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Jeff Larentowicz was ejected early in the Revs' 4-0 loss to the Fire. (Photo credit: Joyce Furia) |
The Revs were already without two key players in Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston and Larentowicz's ejection left them with yet another hole to fill in central midfield. Coach Steve Nicol first opted to make no changes, going with a 3-4-2 formation, then substituted in defensive midfielder Gary Flood for Khano Smith and moved Mauricio Castro out to the left wing. With his defense in shambles, Nicol finally opted to give Chase Hilgenbrinck his debut in place of Kenny Mansally and switched to a 4-4-1 formation in the 39th minute after the Fire scored their fourth goal.
Chad Barrett put the Fire in front in just the 4th minute of the match, when Cuauhtemoc Blanco came down the left flank before sending in a low pass into the box. Barrett, stationed at the penalty spot unmarked, turned and slid a low shot past goalkeeper Matt Reis. The Revs had several defenders in the box, but no one marked Barrett as the team rushed to track back.
Three minutes later Larentowicz was ejected from the match for a tackle in the offensive third. Larentowicz got the ball, but continued through and connected with a Fire defender. Referee Baldomero Toledo immediately went to the red card for what was at best a very questionable decision. Shalrie Joseph also received a yellow card for dissent.
Barrett nearly doubled his tally in the 21st minute, breaking free down the right side of the box. Barrett aimed for the far post, but Reis made a great diving save to keep it out.
The Fire did double their tally in the 23rd minute after Blanco played through Tomasz Frankowski in the box. Three Revolution defenders converged and managed to dispossess him, but apparent confusion kept them from clearing it and Frankowski came in to hit it into the net.
The Revs had a chance in the 28th minute when a corner kick was punched out by Chicago's Jon Busch. The ball landed at the feet of Mansally, but he blasted his shot over the top of the net.
The Fire went up 3-0 in the 36th minute after Sainey Nyassi quickly recovered on defense to challenge Justin Mapp in the box. Mapp fell to the ground easily with what looked like on replay to be almost no contact and Toledo hesitated before giving the Fire yet another gift by pointing to the spot and practically guaranteeing them the match. Blanco took the penalty and sent it into the upper left corner out of the reach of Reis.
Three minutes later Frankowski made it 4-0, finishing a cross from Barrett to further end any hopes of a comeback for the already demoralized Revs.
Adam Cristman had a chance for the Revs less than three minutes after halftime, with a breakaway into the box, only to see Busch come up big for the Fire. On the ensuing play Mauricio Castro blasted a hard shot on frame that Busch again saved, but couldn't hold before his defense cleared it out for a corner kick.
Reis kept it at 4-0 in the 64th minute when a blast from rookie Stephen King from just inside the box looked destined for the back of the net. Reis made an impressive diving save and kept the ball from crossing the line.
The Revs will look to recover on Wednesday when they face the Kansas City Wizards at 8 p.m., live on TV 38. Nicol will have more changes to make as Larentowicz's ejection means he will also miss the match, in addition to all the injured players.
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