MONTREAL (April 28, 2019) – Playing its second road match in five days, the Chicago Fire Soccer Club (2-4-3, 9 points) fell 1-0 to the Montreal Impact (5-3-2, 17 points) at Stade Saputo on Sunday afternoon.
The Fire came close to taking the lead six minutes into the match when midfielder Nicolás Gaitán’s volley from inside the 18-yard box forced a difficult save from goalkeeper Evan Bush, creating a flurry of chances for the Fire. Responding to Bush’s save, forward Nemanja Nikolić’s follow-up attempt from close range rattled off the post and deflected to midfielder CJ Sapong, whose right-footed shot from inside the six-yard box was cleared off the goal line (WATCH).
In the second half, a clever combination play just outside the 18-yard box led to another close chance for the Fire. Receiving a quick entry pass from midfielder Dax McCarty, Gaitán quickly slipped the ball through forNikolić, whose curling effort was saved by Bush in the 67th minute (WATCH).
Despite controlling the tempo for the majority of the second half, the Fire fell behind in the 83rd minute when the Impact managed to score against the run of play. The goal occurred when forward Omar Browne’s cross was deflected into the back of the net.
Next up, the Fire will conclude its three-game road swing when the team travels to face Los Angeles Football Club on Saturday, May 4. Beginning at 9:30 p.m. CT, the match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and transmitted locally on Univision Radio 93.5 Latino Mix.
Box Score:
Chicago Fire 0:1 Montreal Impact
Scoring Summary:
MTL – Browne 83’
Misconduct Summary:
MTL – Sagna (Caution) 79’
CHI – Kappelhof (Caution) 90+5
Chicago Fire: GKOusted, D Campos (Martinez 88’), D Kappelhof, D Schweinsteiger, D Corrales, M McCarty © (Bronico 88’), M Mihailović, M Sapong, M Gaitán, M Katai, F Nikolić (Frankowski 75’)
Subs not used: Sánchez, Lillard, Gutjahr, Adams
Shots: 7 Shots on goal: 3 Fouls Committed: 8 Fouls Suffered: 12 Offsides: 0 Corners: 0
Montreal Impact: GKBush, D Sagna, D Diallo, D Raitala, D Lovitz, M Azira, M Piette ©, M Taïder, F Bayiha (Browne 40’), F Urruti (Cabrera 89’), F Okwonkwo (Novillo 65’)
Subs not used: Diop, Camacho, Brault-Guillard, Jackson-Hamel
Shots: 10 Shots on goal: 3 Fouls Committed: 12 Fouls Suffered: 8 Offsides: 3 Corners: 7
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Assistant Referees: Andrew Bigelow, Matthew Nelson
Fourth Official: Mark Allatin
VAR: Caleb Mendez
Attendance: 15,758
