Fire eager to return to pitch

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- All coaches look forward to a long midseason break as an opportunity to get he team's batteries recharged for the next long haul on the schedule.

But when your team defeats a rival 5-1 in a road game, a two-week break isn't exactly what the doctor ordered.

When the Chicago Fire play host to D.C. United Saturday night at Toyota Park, they will have had 13 days of preparation following their remarkable 5-1 demolition of the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium. Because an exhibition match with a Polish club team was cancelled for May 31, the Fire has had two weeks off between games.

Hamlett, who is smart enough to know it pays no dividends to complain about the schedule, still admits it would have been nice to jump back in the MLS hopper the next weekend following that big win against New York.

"Yeah, obviously, you would love to do that," Hamlett said. "But this is the schedule and that is what you deal with. You can't get caught up with that. It's easier to be off when you have won 5-1 than when you are coming off a loss."

The Toyota Park fans are obviously going to be looking for a similar result tonight as the Fire play a United team that is puling itself up after a horrendous start. The last time the local faithful saw the Fire was May 17, when they came into the game with a three-game winning streak and laid an egg against the Houston Dynamo, losing 2-1.

The Fire are just one point behind first-place New England in the Eastern Conference standings (ahead of the Revs' Friday game with FC Dallas), but the Revolution have played two more games. There is a sense that something remarkable is possible in Chicago, and that doesn't take into account the current hot topic of Brian McBride joining the club in July.

Hamlett gave the Fire two days off during the two-week stretch.

"We tried to get some balance between work and rest; we got some guys healthy, and we pushed some guys along," Hamlett said. "We had a good month of May, it is a long season, and when you get these moments where you have a chance to rest, you need to get the rest but also continue to work harder when they do train."

The only real health concern on the team was midfielder John Thorrington, who missed a pair of games with a bad back. Hamlett said Thorrington trained all week and is available for selection.

It is also possible to see veteran defender and team captain C.J. Brown as a reserve choice against United after missing the entire season so far with an adductor muscle strain.

It will be interesting to see how Hamlett designs his team. The Fire has the best defense by far in MLS, with only six goals given up, including one that was an own goal. The next best team in the league has given up 13 goals.

That would seem to mean the back line of Brandon Prideaux, Bakary Soumare, Diego Gutierrez and Gonzalo Segares will remain intact. The question is whether he keeps Wilman Conde in a defensive midfield position.

The rest of the lineup (Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Logan Pause, Chris Rolfe, Chad Barrett and Justin Mapp) does not figure to change.