Fire beat Chivas USA 1-0 to (finally) clinch playoff spot

Fire coach Denis Hamlett insisted before Thursday night's game against Chivas USA his team wouldn't just play for a tie, though a tie was all the Fire needed to clinch a playoff berth.

True to the coach's word, the Fire kept the pressure on Chivas until it finally forced a mistake on a rainy, cold night at Toyota Park. A Chivas own-goal gave the Fire (11-7-12, 45 points) all it needed for a 1-0 victory in front of 17,537 hard-core fans.

The road to the playoffs developed a few bumps along the way, including a six-game winless streak that ended with Thursday's clincher.

The Fire was eager to put those bumps behind them.

"Obviously, it is a relief," Hamlett said. "It took us 30 games to get to this point, but we're finally in the playoffs. I thought the last two games defensively (both shutouts) we've gotten back to the way we played earlier in the year. To be able to win championships you have to have a good defensive mindset. We can build on these last two games."

The Fire's big break came in the 67th minute, on the Fire's 14th corner kick of the night. Chivas had shown no hesitation in knocking the ball over its own goal line, thinking it prudent to give up the corner kicks. It backfired, however, when Chivas' Eduardo Lillingston headed Cuauhtemoc Blanco's corner into his own net.

"These types of games it's just about one goal," Hamlett said. "We got the one goal that mattered and we're in."

"It's one of those (breaks) where a goal like that - and let's hope that this happens - kick-starts some goals," forward Brian McBride said. "But most importantly we qualified for the playoffs. We stuck together, we fought hard."

The teams fought through a driving rain on slick, waterlogged grass. It was hardly pretty, but the Fire pounded away with 13 shots.

"The field was really nice until about 20-25 minutes left in the game," McBride said. "The big factor was the wind. It affected the ball quite a bit in the air."

But now the Fire can relax for a few days knowing it doesn't have to rely on another team to lose for the Fire to make the playoffs.

"It's great," Chris Rolfe said. "Now we can enjoy the weekend instead of sitting there biting our fingernails wondering what's going to happen here."

The Fire will begin the playoffs next week on the road in the first of a home-and-home series. It's too early to tell which team it will play, and if the Fire has a preference, Hamlett wasn't telling.

"We're in the playoffs, that's all that matters," Hamlett said with a wry smile.