MLS: CFM undefeated in their last 8 games, Koné expelled

Summary

CF Montreal overcame a full 10-man second half to defeat the Chicago Fire 2-0 on Saturday night at Soldier Field.

Ismaël Koné and Romell Quioto fueled the show by hitting the target in the first half, but Koné picked up two yellow cards in about fifteen minutes to put the Montrealers in a precarious situation.

However, CF Montreal (15-8-4) tightened up its defense and was helped by some fine saves from goalkeeper Sebastian Breza to sign a third consecutive victory against the Fire (8-13-6).

The Bleu-blanc-noir remained in second place in the Eastern Conference, five points behind the Philadelphia Union and four points ahead of New York City FC.

Wilfried Nancy’s men also took advantage of the win to remain undefeated in their last eight outings (6-0-2), which equals the team record set earlier this season.

Koné was not the only one to suffer the wrath of referee Michael Radchuk, who awarded no less than seven yellow cards during this clash.

In the Montreal camp, Kei Kamara was absent due to a thigh injury while Zorhan Bassong was not in training because he had to undergo MLS’s COVID-19 protocol.

CF Montreal will return to action Wednesday night at Stade Saputo, when the New York Red Bulls will be visiting.

From attack to defense

From the second minute, the Fire got the first opportunity to score, but Sebastian Breza stood up in front of Jhon Duran. CF Montreal then got going.

Against his former team, Djordje Mihailovic fired a good low shot that Gabriel Slonina barely stopped by diving. A few minutes later, Joaquin Torres’ shot just missed the target to Slonina’s right.

The visitors opened the scoring in the 19th minute, following a fine tackle from Joel Waterman. Lassi Lappalainen recovered Alistair Johnston’s cross and passed the ball to Koné. The Montrealer rolled in a magnificent shot that found the right corner.

The Montrealers doubled their lead just five minutes later, after a handball from Carlos Teran delivered a well-placed free kick. Mihailovic pretended to shoot and it was finally Quioto who lodged the ball in the top of the net, out of reach of Slonina.

Unthreatening in the first half, the Fire had a door opened when Radchuk awarded Koné a second yellow card, which prompted a red card.

Evolving with one more player, the Chicago team applied more pressure on Wilfried Nancy’s squad.

In the 50th minute, Fabian Herbers broke away from his guards and fired a hard shot that Breza deflected against the horizontal bar. Thirteen minutes later, Teran accepted a nice touch from Kacper Przybylko and fired from close range, but Breza signaled again with a dive.

Already without a man, CF Montreal lost the services of striker Mason Toye only 12 minutes after entering the scene. Toye appears to have suffered an upper body injury during non-contact play. He was carried off the field on a stretcher.

“Mason already had a stomach ache. I was very hesitant to bring him into the game. Before the game, he told us it was going to be fine so I made the decision to throw him, but he had a stomach ache and we had to change him,” Nancy explained.