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Chicago survives late rally by New England

Sep 25, 2011 - 10:33 PM Bridgeview, IL (Sports Network) - The Chicago Fire survived a late rally to claim a 3-2 victory over the New England Revolution on Sunday.

Chicago scored three times inside the opening 30 minutes, as Sebastian Grazzini, Dominic Oduro, and Patrick Nyarko each recorded a goal.

Ryan Guy scored twice in stoppage time to put a scare into Chicago's hearts, but the Fire survived to claim their second straight win.

Grazzini opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a penalty kick. New England goalkeeper Matt Reis had tripped Nyarko in the box and Grazzini calmly converted the ensuing spot kick to give the Fire the lead.

Oduro notched his 11th goal of the year just four minutes later, getting in behind the Revolution defense before beating Reis and slotting the ball into the empty net.

Nyarko added a third in the 30th minute. The Chicago striker used his speed to get on the end of a through ball and take advantage of some hesitance from Reis, beating the goalkeeper and finishing the easy chance.

The result looked out of reach for New England, but Guy gave his team a glimmer of hope in the 90th minute.

Guy sliced a volley into an empty net after Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson could not handle a long-ball into the box. He scored again a minute later, slipping past Johnson to bring the Revolution to within one.

But New England failed to complete the would-be miraculous comeback, as the final whistle sounded immediately after the restart.

Chicago (6-8-15) has 33 points on the year, inching closer to a playoff spot. It trails Red Bull New York, which currently holds the final wild card spot, by six points.

New England (5-13-12) remains in last place in the Eastern Conference with 27 points on the season.

The Fire return to MLS action Wednesday when the face Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium. New England's next fixture is on Saturday against Seattle Sounders FC at Gillette Stadium.