An Unforgettable Comeback: Chicago Fire Secures Dramatic 4-3 Victory Against CF Montréal
The final minute of play in the Major League Soccer (MLS) encounter between Chicago Fire and CF Montréal on Saturday was filled with excitement and astonishment as the Windy City team managed to storm back from a 3-1 deficit, securing an improbable 4-3 home victory.
With just under ten minutes remaining in the game, Montréal extended their lead after Dominic Iankov capitalized on an opportunity to make it 3-1 for his team. Chicago was left with a daunting task of finding a way back into the contest, but their fortunes changed as Montréal substitute Raheem Edwards received a red card for an infraction inside the penalty area.
Brian Gutiérrez stepped up to convert the resulting spot-kick in the 84th minute, narrowing the gap between the two sides. The drama was far from over as Chicago continued to push for an equalizer in the ensuing minutes of regular time and added minutes.
With under a minute remaining on the clock, it seemed that Chicago’s efforts would be in vain as midfielder Kellyn Acosta picked up the ball deep within his team’s own half. With players committing forward in search of a winner, Acosta attempted to launch the ball into the opposition’s territory hoping for a lucky break.
The wind in Chicago proved more than accommodating, as the ball took an unexpected swerve and looped over Montréal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois to give the home team a dramatic equalizer in the 90+9th minute.
“That was pretty epic, pretty crazy,” Acosta shared after the game. “The match had a bit of everything I would say but it was a good result so we’ll take it.”
Acosta admitted that the spectacular game-winning strike was an unintentional one, explaining, “For me it was just about getting the ball in the mixed zone basically and create some things. I had some balls that I found in the back post, and if I’m being fully transparent that’s what I tried to do again.”
“This time though I had some St. Patrick’s Day luck, the wind was able to take it and for me it was one of those things that when it left my foot I was almost upset with myself like ‘Dang I kind of blew an opportunity.’ Then I realized ‘this might have a chance.’ He came out, it went over his head, and the rest was history.”
Acosta’s goal marked his first for the club since joining as a free agent in February. The thrilling finish also made Chicago the first team in MLS history to score both a game-tying and game-winning goal in the 95th minute or later, as well as the first team to win a match in regulation after scoring two-or-more goals in the 84th minute or later.
The significance of this comeback was not lost on Chicago as they had previously only overturned a two-goal deficit to win once before, against the Colorado Rapids in August 2009.
The result brought Chicago their first victory of the season while Montréal suffered their first defeat.
