The glow of the Chicago Fire was dim. Barely noticeable. But CF Montreal was unable to completely extinguish it. The two teams played out a 0-0 draw at Saputo Stadium on Saturday evening.
You would think that Hernán Losada’s men would bite their fingers for not having been able to take advantage of such a lackluster Fire. Especially since Chicago arrived in Montreal limping, with five consecutive defeats, in all competitions.
However, the Bleu-blanc-noir technician surprised with his positivism after the meeting.
“No, it’s not frustrating,” Losada said of the many chances his team missed. The hardest thing in football is creating chances. We were dominant tonight. There was only one team on the field. The finishing was lacking, but I am very happy with the performance of our team. »
CF Montreal sent 19 shots towards the opposing net. Only four of them were on target. The start and end of the match were particularly full of opportunities. But still this failure in the final third, a bad fate that the Montrealers are unable to ward off.
“It starts from training,” believes midfielder Bryce Duke, notably author of a golden opportunity in the 91st minute. With shooting drills, what we have to work on in the area. If we do this regularly, it will start to work out for us on the pitch. We are creating chances, but we are still missing a little something to make everything work. »
The problem is that time is running out. If it still has its destiny in its hands, in eighth position with six games to play, the Impact no longer really has the right to make mistakes. In this sense, the return of Romell Quioto after four months of absence could be saving.
The Honduran striker came on in the 77th minute to a standing ovation from the crowd. She was right to be excited: the CFM had a perfectly placed free kick to play at that moment.
“I saw it a bit like a film script! smiled goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois. A free kick, Romell is brought in, the crowd is a little delirious. I was super excited. I was sure he was going to score. I’m really happy to see him back in the game. He’s someone who worked hard to come back, to be healthy. »
Losada wants to be “very careful” with whoever could save the offensive furniture at the end of the season. The coach plans to play the Honduran for another 20, 25 minutes on Wednesday against Cincinnati.
If the criticisms of CF Montreal’s offensive corps are entirely valid, the same cannot be said of its defensive performances. Starting with the brilliance of Jonathan Sirois, precisely.
The goalkeeper picked up his 11th shutout this season, making him the new club record holder in this regard, beating Evan Bush’s mark in 2018.
If he says he is “disappointed” with the result despite this success, he says he “enjoyed” it with his family and friends present at the match. “[Their presence] made me realize the feat that had been accomplished. »
But he doesn’t take all the credit.
“It’s really collective. There are 10 guys in front of me trying really hard to keep the game shut. It’s good to have your name in the record books, but it’s thanks to collective performances. »
Sirois also benefited from the return of Joel Waterman, who once again brilliantly commanded the defensive zone for Montreal.
“In general, the defense did very well with the ball, and they remained focused without it,” analyzed Hernán Losada. We set a new shutout record, and now all we have to do is score these goals. »
It seems so simple, said like that.
For a player who complained about his playing time at the start of the season, it is clear that Zachary Brault-Guillard is starting to force his coach’s hand. For his fourth consecutive start, he was voracious on the right lane, linking great runs to dangerous serves.
Chinonso Offor’s detractors acquired a little more ammunition on Saturday. He was unable to hit the mark on clear chances. He only played around thirty minutes, but didn’t offer anything very convincing.
