RECAP: Chicago Fire Play Out 1-1 Draw With CF Montreal
It wasn’t the triumphant return to Soldier Field the Chicago Fire hoped for on Saturday evening.
Coming back from a perfect three-game road trip, the Men in Red played to a 1-1 draw against struggling CF Montreal.
Despite failing to register a fourth straight win, Chicago extended their unbeaten run to five games.
Enjoying a fantastic start to life under Gregg Berhalter, the Fire were heavily favored coming into the match. While Brian Gutierrez, Kellyn Acosta, and Jonathan Dean all remained out through injury, the team was as close to full fitness as they’ve been this year.
Montreal, on the other hand, had just sacked manager Laurent Courtois after earning one point from their first five games. Nonetheless, the Canadian side put in a gritty performance, and the Fire had to content themselves with a draw.
Moment of Magic Defines First Half
PHOTO: Mike Dinovo/Imagn Images
Montreal controlled the game in the early goings, producing several major opportunities. Dante Sealy had a curling effort parried away by Chris Brady in the 19th minute. The goalkeeper had two more impressive saves over the next ten minutes, denying Prince Owusu and Victor Loturi, respectively.
In the 28th minute, the Fire showed signs of life on the attacking front for the first time. Hugo Cuypers fed the ball to Philip Zinckernagel on the right flank, whose short cross was met by the diving Mauricio Pineda. Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois just managed to tip Pineda’s headed shot onto the post and out. Soon after, the visitors wasted a major chance of their own when Caden Clark’s free header went sailing over the crossbar.
Finally, the deadlock broke. In the 40th minute, Jonathan Bamba played in Andrew Gutman on the left wing with a masterful no-look pass. Gutman charged forward and found Zinckernagel in the danger area. The Dane coolly slotted the ball past Sirois to cap off a brilliant team move. Chicago took a 1-0 lead into the break.
Montreal Control Second Half
After squandering multiple chances in the first half, Montreal scored with their first attempt of the second. Sealy met a Luca Petrasso pass on the half-volley and beat Brady with his finish to level the game at the 50-minute mark. It was Montreal’s first goal since February 22nd.
The Fire nearly regained the lead just five minutes later through Cuypers. The Belgian, eager to get on the scoresheet for a fifth straight game, latched on to a precise through ball from Pineda and cut back neatly to set himself up. The shot was ultimately well off the mark.
Brady was at the center of attention in the 59th minute when his unsuccessful challenge on Owusu left the Fire goal wide open. The goalkeeper darted back towards his net and produced a save with his leg just in the nick of time.
Chicago’s defensive shakiness continued into the later stages. Montreal wasted away a Fire giveaway with a disappointing finish from Owusu in the 77th minute. The visitors continued to produce chances here and there. Brady made two secure stops in the 89th minute to keep the match level. There was no dramatic twist in stoppage time, and the game ended 1-1.
Post-Match Thoughts
Throughout the second half, the Chicago attack struggled to break down Montreal’s man-to-man defensive structure.
Gregg Berhalter didn’t hide his disappointment with the fact.
“We knew they were gonna be very aggressive defending 1-on-1, and we did a poor job solving it,” he said.
“We’ll take a point and run because we didn’t deserve a point.”
While it was far from a spectacular performance by the Men in Red, the manager notes the positives of coming away with a half-decent result.
“There is some type of resiliency that the guys had to show in the game to get the point,” Berhalter remarked.
The sentiment is shared between the manager and the players.
Philip Zinckernagel may have made it two goals in two games, but he is as frustrated as anyone.
“Right now, I’m pretty disappointed, but at the same time, this wasn’t our best performance, so maybe one point is fair,” he noted.
“When a team fires their coach and gets a new one, all the players want to prove themselves,” Zinckernagel said of Montreal.
16,278 fans braved the foggy and rainy conditions to attend the match at Soldier Field.
Andrew Gutman, who assisted Zinckernagel’s first-half goal, is particularly sad not to have sealed a first home win of the season.
“I think any time you play at home, you should dictate the game; you should be the one on the front foot,” Gutman said.
“We’ve made a lot of strides this year. We’re still trying to get that mentality that even if we’re not playing the best game, we can still grind out wins.”
“It just wasn’t there from everybody, myself included,” Chris Brady lamented, echoing his teammates.
“I think we took a step back on the front of competing, winning duels, being passionate. That’s something we’re going to address this week and change quickly for next.”
Fire Look to Move On
Drawing with Montreal puts Chicago at 11 points from six games.
Results from around the league see the club move into 4th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Next up is an away tussle with the New York Red Bulls.
The Fire will then return to Chicago for a highly anticipated match against Inter Miami.
PHOTO: Mike Dinovo/Imagn Images
Discover more from Chicago Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categorized:Credentials Fire News