Sealy's goal ends CF Montreal's scoring drought to force draw against Chicago
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CHICAGO (AP) — Dante Sealy's goal in the 51st minute allowed CF Montreal to pull a surprise and pick up a point on the road in a 1-1 Major League Soccer tie against the surging Chicago Fire on Saturday.
It was Sealy's first goal in a Montreal uniform.
The Fire (3-1-2) entered having won three straight while Montreal (0-4-2) entered not having scored a goal in its last four games — three of which ended in defeat.
On Monday, Montreal fired former head coach Laurent Courtois and promoted assistant coach Marco Donadel to interim head coach two days after a 3-0 loss to Nashville SC.
Sealy ended the scoreless streak with a left-footed shot from the centre of the box taking a pass in the air from Luca Petrasso. Caden Clark was also credited with an assist.
"That (goal) was a great feeling. It felt good to be back in, in my most comfortable position and as a team, I think we played really well," said Sealy. "We fought really hard, we responded and I think it was a positive game for us to build moving forward.
"We created a lot of chances that we weren't really generating in the first few weeks. So I think that as it goes on, as we keep getting reps and keep building our confidence, I think it will be good for us.”
The Fire took a 1-0 lead when Philip Zinckernagel found the back of the net with a left-footed shot from the centre of the box with assists from Andrew Gutman and Jonathan Bamba.
“We are happy. It's a very good performance. We are pleased with the performance but we are not satisfied with the result," said Donadel. "I saw immediately in the eyes of the guys that were, of course, happy and relieved. But at the same time, they weren't really satisfied, and this is a very good thing for me.
"We want to play with the ball, and we are not satisfied when the opposition tries to play. This is something that they showed and I'm super honoured and happy because tonight I asked them this, and only this, and they did it.”
CF Montreal will play the final game of a seven-game road trip on Saturday, April 5 at Lower.com Field against the Columbus Crew. CF Montreal will host Charlotte FC for its home opener at Stade Saputo on Saturday, April 12.
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