CF Montreal, Chicago Fire battle to scoreless MLS draw

Chicago Fire FC Mauricio Pineda (22) and CF Montreal Jules-Anthony Vilsaint (28) battle for the ball during first half MLS soccer action in Montreal, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter McCabe

CF Montreal and the Chicago Fire couldn't generate any goals on Saturday evening at Stade Saputo.

Montreal (11-14-3) had several chances throughout the Major League Soccer match, but could not solve Chicago (8-11-9) goalkeeper Chris Brady. The draw keeps both teams where they are in the Eastern Conference playoff picture and tightening the race for the final post-season spots.

With the first chance 20 seconds into the game, Zachary Brault-Guillard's chip went wide after a perfect ball from Nathan Saliba.

The chances continued to pile on as George Campbell hit the crossbar after getting on the end of a Mathieu Choiniere corner at the 23-minute mark.

As the half continued, Chicago showed composure and brought the game to a grinding halt, keeping possession and taking the air out of the Montreal attack for the remainder of the opening 45 minutes.

Montreal began the second half with a similar energy to the first, immediately finding possession in the Chicago penalty area and putting pressure on the back line.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 16, 2023