The Chicago Fire will take on the Colorado Rapids today at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in a key intra-conference clash (4pm, Telefutura).

The Rapids come in off a 1-0 road victory against Chivas USA, while the Fire come off a disappointing 1-0 loss to the Chicago Fire.

I will be providing commentary on today's match so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):

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FINAL– Rapids 2, Fire 2. A fair result as Colorado was the better team in the first half and Chicago was better in the second half.

Colorado's attack was non-existent for a large portion of the match and Chicago's attack continues to struggle in the run of play. Consider the Fire have gone two games now without a goal in the run of play (today's goals came on a corner kick and penalty kick).

Better from Chicago today, though you still get the feeling the team is struggling to figure itself out. I'm still not getting the Peter Lowry as starter experiment. Obviously that will change when John Thorrington returns. Also, has Justin Mapp really passed Julio Martinez on the depth chart? That's not good news.

What was good news for Chicago today? Kwame Watson-Siriboe looks like the real deal, a rookie I could see grabbing a starting role before long. Also, Patrick Nyarko looks worthy of keeping in the starting lineup.

for Colorado? Cummings continues to impress, while Marvell Wynne was solid yet again (his Penalty foul notwithstanding). Still not sold on Mehdi Ballouchy as a starter, but that could change once Claudio Lopez settles in.

That's all for me. Please feel free to share your thoughts on today's match in the comments section below.

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94th Minute– This one is almost over.

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92nd Minute– Apparently not, he ignores what looked like a foul on Cummings in the area. Wow, surprised he ignores that call after some of the ones he's made today.

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91st Minute– Foul on Mapp. Long free kick for Chicago. Mapp mis-hits the free kick well wide and away from everybody.

Does Terry Vaughn get paid by the foul?

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90th Minute– Corner is headed away.

Dykstra has not looked good on corners today. Luckily for him, the Rapids haven't been sharp in serving them.

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89th Minute– This game had so much promise in the first half, but has been pretty ugly in the second half.

Rapids corner kick. Not before a Fire sub. Marco Pappa leaves, Baggio Husidic comes in.

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86th Minute– Julien Baudet is in the match, playing alongside Wynne in central defense. Drew Moor is playing fullback now.

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82nd Minute– Anyone else shocked that Julio Martinez isn't in this game? Is he hurt? Maybe I missed that one.

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80th Minute– Nice play by Wynne to cut off a Fire attack.

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77th Minute– Did Conor Casey just try to that move on CJ Brown? i know Brown has lost a step, but Casey isn't blowing by anybody with that move.

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75th Minute– Didn't Justin Mapp used to be fast? He moves around in slow-motion these days.

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74th Minute– Will the Rapids find some energy to score a winner? Chicago's defense looks to have settled down and this one is looking destined to be a tie (unless we get a third PK call, which is entirely possible).

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72nd Minute– Colorado has looked flat lately and Chicago looks a bit more energized this half.

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68th Minute– Chicago with a nice sequence in midfield, but the final pass finds Pickens too easily. Better from the Chicago midfield this half.

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65th Minute– Rapids clear away a Fire corner kick. Game has gone a bit flat.

Rapids first sub is Wells Thompson for Ballouchy. An attack-minded sub as Thompson is more a natural winger.

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63rd Minute– Kwame Watson-Siriboe has looked solid today in his first start. The Fire rookie was highly touted coming out of UConn and is showing why.

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62nd Minute– Clark with a dribble into the area, but took too many touches and lost the ball.

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60th Minute– What will Colorado's response be in terms of substitutes?

Pickens does well to punch away a dangerous cross in from John. Rapids on the break.

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57th Minute– Cummings draws a yellow for a foul on CJ Brown.

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55th Minute– Lots of diving in this one today.

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54th Minute– Rapids corner earned by Casey.

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52nd Minute– We've got a new game now and Chicago looks ready to push the Rapids after a lackluster first half.

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51st Minute- GOAL FIRE! It's McBride converting the penalty.

Not sure how Wynne doesn't get at least a yellow card if he did, in fact, foul Nyarko on that play. It looks like they were both in full sprint and their feet tangled.

Either way, it's now 2-2.

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50th Minute– FIRE PENALTY, Wynne fouls Nyarko.

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48th Minute– Cummings chests it back to Pickens. No Fire player can get to the free kick.

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48th Minute– Fire with a free kick on the left side of the area after Kimura fouled McBride. dangerous chance here.

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46th Minute– And we're back.

Justin Mapp is in the match for the Fire, he replaced Peter Lowry.

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HALFTIME- What changes should we expect to see? The Fire needs a spark in the midfield so look for either Baggio Husidic or Julio Martinez  

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HALFTIME– Rapids 2, Fire 1. Colorado has had the edge throughout, but the Fire are very much still in this one. Chicago's midfield needs to step it up though if the Fire will have any chance of taking points from this match.

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45th Minute– Crowd has filled in at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. They've been treated to a good game from the Rapids.

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41st Minute- GOAL RAPIDS!!! And it's Conor Casey with the finish on the PK. Rapids 2, Fire 1.

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40th Minute– PENALTY for the Rapids. Marco Pappa with the foul. Legit call. Not a smart challenge from behind on Colin Clark.

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38th Minute– Still tied, but Colorado continues to have the edge in possession.

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34th Minute– Rapids with a free kick after a Krol foul on Mastroeni. Soft call.

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31st Minute– Colin Clark gets a yellow card for diving. He was actually pushed by CJ Brown, but delayed his fall and earned the yellow. Could have been a penalty if he fell on the push, but reacted too late.

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28th Minute– Larentowicz JUST WIDE. Hit a hard free kick but it misses wide by inches. Dykstra never saw it coming.

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26th Minute– Collins John was just too strong for Marvell Wynne, who was marking him on the corner. John shrugged him off and headed home the equalizer.

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26th Minute– GOAL FIRE!! And it's Collins John with the header off a Marco Pappa corner. We are tied. 1-1.

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22nd Minute– McBride with a wide-open look in front of goal but his shot hits Marvell Wynne. WOW, what a chance.

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22nd Minute– Wynne draws a yellow card. Clumsy challenge on Nyarko. That could prove costly later on in this match.

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19th Minute– Ballouchy with a nice turn and shot from 20 that misses by inches.

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18th Minute– Tim Ward draws a yellow card for a foul on Cummings.

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16th Minute– Cummings tries to chip Dykstra but Dykstra handles it easily. Colorado is dominating and the Fire midfield is losing the battle early on today.

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14th Minute– Cummings given way too much time and space to size up Dykstra and beat him to the far post. C.J. Brown laid off way too much, in part because he knows he can't stay with Cummings speed (He probably also didn't expect Cummings to strike it from 23 yards out). Could be a long day.

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13th Minute- GOAL RAPIDS!!! And it's Omar Cummings with the finish, a blast from distance. Rapids 1, Fire 0.

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12th Minute– Rapids corner kick.

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10th Minute– Marvell Wynne has yet to be tested. Looking forward to see how he holds up today at centerback against John and McBride.

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9th Minute– For those who hadn't heard, Claudio Lopez has signed with the Colorado Rapids. He's not active today, as he awaits his P-1 visa.

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7th Minute– Nyarko is working the right flank today, going to be going after Danny Earls with his speed.

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5th Minute– Colorado with the early possession.

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2nd Minute– Dykstra busy early on, good for him to get some touches early.

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1st Minute– And we're off.

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PRE-GAME– A sunny day in Commerce City, but the fans aren't out. Disappointing.

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PRE-GAME– Chicago could still win today, but it won't come easy. Patrick Nyarko gets the nod in midfield today and as good as he looked there vs. NY, you have to think he will cause problems for Kisuke Kimura.

Krol gets the start at left back for Chicago, a week after Mike Banner was run ragged by New York's Dane Richards. It's a better match-up for Krol because Mehdi Ballouchy isn't a natural winger.

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PRE-GAME– Wilman Conde is out with an ankle injury. That's big for Chicago. I really liked the FIre's chances to win today, but without Conde, and with a rookie in his place in Kwame Watson-Siriboe, I can't see Chicago stopping Omar Cummings and Conor Casey.

We will get a second week of the Marvell Wynne-at-centerback experiment. He looked good vs. Chivas USA but both of Chicago's forwards are much better than Maykel Galindo. Look for Wynne to be matched up with John, who is a tank and a great size-speed combo who will be too much for Drew Moor to deal with.

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PRE-GAME– Here are the starting lineups:

CHICAGO FIRE

—————-McBride——John—————-

Nyarko———-Pause—–Lowry———Pappa

Krol—-Watson-Siriboe—–Brown——–Ward

———————–Dykstra———————

COLORADO RAPIDS

————-Cummings———Casey—————

Clark—–Mastroeni——Larentowicz—-Ballouchy

Earls———-Moor———-Wynne———-Kimura

———————-Pickens————————–

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