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Chicago eyes fifth win in six games at Real

Sep 27, 2011 - 11:17 PM Sandy, UT (Sports Network) - Chicago has been on Fire recently as interim boss Frank Klopas finally pulled the club out of its early- and mid-season slump.

Now, with four wins in their last five matches, the Fire - who won just two of their first 24 games - may sneak into the playoffs and be a squad nobody wants to play.

First, Chicago must wrap up the regular season with the same form it has shown over its last five matches and accomplishing that Wednesday night at Real Salt Lake will prove to be a major challenge.

Chicago (6-8-15) is still in the playoff hunt thanks to Major League Soccer's generous gift of 10 postseason berths, but the Fire have very little room for error down the stretch.

The Fire were cruising with a three-goal lead against New England, as Dominic Oduro's team-high 11th goal helped spark the team, but the Revolution pulled two goals back in the second half.

"Now we just need to get back to practice and work on a few things - closing out games is important, in the last few games we've given up some second-half goals and that's something we need to correct," Fire goalie Sean Johnson said.

Chicago remains six points out of the final playoff spot, and will be unlikely to get lucky enough that all the teams between it and that berth will struggle down the stretch. That means more wins are what the Fire need.

Johnson equaled his season-high with six saves against New England, and posted one of his six shutouts earlier this year in a 0-0 draw against Real at Toyota Park.

But the trip to Rio Tinto Stadium to face Real should provide another test, as Real (15-8-6) is always tough at home, and will be looking to rebound from an embarrassing 4-1 loss at D.C. United over the weekend.

RSL had won five straight before the defeat, and coach Jason Kreis admitted he was "disappointed" after the match.

"Obviously with the scoreline I'm very disappointed that we reacted the way we did giving up the first goal," Kreis said.

And defender Nat Borchers put the loss, which included a hat trick from United star Dwayne De Rosario, in perspective well.

"I think we won five games in a row and I think it's safe to say we weren't five-games-in-a-row-good," Borchers said. "We didn't play that well through that stretch. (Against United), I really don't think that we were 4-1 bad."

Javier Morales could return from a long injury absence against Chicago, adding another great weapon for Kreis down the stretch and into the playoffs. Real is still comfortably in the top three in the West and has already clinched.

Real has shown it is good enough to contend for its second title in just three years, but as it recalls from the 2009 season when it got hot down the stretch and won the title - playing well at the right time can go a long way.

Just how far? Chicago still has a lot of work to do to find out.