John Thorrington was once one of the great hopes for American Soccer. As a youngster he was scouted by and signed by Manchester United. There he played on the reserves while David Beckham led United to its famous treble. After being released in 1999 by United, Thorrington bounced around Europe until returning stateside last season to play in MLS. This season he has been injured much of the year and made only his second appearance of the season, but he scored the goal that eliminated Beckham’s Galaxy from the playoffs. The Fire dominated the match and should have had a goal in the first half when Cuahatomac Blanco perfectly set up Chad Barrett for a routine finish but Barrett flew the shot over the crossbar.
The Fire’s 1-0 victory sets up a matchup with DC United in the playoffs.
Here are the playoff match ups:
E1 DC United vs. E4 Chicago
E2 New England vs E 3 Red Bull NY
W1 Chivas USA vs W4/E5 Kansas City
W2 Houston vs W 3 FC Dallas
Our special Playoff Preview edition of the Major League Soccer Talk podcast will be released early Tuesday AM Pacific time.
