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MLS New England Revolution

Fire takes advantage of early Larentowicz ejection to stun Revs with four first-half goals

April 3, 2008 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
New England Revolution News Release


BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Polish forward Tomasz Frankowski scored the first two goals of his MLS career as part of Chicago's four-goal first-half outburst, as the Fire earned a 4-0 victory over the New England Revolution at a rain-soaked Toyota Park on Thursday night.

Chad Barrett and Cuauhtemoc Blanco also scored for the Fire (1-0-1, 4 pts.), which took advantage of playing a man up for 83 minutes after Revolution midfielder Jeff Larentowicz was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Brandon Prideaux in just the 7th minute.

The Revs (1-1-0, 3 pts.) were playing shorthanded even before Larentowicz's ejection, as the club's two all-time leading scorers against the Fire, Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston, were sidelined with injuries.

Barrett opened the scoring for the home side in the fourth minute, finishing Justin Mapp's cross from 12 yards out. Mapp, with plenty of space down the left, sent a low cross to Barrett at the penalty spot, and the Fire forward's left-footed shot beat Revs' goalkeeper Matt Reis to his right.

Following Larentowicz's ejection, New England responded by bringing in defensive midfielder Gary Flood for Khano Smith in the 12th minute, switching formations to a 3-4-2 from a 3-5-2.

Chicago doubled its lead in the 22nd minute, however, following a scramble in the box. Blanco's long through ball sent Barrett into the right side of the 18-yard box, and the Fire forward sent a hard cross into the box that was mishandled by the Revs' defense. Frankowski pounced on the loose ball to score his first career MLS goal from six yards out.

New England had chances to cut the lead in half through Kenny Mansally and Sainey Nyassi in the 28th and 29th minutes, respectively, but neither player managed to finish.

It was 3-0 to the Fire in the 37th minute, when Blanco scored his second goal of the season from the penalty spot. Justin Mapp was taken down from behind in the box to set up the spot-kick for Blanco, and the Mexican's shot was perfectly placed into the upper left corner.

Just two minutes later, Frankowski rounded out the scoring with his second goal of the night. Blanco's long cross-field pass was chested down by Chad Barrett, whose cross was drilled high into the net from six yards out by Frankowski.

New England switched to a 4-4-1 formation for the second half, and the move almost paid off with a goal right after the restart. However, both Adam Cristman and Mauricio Castro saw their early chances saved by Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch.

After the Revolution's two early second-half opportunities, neither team seriously threatened to score for the final 40 minutes.

New England held an 11-1 advantage in corner kicks for the game despite playing the majority of the contest down a man.

The Revs will return to action on Wednesday, April 9, when they will travel to Kansas City to face the Wizards at 8:00 p.m. ET.

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