BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – After two ties on the road and four games without a win, the Chicago Fire returned to winning ways with an emphatic 3-0 victory over the Montreal Impact in front of 15,256 at rain-soaked Toyota Park.
A one-sided first half saw the Fire (4-5-2, 14 points) take a 2-0 lead off goals from Harry Shipp and a Jeff Larentowicz penalty, as Designated Player David Accam continued to wreak havoc on opposition defenses. The Ghanaian was a constant menace throughout, and along with a lively showing from Shipp, Kennedy Igboananike and the marauding Joevin Jones, the visiting defense couldn’t keep up with their pace, creativity and persistence.
So much so that the Impact became the fifth team this season to be reduced to 10 men against the Fire, when Marco Donadel was shown a second yellow card in the 37th minute.
A further goal from Igboananike, his first for the Fire, gave the scoreline a more accurate look, with only poor finishing and dogged Impact defending denying Frank Yallop’s men the opportunity to improve their Goals For column.
The Fire were unchanged from their stirring 2-2 tie at the Columbus Crew last time out, while Montreal showed two changes from their 2-1 victory over FC Dallas last Saturday. Nigel Reo-Coker came in for Eric Miller at right back and Donny Toia replaced Andres Romero, with Toia moving to left back and Ambroise Oyongo taking up a position on the left wing.
The hosts started brightly and could have taken the lead as early as the fourth minute when Larentowicz connected with a Shaun Maloney free kick, but steered his header narrowly over.
Igboananike followed suit five minutes later, heading wide from a Jones cross, before the Nigerian sparked the soaked crowd at Toyota Park into life by teeing up Shipp for a superb opener. The striker showed great hustle to dispossess former Fire defender Bakary Soumare on the endline, and laid the ball on perfectly for Shipp to take one touch with his right before hammering home left-footed from 10 yards.
With the sodden pitch testing both sets of players after heavy rainfall all day, the Fire’s high-tempo game was somewhat restricted. However, the triangle of Accam, Jones and either Igboananike or Shipp continued to cause the Impact problems.
With their midfield already playing second fiddle to the hosts, the visitors were dealt a blow when Donadel was shown a second yellow for a reckless foul on Matt Polster, who had another accomplished display in the center of the Fire midfield.
The Fire continued to push for a second. But it would not arrive until the 45th minute, when Accam was felled by Soumare, who was having a torrid time on his first return to Toyota Park.
Skipper Larentowicz confirmed his status as the Fire’s top scorer with four goals as he calmly passed the ball into the bottom right corner from the spot to give the Men in Red a 2-0 halftime advantage.
The second half was a much more subdued affair as Montreal adopted damage limitation mode, with Jon Busch a virtual bystander in the Fire goal save a drilled Oyongo shot from the right that fizzed past his right post.
Igboananike, Accam and the increasingly involved Eric Gehrig all went close before the former opened his account in MLS with a neat finish from a piercing Razvan Cocis through ball in the 72nd minute.
A host of substitutions from both sides saw the game lose cohesion late, but the Fire will be satisfied with the three goals and all three points to move to 14 points and eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Next up, the Fire visit D.C. United on Wednesday, while the Impact host the Vancouver Whitecaps later the same evening.
