a motivating factor.

"We were coming off losing, 4-nil, to them at their place," Nicol said. "I certainly expected us to be up for it and ready to go at it. Certainly, all the talk before, I thought we were ready. But talk is easy; it's what you do on the field that counts. And you have to be prepared mentally. We have to sit down and look at what we did this week and try to figure out why we were so dead in the brain, because that's really what we were, we were dead above the neck. So, we have to figure out why."

The Revolution failed to threaten in the early going, unable to build attacks through the middle of the field or on the wings, reverting instead to predictable long balls toward forwards Adam Cristman and Kenny Mansally. Chicago was content to break up plays and, eventually, set up counterattacks, scoring first following an extended possession.

Blanco started the scoring sequence, holding the ball about 30 yards from goal on the left, then finding Logan Pause, who sent the ball to Thorrington on the right. The passes spread out the Revolution defense, leaving space for Thorrington to thread a ball into the penalty area, where Rolfe was standing unmarked and kept onside by Michael Parkhurst. Rolfe turned and fired to the right of goalkeeper Matt Reis.

The Revolution attempted to retaliate immediately. Castro made a steal, and a Mansally-Cristman combination returned the ball to Castro just outside the goal area. Castro faked a shot to the right, a defender sliding past, leaving him a clear shot that he sent directly at Busch.

"You need to move the ball quickly," Nicol said. "If you don't, teams are going to be able to keep tight against you. They get the goal, which makes it easier to run forward when you're 1-nil up. We tried to push the game but, above the neck, we were pretty dead."

The Revolution's offensive play in the second half continued to be frenetic. They seldom retained possession for more than a couple passes, and did not display the patience necessary to break down the Fire defense.

Rolfe started the second scoring sequence near the end line, sending the ball through the penalty area, Blanco dummying it on to Barrett, who kept the ball flowing to Thorrington. Thorrington one-timed a shot from just outside the penalty arc, Reis diving to his left too late.

"That's one I would like to have back," Reis said. "I saw it coming but the ball went under me. It was just a mistake."

After Kheli Dube and Ralston entered as substitutes a few minutes later, the Revolution began threatening. Ralston, making his first appearance since sustaining a dislocated shoulder in the season opener, took over Castro's playmaking role, Castro moving to the left wing, and Dube replaced Cristman. Dube had the Revolution's best second-half opportunity following a Chris Albright-Wells Thompson combination, but his point-blank shot was knocked away by Busch.

King scored the third goal, finishing a rebound after Reis blocked a Barrett shot. Blanco set up the first attempt, finding Barrett in the penalty arc, Barrett then eluding Albright.

"We talked about coming out from the start," Reis said. "But we didn't seem to get close enough to them all night; they had time and space. We give up an early goal and they were able to sit in and counter. They didn't create too many chances and the ones they did, they finished. We made it hard on ourselves."