Fire Season Ended by Twellman Bicycle Kick

By Todd McClamroch in News on Nov 9, 2007 5:00PM

For the fifth time in six years, the New England Revolution have ended the Chicago Fire's season. New England forward Taylor Twellman scored a spectacular bicycle kick goal in the 38th minute that turned out to be the game winner. Twellman was covered tightly by Dasan Robinson and Logan Pause but was able to head the ball in the air then perform the acrobatic kick between the two defenders and leaving goal keeper Matt Pickens no chance for the save.

The knockout punch ended an amazing 10-game unbeaten streak that propelled the Fire to within 90 minutes of the finals after a lackluster 2007 season start. The game looks to be the last for Chris Armas who has been with the team since its inception in 1998 and helped them win the MLS title that same year. He is expected to retire during the off-season.

Coach Juan Carlos Osorio decided to give Forward Paulo Wanchope the start, which surely came as a surprise to many Fire fans as his level of fitness is often questioned. An even greater surprise to Chicagoist was that Osorio waited until the closing minutes to add Fire forward Calen Carr to the game. Carr played a crucial role in the previous series against D.C. United and has often given the Fire a spark coming off the bench. We would have liked to seen him added much earlier and in place of Wanchope who looked like he was out for a walk in the park during the last 20 minutes of the game.

Chicagoist is hoping the Fire spend the off-season finding a top-notch goal-scorer to add to the roster. To take full advantage of this season's Blanco acquisition, the Fire need to give him a great target up front to work with.