Défaite: CF Montréal 2, Chicago Fire 0
MONTRÉAL, Québec — Few stadiums in MLS are more difficult to play at than Montréal's Stade Saputo. The Chicago Fire did themselves no favors Saturday night when they travelled there, however.
A 2-0 defeat – featuring goals either side of the half from Josef Martínez and Caden Clark – consigned the Fire to yet another sad and frustrating journey home.
The already difficult task of getting a result away at Montréal was made harder before the game even started. The Fire knew they'd be without their star striker Hugo Cuypers due to the birth of his first child, which also kept him out of the last match at Nashville. Right back Allan Arigoni, who has struggled to get into the team as of late, was also a late scratch.
Those changes didn't dramatically alter things from Wednesday's stale 1-0 loss in Tennessee. Arnaud Souquet maintained his place in a back three alongside Wyatt Omsberg and Tobias Salquist, while Ariel Lassiter started in his first trip back to Montréal following his trade to Chicago in August.
Both teams entered the game in a perilous position in the playoff race, so both needed a win to keep already slim hopes on life support. And while Montréal has endured a poor season, sitting near the basement of the Eastern Conference, it didn't stop their fans from turning out in force and selling out Stade Saputo.
In the first half, when both teams looked off the pace, it was the crowd that gave the home team a boost that would carry them into the break. Legendary forward Josef Martínez pounced on a ball over the top that had evaded Souquet. Initially, the pass seemed to be offside, and it looked like Martínez had moved too early. However, VAR deemed that he had indeed been onside, and the goal was awarded.
Down at the half against a team the Fire simply needed to beat, Klopas pushed the panic button. Maren Haile-Selassie replaced Chris Mueller, who had looked lost throughout the first half. While the Swiss winger was a clear upgrade, he wasn't enough to turn around the Fire's fortunes on his own.
Things simply wouldn't get better for the Fire, even with further fresh legs. Red-hot Georgios Koutsias came on but was isolated atop the Fire's formation. Fabian Herbers made his 150th Fire appearance, but had little impact. Lassiter looked a bright spot in his Montréal return, but wouldn't pose a threat anywhere near the opposing goal.
And while neither team quite looked at the best, it was the hosts who would proceed to double their advantage rather than allow an equalizer. Former wunderkind Caden Clark was the man to do so, finding himself in acres of space to score for the second time in three games. Still only 21, Clark has found his best form in years since his recent move north of the border.
But, beyond that point, the Fire never truly woke up. The closest they came to scoring was when second-half Justin Reynolds headed wide from inside the six-yard box with less than 10 minutes to play; the Fire didn't manage a shot on target until the 87th minute when Tom Barlow headed a Reynolds cross directly at goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
And that was how it ended; a series of late crosses did little to alleviate the damage or threaten Sirois' goal. Though the Fire's last 10 minutes were easily their best of the match, they received no reward for it, and the game ended 0-0.
Now, the Fire are all but out of the playoff race, with a six-point gap emerging with just three games to go. It would take a near miracle and dozens of results to go their way in the next few weeks, in addition to winning out their final three games. And after another fairly hopefully performance against another team hovering around the league's cellar, there's very little hope that any of that will happen.
