Chicago Fire vs. Houston Dynamo, 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs: Dynamo top Fire to book East semifinal spot

Down by two goals, the Fire finally woke up. They were flawless by any means, especially in defense where they were beat twice and would have conceded again if not for some fine goalkeeping by Johnson, but at least they generated something in the attack.

For the Fire and Dynamo, it is win or go home, with one team moving on to the Eastern Conference Semifinals and the other beginning preparations for 2012. In these situations, the cliche is to go with the experienced team, but it also says go with the home team and that is doubly true when the visiting team has been dreadful on the road. Come on down, Houston.

Match date/time: Wednesday, October 31; 9:00 p.m. ET

Even without Davis’ delivery they won duels in the air and scored off headers while up against some excellent aerial presences when they faced Philadelphia and Kansas City in last year’s playoffs. Houston’s strikers and defenders are big, they’re strong and they can jump. But perhaps most importantly, they always seem to end up in the right positions, whether their headers come on set pieces or runs from open play. The Dynamo is so good at scoring on set pieces and via crosses into the box on counter-attacks that they generally don’t have to take many risks going forward, especially in a knockout or cup-style competition like the MLS Cup playoffs.

The Chicago Fire were a better team than the Houston Dynamo this season, and deserved to finish above them in the table. Unfortunately, they didn’t finish far enough above Houston to avoid a one-game playoff against a manager and team who is much more dangerous in this situation than they are in league play.