Blanco, Thorrington lead Fire past Revs

Chicago disposes of rivals New England at sold out Toyota Park

Down by a goal on aggregate after last weekend's first leg, the Fire needed to win by at least two goals to advance to the conference final. Thorrington side-footed home a shot from inside the penalty area in the 35th minute to level the semifinal series, then Blanco scored with six minutes left to send the sellout crowd at Toyota Park into mass celebration.

Chicago will play host to Real Salt Lake in the Eastern Conference Championship, Saturday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. ET.

It didn't take long for the Fire to get started as they tried to overturn the deficit. In the 10th minute Blanco crossed a perfect ball to Chris Rolfe in the box. Revolution defender Kevin Alston cleared the ball for a Fire throw-in, and Marco Pappa then sent a weak attempt toward goal, which was easily scooped up by New England goalkeeper Matt Reis.

Two minutes later, the Fire made another push, when Blanco made a run toward goal. Thorrington, who had not seen action since Aug. 18, was running just behind Blanco and picked up the ball after it was poked away by a defender but rocketed a shot wide left.

In the 18th minute, Kenny Mansally knocked Blanco to the ground, earning a yellow card after a discussion by the referees and both teams. Pappa bent a free kick into the center of the box, where Reis grabbed it for the save.

New England regained some momentum in the 22nd minute, when striker Edgarus Jankauskas fired a shot that clanged off the crossbar. Fire defender C.J. Brown eventually cleared the ball out of the box.

In the 33rd minute Brian McBride headed an attempt wide right, then two minutes later, the Fire took the lead.

After Blanco held off a defender on the right, he pushed the ball to Fire defender Brandon Prideaux, who forwarded it to Pappa in the box. Pappa cut inside Revolution defender Emmanuel Osei and poked the ball back into an opening. Thorrington curled it into the left side netting for a 1-0 Fire lead.

McBride was at the front end of the Fire attack, and hit the pitch in the 52nd minute after yet another clash with Reis and struggled to return to play. McBride hobbled for four minutes more until being escorted off the field and Patrick Nyarko replaced him in the lineup.

Chicago almost doubled its lead in the 60th minute, when a Blanco cross caused confusion in the box. Fire defender Dasan Robinson headed the attempt toward an empty net as Reis failed to claim the ball, but Revs defender Shalrie Joseph was there to head it off the line and out of harm's way.

An odd moment occurred in the 69th minute when Revolution substitute Mauricio Castro appeared to have been sent off, firing the ball into the bench area as he left the field. As it turned out, he was sent to the locker room to apparently deal with a bloody cut, and after playing a man down a few minutes, Wells Thompson came in for the Honduran.

The Fire continued to press forward to try and grab the second goal and avoid an overtime session. Pappa blasted a shot at goal in the 72nd minute, which Reis blocked for a Fire corner kick.

In the 80th minute, Nyarko crossed the ball into the box. Blanco dodged defenders, cut to his right foot and blasted an attempt toward goal. It skimmed off the top of the crossbar and over.

Two minutes later, Nyarko crossed the ball in again. Thorrington slid into the box, but knocked it wide left. Then Rolfe shot an attempt toward goal. Reis dove to stop the attempt and almost lost the ball, but was able to scramble back to cover up.

Then in the 83rd minute, the Fire were finally able to break through. Rolfe sent a long ball to the right corner, and Nyarko was able to fend off Osei and come away with the ball. Nyarko cut along the endline and poked the ball to Blanco in the box. The Mexican international controlled the ball, holding it as Reis came out to challenge him, and sent the ball over Reis, between two defenders and into the net for a 2-0 Fire lead.

The Revolution had one final salvo. Mansally curled in a cross from the right side and Pat Phelan, a late substitute, smacked a header that looked like it would settle inside Jon Busch's left-hand post, but the ball flashed just wide.

After five minutes of stoppage time, with the crowd noise intensifying with every minute, the Fire defense pulled back together and withstood the final Revolution charges for the victory.

Kathryn L. Knapp is contributor to MLSnet.com.

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