Two struggling sides aim to get on the winning track when CF Montreal hosts the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
Montreal (3-14-6, 15 points) is coming off a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday, extending its MLS winless streak to three games (0-2-1) after a rare positive stretch in which it had won two of three. The Canadian side held their own against the Supporters’ Shield leaders for much of the 90 minutes. They continued to push after conceding the go-ahead goal in the 50th minute and on several occasions came close to pulling level only to be denied by stellar saves from Philadelphia goalkeeper Andre Blake (as well as the post).
“When you go toe to toe with the best of the best in the league, it’s something you’re proud of, but at the same time we’re not satisfied,” defender Joel Waterman said. “I don’t want the boys to feel satisfied whatsoever. One thing we can’t fault is the effort (Wednesday) and against a really good team. We have another game on Saturday so we’ll try and learn a lot like always and we’ll move forward.”
Montreal’s inability to capitalize on its chances has been an issue for much of the season, with just 20 goals through 23 games. They rank 21st in MLS with 95 on-target scoring attempts, and the 346 free kicks they’ve been awarded are fourth most in the league.
“There is a bit of frustration, but we have to look forward, try to keep it in the past and work on the mistakes,” Montreal interim coach Marco Donadel said.
They’ve tightened up defensively in their past two games but will face a Chicago side that has scored the third-most goals in MLS (42).
While the Fire (8-9-5, 29 points) have had little trouble finding the back of the net, they’ve also struggled to keep it out of their own. They’ve conceded 40 goals, fourth most in the league and just three fewer than Montreal.
Chicago has won just once in its past six games (1-4-1) after settling for a draw in its most recent outing against Atlanta United on Wednesday. The Fire grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second minute and went ahead 2-1 in the 79th minute, but a goal by Atlanta in second-half stoppage time left them with a single point after the final whistle.
“It’s a point that feels like a loss, right?” Chicago coach Gregg Berhalter said. “I think we played well enough to win a game. … Third game in eight days, and the guys have been grinding, and you see the effort they put in today to come in here and dominate the game like that — and (they) deserved to win.”
Philip Zinckernagel tallied his 10th goal of the season and has scored or assisted in a club-record nine straight road games. He’s one away from tying Josef Martinez for the MLS record.
–Field Level Media
