CF Montreal Held Scoreless In Draw With Chicago Fire

Despite breaking another record on Saturday, CF Montreal drew the Chicago Fire

It wasn’t the result they were hoping for, but a 0-0 draw with the visiting Chicago Fire and a motivated Kei Kamara looking to beat his former club.

“It’s not frustrating at all,” Losada said when asked about not being able to finish. “It actually feels good because in the game of football, the most difficult part is creating chances. We dominated tonight and we lacked finish but I am very happy with our team’s performance.”

Kei Kamara, who played for CF Montreal last season before being traded this summer due to issues negotiating a new contract, had his fair share of chances but couldn’t find the back of the net.

“We need to continue to work and improve and stick together. They were well-organized with a lot of experience, and we showed we weren’t satisfied with one point… we pushed till the end to get three.”

The home side got off to a very quick start and in the 15th minute as Mahala Opoku had CF Montreal’s first chance on target with a solid header which was saved by Chicago keeper Chris Brady.

“We had chances in different ways with crosses and shots from distance,” added Losada.

Eight minutes later it was CF Montreal center-back George Campbell with another header that this time went off the crossbar and stayed out, much to the dismay of the American native.

The Fire got their first chance on target in the 45th minute of the first half but it went right into Montreal keeper Jonathan Sirois, who broke a record CF Montreal season record tonight by earning his eleventh clean sheet of the campaign.

“It’s very hard to dominate for 96 minutes, so there are moments of the game where you don’t have the control. Tonight by far was one of our best performances.”

Six minutes into the second half, Chicago had another chance to break the deadlock when Arnaud Souquet took a shot from distance but again went right into the hands of Sirois.

“When you see nil-nil you probably think it was a boring game, but I felt the chances we had tonight were enough to win.”

In the 60th minute, Kamara had his best chance of the night with a powerful shot on target, but again was denied by Sirois who came up with a huge save.

“The defense has improved a lot and I always talk about the collective and the entire group and they did very well with the ball and looked very focused without the ball.”

In the 75th minute, Romell Quioto who started the game on the bench came on for the first time in 125 days and Bryce Duke was asked about the return of their star player.

“Being out for that long period of time and coming back today I think he played solid,” Duke responded. “He played well and hopefully we can get another few 90 minutes in there and build chemistry and see where it goes.”

He had a chance to score right away off a free kick but it was deflected out of bounds by a Chicago Fire defender.

“I really thought he was going to score on that free kick.”

In the 89th minute, Chinonso Offor had a spectacular chance as he attempted to head in a cross from Quioto which landed on target, but not enough to beat the Chicago keeper.

“You need to adjust to the pace of the game and try to make a difference and that’s my main goal.”

A minute later, Duke had an amazing chance as he found himself with a wide-open net but his shot went wide and missed.

“I saw the defender covering the right side and the keeper leaving a gap in the middle and it was on my weak foot so I was more focused on getting it on target and the keeper made a good save,” reflected the player.

Three minutes after that, Ariel Lassiter had his first chance of the game but once again was foiled by Brady, who was determined to also keep his clean sheet alive.

After the game, Jonathan Sirois was asked to assess the result and the game tonight.

“For the majority of the game we were the better team,” Sirois answered. “We created good chances but we are disappointed we couldn’t score and we felt the three points were there for us.”

Sirois was asked despite the fact his team didn’t win if he can savour the fact he broke a record in his first season with the club.

“I was able to savor it with family and friends who were in attendance tonight, but obviously I am disappointed…but seeing them tonight made me realize the major accomplishment.”

It will be a quick turnaround for CF Montreal who will be back in action on Wednesday night when they host FC Cincinnati at Saputo Stadium.