Tue Apr 1 19:26:50 2008

Comment | Email | Print

Fire 'satisfied' entering home opener vs. Revs

---

Bridgeview, IL (Sports Network) - Chicago midfielder Diego Gutierrez said the Fire left Real Salt Lake "satisfied" after Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored the tying goal in the 92nd minute of a 1-1 draw in Saturday's season opener.

The first 91 minutes? Well, Chicago left a lot of room for improvement.

Chicago struggled throughout most of the match and if Blanco didn't rescue the team in the dying seconds, Gutierrez - or anyone else on the team - would not be "satisfied."

New coach Denis Hamlet wasn't thrilled, but he was happy to steal a point.

"It's never easy to come in and play in a team's home opener because we knew they were going to put a lot into it, and we were able to withstand that and come out and take the point away," Hamlett said.

Chicago will try to improve on its lackluster performance Thursday night when it hosts its home opener against New England.

New England was impressive in its opener against Houston, taking control early and rolling to a 3-0 victory in a rematch of last season's MLS Cup - which was won by Houston, 2-1.

"Overall, it's a great result and a great performance," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said.

Unfortunately, New England learned Tuesday that captain Steve Ralston suffered a dislocated shoulder and Taylor Twellman will have knee surgery and both will miss extended periods.

Ralston scored the first goal against Houston and led the team with 14 assists last year. Twellman, also a striker for the United States national team, led New England with 16 goals last season.

New England could struggle offensively without Ralston and Twellman, but won't have trouble in midfield with Shalrie Joseph anchoring the group or in defense with Michael Parkhurst leading that unit.

Adam Cristman, who had four goals last season, and Sainey Nyassi scored in the opener and could pick up some of the scoring slack. Twellman is expected to be out at least six weeks, but the length of Ralston's absence is unknown.

Chicago, which was 10-10-10 last season and upset D.C. United in the playoffs before falling to New England in the Eastern final, will take any break it can get after a sluggish opener.

Blanco, a Mexican icon, had four goals and seven assists in just 14 games last season and is the focal point of the team. Against Real Salt Lake, Blanco had only one chance and made the most of it.

So it's no surprise that Gutierrez feels like the Fire have to get Blanco more involved Thursday and for the rest of the season.

"We're thankful he's on our team, but we have to surround him with better service and put him in better spots and I'm convinced that will come out throughout our season," Gutierrez said.

Note: All players and referees will be wearing black armbands embroidered with "February 14, 2008" in memory of the Northern Illinois campus tragedy.