CF Montreal had a virtually flawless performance and shut out the Chicago Fire 2-0 on Saturday night at Saputo Stadium.
Perhaps still riding the momentum of their comeback against the New England Revolution on Wednesday, the Bleu-blanc-noir was effective in pressure, imaginative in attack and they exploited the last defensive line well to make the Fire (7-16-8) look bad.
Josef Martinez and Caden Clark scored for CF Montreal (8-12-10), which has not lost in its last three outings (2-0-1). For Clark, it was his second goal in as many starts.
The Montreal team temporarily took ninth and final place in the Eastern Conference, giving access to the playoffs, before slipping to 11th place.
The Fire’s loss further diminishes their chances of making the playoffs. They started the game four points behind ninth place and are now six points behind.
During the game, defender Raheem Edwards reached the 10,000 career minutes milestone in MLS. He has also played for Toronto FC, the Fire, Minnesota United FC, Los Angeles FC and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
In addition, defender Joel Waterman, who missed CF Montreal’s last two games, returned to the game in the second half.
Montreal will return to action next Saturday, when the San Jose Earthquakes, the worst team in MLS, visit Stade Saputo.
Convincing victory
Unlike Wednesday night’s game in Foxborough, the Bleu-blanc-noir was more incisive in the first half and gave themselves a few shooting opportunities.
Martinez was the first to try his luck in the penalty area following a cross from Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, in the second minute of play. However, the Venezuelan lacked precision in his action.
After Nathan Saliba fired a powerful shot over the net in the ninth minute, both teams calmed down slightly to play more methodically.
It was short-lived for CF Montreal, who stepped on the gas again to open the scoring. Saliba sent a long cross to Martinez, who was just brought into play by Arnaud Souquet before beating goalkeeper Chris Brady.
Thinking they had found a gold mine, the Montreal team tried the experiment again, with good results despite some offsides. They also made some nice breakthroughs in enemy territory, but without managing to create dangerous shots.
Laurent Courtois’ men picked up where they left off in the opening minutes of the second half. Clark first ticked into the far corner of the net in the 49th minute, before Edwards returned the favour a few minutes later.
Involved in a number of attacks since the start of the game, Clark was rewarded in the 74th minute, seconds after his head coach made three changes. Fresh on the pitch, Kwadwo Opoku provided a neat pass to Clark, who took his time before lobbing the ball over Brady.
The Fire increased the pressure late in the game to avoid the embarrassment of a shutout, but goalie Jonathan Sirois made three saves, including two on the goal line.