Struggling Fire know turnaround must start now

The Fire are back in a familiar place.

Coming out of the Leagues Cup, the Fire have lost four consecutive MLS matches. They’ve been outscored 11-1 in those games and look nothing like the team that surged into playoff contention before the tournament.

Instead, the Fire have looked like the previous versions of themselves that crumbled when close to tasting success. Entering Saturday’s match at CF Montreal, the Fire (8-11-8, 32 points) are two points behind D.C. United for the ninth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

That deficit isn’t insurmountable, but if they play the way they have the last four matches, their playoff dry spell will stretch to six seasons.

“We’re still in it. I know it’s going to be a battle in the end,” coach Frank Klopas said. “That’s how it always is with MLS and the parity within the league. It’s getting tight right now. Every game we play is a playoff game. We can’t hide from that. You can’t sugarcoat that. The players see the standings. They know where we are.”

Midfielder Gaston Gimenez doesn’t need a reminder. Eighth-place Montreal (11-14-2, 35 points) is three points ahead of the Fire and will play a part in determining whether the Fire can make a late run.

“A game like this one I think really puts you into or takes you out of the playoffs,” Gimenez said. “That’s in every sense of the word. So it helps you both in your confidence, it helps us be confident and together as a group and to believe that we can do it, that we can make it. In that sense, it’s definitely very important.”

Before the Leagues Cup, the Fire were flying high. They were getting results, and their confidence was growing. But the wins have dried up, and their emotional state has changed. 

“As a team, we have to come together, and we have to know how to get over that hump because at the end of the day there isn’t time,” Gimenez said. “There are only seven games left, so we have to work together to get over that and to continue with that streak of victories in the way that we had been doing it before.”

In different circumstances, a bigger story would be Klopas’ return to Montreal. Though he didn’t coach there long, he left a mark on the club. In 2015, he led Montreal to a surprise berth in the CONCACAF Champions League Final, where it lost to Club America.

Klopas still has fond memories of his time in Montreal. He stepped out of his comfort zone with the team (then called the Impact), and that helped him grow as a coach.

But he needs to make new memories Saturday.

“The people were great [in Montreal],” Klopas said. “It’s always good to go back, but it will be better going back and coming home with three points, I’ll tell you that.”