CHICAGO, IL – CF Montreal extinguish the Chicago Fire FC and extended its unbeaten streak to eight games after a 2-0 win on the road at Soldier Field.
CF Montreal extinguish the Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field
12 buts à ses 11 derniers départs 🔥
Elite goalscoring from Quioto. #CFMTL pic.twitter.com/Hcm9pxK0gh
— CF Montréal (@cfmontreal) August 28, 2022
A solid but controversial first half
The home side got off to a quick start as Jhon Duran almost opened the scoring less than two minutes in but a brilliant save from Sebastien Breza who got the start tonight in goal denied the Fire striker. Djordje Mihailovic responded two minutes later with Montreal’s first shot on target but was denied by Gabriel Slonina.
Three minutes later it was Joaquin Torres testing the Chicago keeper but again a big save kept the game scoreless as things started to heat up. Romell Quioto managed to get a header on target in the 14-minute but it went right into the hands of Slonina.
19' Le tir d'Ismaël 👌👌👌
Hollywood Koné, ladies and gentlemen.#CHIvMTL | 0-1 | #CFMTL pic.twitter.com/6kOdcdPY7m
— CF Montréal (@cfmontreal) August 28, 2022
A minute later it was Lassi Lappalainen running up the field with the ball getting by the Chicago defense but wasn’t able to beat the keeper who made another save. The visitors opened the scoring in the 19-minute as Ismaël Koné got the ball and with a booming shot from the top of the circle beat Slonina to make it 1-0.
24'
GOLAZOOOOOO
QUIOTOOOOOO
ROMANTICOOOOO#CHIvMTL | 0-2 | #CFMTL pic.twitter.com/FuE5eAOeTX— CF Montréal (@cfmontreal) August 28, 2022
Three minutes later Quioto doubled Montreal’s lead when they earned a free kick thanks to a handball and with a shot from distance blasted the ball into the back of the net. In the third minute of extra time in the first half, things turned bad for Montreal as Koné was shown a second yellow card and was shown a red and they were down to 10 men.
After a controversial couple of extra time minutes that saw the ref show yellow to Victor Wanyama, the teams went into the locker room with the visitors up by two.
CF Montreal hangs on
Head coach Wilfried Nancy started the second half by bringing in Samuel Piette for Torres due to the fact they were down to 10 men. Breza made a fabulous save early into the second half as the Fire once again came out firing as Fabian Herbers hit the post.
Nancy made two more changes in the 61st minute as Mason Toye and Robert Thorkelsson came in for Lappalainen and Quioto. Breza continued to shut the door and two minutes later made a spectacular diving save to keep his clean sheet alive.
In the 66-minute, Nancy made another change bringing in Mathieu Choiniere for Mihailovic who was playing in his hometown. Things got ugly in the 72-minute for Montreal as Mason Toye went down behind the play and needed to be taken off the field on the stretcher.
He was subbed out for Ibrahim Sunusi who was making his own return from injury and hadn’t played in almost two months playing his most recent game on May 18th against Nashville. Chicago kept pushing looking to get one by Breza late in the game but the Montreal native did a great job making another big save.
After eight minutes of added time, the final whistle blew and CF Montreal extended its unbeaten streak to eight games.
Nancy “I am pleased with the group performance”
Head coach Wilfried Nancy denied the fact in his post-game press conference that he has found the winning formula after eight games without a loss and two straight wins with a clean sheet.
“I had to adapt to the game, we had control of the game early on, and then we were down to 10 men so my staff and I had to find the solution, and we pulled through so I am happy with the team’s performance”.
Waterman “It feels good to keep clean sheets”
Joel Waterman feels like he and his defense have been solid on the backline and the results have shown it.
“I think we defend the box well, communication has been amazing, we want to keep the clean sheets and it honestly feels good”.
CF Montreal will have a short turnaround as they will head home to host the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night at Saputo Stadium looking for their ninth game without a loss. They have also now won three-straight games, with the other two MLS wins being against the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo FC.
Photo Credit: CF Montreal on August 27, 2022.
