Added time goal downs Fire against Montreal

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Two streaks ended Saturday for the Chicago Fire.

The first was the club's shutout streak, which Didier Drogba ended with a 56th minute goal. The second was the four-match unbeaten streak after Ignacio Piatti scored in added time to down the Fire 2-1.

Piatti scored with a curling shot just outside the box to give the visitors the win after the Fire led at halftime.

"For sure it's difficult for us after having the lead and playing a good first half to see that we lost this game," Fire coach Veljko Paunovic said. "We have to learn how to play when we have a lead."

Kennedy Igboananike had given the Fire (1-2-3, 6 points) the lead in the 30th minute with an impressive curling shot from the left side of the box. Gilberto won a header at midfield and took advantage of a slip from the Montreal (4-2, 12 points) defense to start the break. Igboananike did the rest for his third goal of the season.

The Fire sat back and absorbed pressure without creating much before that goal. Igboananike's goal was the Fire's first shot on goal.

Some of that Montreal pressure was substantial, too. The Impact were inches from scoring in the 11th minute when a free kick found the head of Hassoun Camara. Camara's header got past goalkeeper Matt Lampson, but defender Jonathan Campbell was able to clear it off the line.

The Fire led 1-0 at halftime, but taking a lead into the second half meant Didier Drogba was a near-lock to come into the match. Drogba subbed on in the 50th minute and scored five minutes later because that's what legends do.

Matt Lampson cleared an inocuous back pass, but the errant pass landed right at the feet of Dominic Oduro. The former Fire forward hit a low cross into Drogba, who skillfully flicked the ball past Lampson into the goal.

"Honestly, I thought we neutralized him," Lampson said of Drogba. "That was a self-inflicted wound and he made us pay.

"He didn't create it. I created it for him."

That goal ended the Fire's shutout streak at 411 minutes, which set a new club record. The previous record was 395 minutes.

Matt Polster, who came on as a sub at halftime, became one of the Fire's best creating threats. In the 77th minute he burst down the left wing and hit a centering ball towards rookie Alex Morrell, who also subbed on, but Morrell's hard shot was nicely saved by Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush.

The move to start Polster on the bench was likely to give him some rest after a heavy recent workload that included playing for the Olympic qualifying team. Polster said he talked with Stephens about going forward more because he had fresher legs than Stephens and the Fire had been defending for much of the match.

When it appeared the match was headed for a draw, Piatti's killer shot silenced the Toyota Park crowd.

"For me, it wasn't a surprise," Paunovic said of Piatti's goal. "When I saw him coming inside, we prepared (for that). We knew that's how he likes to cut inside and finish, but the shot was perfect.

"What concerns me more is that we weren't mature in this game."

The Fire are off next weekend. The next match is April 30 at home against D.C. United.

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