Fire Venture North to Face Montreal Impact Wednesday Night

Under the leadership of interim head coach Brian Bliss, the Chicago Fire are set for a second appearance at Stade Saputo this month on Wednesday as they face Mauro Biello's Montreal Impact side. 

The match kicks off at 7 p.m. CT and will air locally on My50 Chicagowith the broadcast team of Dan Kelly and Kevin Egan on the call. Following the contest, Chicago will travel on to Toronto for a Saturday matinee (1 p.m. CT, CSN Chicago and CSN+) against Toronto F.C.

When Chicago last traveled to Montreal less than three weeks ago, it was the Impact who were coming off a coaching change following the removal of Frank Klopas and installation of Biello on an interim basis. Emboldened by the managerial move and the return to the lineup of Didier Drogba and Ignacio Piatti, the Impact claimed all three points as Drogba accounted for three goals in a wild 4-3 affair.
This time around, the roles are reversed as the Men In Red arrive fresh off the dismissal of Frank Yallop and assistants Marc Bircham and Clint Mathis, with Technical Director Brian Bliss moving to the bench and club Vice President (and former captain) Logan Pause assuming an assistant coaching position. All eyes are now fixated on what if any influence Bliss can exert on a Fire side with just one win in its last eight MLS outings. 

"Brian knows what he wants, he met with us and demanded of us what he's going to demand," said veteran midfielder Patrick Nyarko. "Everyone is on board. Guys respect him and he knows the players because he brought most of the players here. We're going to be on the road for almost a week and right now it's just about getting something positive, something heading toward the right direction."
           READ: Bliss Not Unfamiliar with Interim Head Coach Role
Unfortunately, the road trip began with the news that Chicago will be without starting goalkeeper Sean Johnson and defender Eric Gehrig for the balance of the 2015 schedule. On the bright side, there are steady veteran understudys available to offset the premature end to Johnson's sixth season with the Fire and Gehrig's first, namely Jon Busch in goal and Ty Harden on the back line. 
Those two will feature prominently in Chicago's efforts to thwart a Montreal attack that has been dangerous going forward dating to its Sept. 5 win over the Fire, most recently getting goals from Drogba, former Chicago midfielder Dilly Duka and Johan Venegas in a 3-0 romp of New England. Prior to that, Montreal impressed in a pair of West Coast road draws at LA Galaxy (0-0) and San Jose Earthquakes (1-1).
"It's going to take a good, collective effort," Bliss said Monday. "I don't want to peg myself as a defensive coach, but in the last month and a half we've leaked more goals than we have in the first two-thirds of the year. We need to be more committed, sharper, not only individually but collectively. I think we have enough talent to score goals, but when you're scoring two or three goals on the road and still not getting results then you've got to start looking at the defending. I'm not saying we have to shut somebody out, that would be nice, but I just think overall commitment on the defensive side will help." 
"There's numerous big-time players that we need to be aware of, first and foremost Drogba, but it's not just him carrying the weight up there," Busch said. "They've got themselves going and it's going to be a handful for us."
The Fire have put up three goals in both of this season's meetings with the Impact, even doing so on Sept. 5 without the dynamic David Accam available. With Accam back in the fold and the return of Matt Polster following a one-match suspension, Chicago -- 0-3-2 all-time in road matches vs. Montreal -- will leave nothing in reserve as it heads into the five remaining fixtures on the schedule.
"Anytime there's a coaching change, whether it's an interim or a new guy full-time, everybody's jobs are at stake," said the 39-year-old Busch. "We're all responsible, players and coaches, but our job moving forward is to start getting the right results, and it starts in Montreal. It's not an easy road but we're ready to work and give everything we've got in these next five games, and then go from there." 
REFEREE: Fotis Bazakos. AR1 (bench): Peter Manikowski; AR2 (opposite): Danny Thornberry; 4th: Robert Sibiga
MLS Career: 46 games; FC/gm: 26.8; Y/gm: 3.7; R: 9; pens: 16
SUSPENDED: MTL: Marco Donadel (through Sept. 23)
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: MTL: Marco Donadel, Nigel Reo-Coker, Andres Romero … CHI: Eric Gehrig, Kennedy Igboananike, Patrick Nyarko
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: MTL: Calum Mallace, Dominic Oduro, Bakary Soumare, Laurent Ciman … CHI: Chris Ritter, Adailton, Jeff Larentowicz
DISABLED LIST: MTL: Cameron Porter, Kenny Cooper (season-ending injury)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (10 meetings): Impact 3 wins, 13 goals … Fire 3 wins, 15 goals … Ties 4
AT MONTREAL (5 meetings): Impact 3 wins, 9 goals … Fire 0 wins, 5 goals … Ties 2
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