BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Now we can understand what home-field advantage means in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The Chicago Fire play host to the New England Revolution Thursday at Toyota Park in the second leg of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series, after the first game at Gillette Stadium ended in a 0-0 tie.
The series has turned into a one-game, winner-advances contest at Toyota Park, where the Fire would most certainly want to play a one-game, winner-take-all Eastern Conference Championship.
That's what home-field advantage means in the MLS playoff structure.
"Whenever you are in a situation where it is one game and you move on, playing at home is more beneficial for the home team," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. "You are in your own environment, you have your daily routine that you go through, you come to the stadium like you always do and you have your support behind you."
That explains the debate that still follows in some quarters with the conference semifinals decided in a two-game, total goals playoff series. The team with the higher seed automatically plays the second leg at home, though some question if opening up a series on the road is also an advantage.
"You know, in European leagues, there is a real home-field advantage, because away goals count (as a tiebreaker) in a two-game series," Fire defender Bakary Soumare said. "In our case, I don't know if there is really a home-field advantage. Personally, I don't get caught up in that, the thinking that if you play at home therefore you have to win. You know, our record at home is one of the worst in the league. We can't say 'We have home-field advantage, so we are going to go through.' We have to be happy to be 0-0, but we can't say we are definitely going to win."
Which is the caution that Hamlett offered to his team this week.
"You have to make sure you come ready to compete and ready to play and want to move on," Hamlett said. "If you think just because you are home, you are going to move forward, it doesn't help. It is a combination of all the pieces together."
Statistics don't determine the outcome of games, but they do provide background.
For instance, the Fire had a home record of 7-5-3 this season, ranking in the middle of the 14 teams in terms of home wins. One of those wins was that memorable 4-0 decision against New England, but that was back in April.
The Fire finished 3-1-1 in their last five home games, and they scored 12 goals in those five games. Their last home game was the 5-2 win against the New York Red Bulls two weeks ago.
New England, on the other hand, had a road record of 6-6-3, tying Chicago for the most road wins in the league. But they have not won a road game since July 4 at Los Angeles, which was not the same quality of team as Chicago.
The Fire also has an advantage in terms of health. They only have two players on their injury report, forward Calen Carr (out with a knee sprain) and midfielder-defender Diego Gutierrez (probable with an unspecified illness).
The Revolution, on the other hand, are without forward Taylor Twellman (concussion symptoms), midfielder Steve Ralston (fibula fracture), forward Adam Cristman (toe surgery). Midfielder Sharlie Joseph is listed as questionable with a knee sprain, while rookie Chris Tierney, who started in the first leg, is also questionable with a knee sprain.
But neither home-field advantage nor injury reports determine the final outcome.
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