Chicago Fire FC (6-14-5, 23 points) concluded its six-game road trip with a 2-0 loss to CF Montréal (10-8-7, 37 points) at Stade Saputo on Sunday afternoon.
Despite outshooting CF Montréal 6-1 in the first half, including a 4-0 edge in shots on target, Chicago conceded twice against the run of play in the second half. Forward Romell Quioto slotted away his fifth goal of the season in the 60th minute and a deflection from Fire defender Carlos Terán resulted in an own goal in the 80th minute.
Chicago started the game strongly and came close to finding the opening goal on several occasions in the opening 45, forcing Montréal goalkeeper James Pantemis into difficult saves in the 18th and 20th minutes. Defender Maurico Pineda had a free header in the six-yard box that was pushed wide by Pantemis, followed by a curling effort from midfielder Luka Stojanović, which required a full-stretch save from the goalkeeper.
The Fire created another golden opportunity to score in the 26th minute when midfielder Fabian Herbers got on the end of forward Stanislav Ivanov’s cross into the box. The German blasted a shot that was destined for the back of the net but was deflected just prior to hitting the target. After going down 1-0, Chicago appeared to level the score in the 77th minute when Herbers chipped the ball into the far corner, but the goal was disallowed due to defender Miguel Navarro being in an offside position.
Chicago homegrown goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina – the youngest starter for both teams in today’s match (17 years old) – was called upon in the 22nd minute when forward Joaquín Torres was slipped in behind for a one-on-one opportunity. Charging off his line, Slonina smothered Torres’ attempt to dribble past him, denying the host’s lone scoring opportunity in the first half. Slonina finished the match with two saves.
NEXT GAME: Chicago Fire FC will return to the Windy City for three straight games at home, beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 22. The Club will face the New England Revolution at 7:00 p.m. CT at Soldier Field. The match will be broadcast live on WGN-TV, CFFC Live and TUDN 1200 AM.
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NOTES:
- Seven of the Fire’s 11 starters today were age 23 or younger - Gabriel Slonina (17), Carlos Terán (20), Mauricio Pineda (23), Federico Navarro (21), Miguel Navarro (22), Stanislav Ivanov (22) and Chinonso Offor (21).
- Having made a pair of substitute appearances since arriving to Chicago earlier this month, summer signing F. Navarro earned his first career MLS start for the Fire today.
- Slonina made his second professional start in goal for the Fire today. The Addison, Ill., native was the youngest starter on the field for both teams.
- Today’s match was the second and final meeting between the two teams this season. MTL leads the regular season series with a 10-8-6.
Box Score:
CF Montréal 2:0 Chicago Fire FC
Goals:
MTL - Quioto (5) (Mihailović 11) (WATCH) 60’
MTL - Terán (Own goal) (WATCH) 80’
Discipline:
CHI - Stojanović (Yellow Card) 39’
CHI - Terán (Yellow Card) 49’
Chicago Fire FC: GK G. Slonina, D Terán (Kappelhof 87’), D Pineda, D Bornstein ©, M Sekulić, M F. Navarro, M Herbers (Collier 87’), M M. Navarro, M Ivanov (Berić 68’), M Stojanović (Medrán 56’), F Offor
Subs not used: GK Shuttleworth, D Omsberg, D Espinoza, M Monis
CF Montréal: GK Pantemis, D Waterman, D Camacho, D Miller, M Choinière, M Piette (Hamdi HT), M Wanyama, M Bassong (Zouhir 90+2’), F Torres (Lappalainen 84’), F Quioto (Sunusi 84’), F Mihailović (Maciel 68’)
Subs not used: GK Breza, D Kizza, M Bayiha, F Johnsen
Stats Summary: MTL / CHI
Shots: 8 / 10
Shots on Goal: 3 / 5
Passing Accuracy: 87.9% / 80.6%
Saves: 4 / 2
Corners: 5 / 8
Fouls: 14 / 11
Offsides: 2 / 2
Possession: 62.0% / 38.0%
Referee: Marcos de Oliveira
Assistant Referees: Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho, Cory Richardson
Fourth Official: David Barrie
VAR: Drew Fischer, Robert Schaap
Chicago Fire FC Quotes
Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Raphael Wicky
On Gastón Giménez and Ignacio Aliseda being removed from the travel roster...
“Yeah, I mean, like the media already said, they broke some team rules. I'm not going to go into specifics. That stays between me and the team, but they broke some team rules which I don't accept. No one is bigger than the club. No player is bigger than the team.
There are certain rules to follow and if you don't follow them, (there) must (be) consequences. That's what happened yesterday and that's what we decided to do.”
If this was the first time Giménez and Aliseda broke this rule or is this part of a pattern...
“No, this is the first time.”
On two Designated Players breaking a team rule...
“Yeah, look, it's disappointing. It's disappointing when certain players (break a rule), it doesn't matter if it's a DP or if it's a 17-year-old. There are certain rules you have to follow. There are certain things we don't want players to do, and that's disappointing if these things happen. And if these things happen, then they must live with the consequences.
But of course, from our DPs, especially from our DPs, we expect more. But that would have been the same if it would have been a player that was not a DP. It doesn't really matter. We expect people not to do that.”
On Gabriel Slonina’s performance and if he will get more playing time ahead of the 2022 season...
“Yes, we decided with the staff, together, to give Gaga a few games. We spoke as well with Bobby. Bobby had a good season so far for us. But we spoke with him, and we told him that we want to see Gaga. We trust in Gaga.
We see Gaga every day and we decided to give Gaga a few games. How many games that will be, we have not decided. He did really well today. I felt he did really well from the beginning till the end, and he showed, again, his potential.”
If the coaching staff is balancing a playoff push with looking ahead to 2022...
“No, that is not really a part of my process, at least. Look, I'm a coach and I take it game-by-game, and I want to win the actual game. The next game is Wednesday. So I'm thinking of Wednesday, how can I win the game, and not yet for 2022. That’s how we approach the games, and I think that's okay like that.”
If Giménez and Aliseda will be available Wednesday...
“Yes, they will be available.”
On the injury Francisco Calvo suffered with Costa Rica during the international break...
“Yeah, Francisco is in rehab, recovery. That will take awhile. He will not be available in the next week. In the next week he will not be available, and then we will see how he is, obviously, in five, six days. But this will probably take awhile.”
On Brian Gutiérrez’s injury and if he will make a return this season...
“I hope (so) but I cannot give you an exact answer to that. It's a little bit of a weird injury. Every time he tries again, he still feels some pain.
So the medical staff is trying everything but we have to be careful with the kid so that the injury actually doesn't get worse. I think that's important, and Guti in the end when he played in New York, and then also when he trained, he actually trained with that little injury, certain times with pain and that's not what a 17- 18-year-old should be (doing). His health is way more important than getting games right now. But I hope we see him again.”
Chicago Fire FC Forward Chinonso Offor
On the team’s mood at the end of this six-game road trip...
“We are a bit down from the previous game that we had. I feel like we played well but after the loss now, we are all feeling down.”
On whether he has personal goals for the remainder of the season...
“Firstly, we are not giving up until it's mathematically impossible. Personally, I would like to score more. It's been difficult so far. My personal goal is still to score more and try to get more wins for the team.”
On where the team leadership comes from with a few key players missing today’s game…
“I mean, (despite) the missing players, we still had a few (leaders) on the pitch like Jonny (Bornstein), Luka (Stojanović), even the ones on the bench can still lead from the bench. So it doesn't really matter who is missing on the pitch.”