Montreal Impact still winless after settling for 1-1 result against Chicago Fire

MONTREAL – A 54th-minute strike by Chicago’s Quincy Amarikwa gave the Fire a 1-1 draw against the Montreal Impact on Saturday afternoon at the Olympic Stadium, keeping both teams winless to start the season.

Newcomer Jack McInerney, acquired last week from the Philadelphia Union in exchange for Andrew Wenger, scored in the 42nd minute to give Montreal (0-3-3) the lead.

The Impact are stuck in the Eastern Conference basement with three points from six games. They’ve now drawn three straight after opening their season with three losses.

In the first half, Marco Di Vaio, playing up front with McInerney in the Impact’s two-striker formation, flicked the ball with his head to the onrushing 21-year-old, who slowed down on the breakaway before rifling past Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson.

McInerney, who was drafted fifth overall by Philadelphia in 2010, scored 12 goals in 31 MLS appearances last season for the Union, including twice against the Fire.

The Impact entered the game with an MLS-high 91 shot attempts, including 34 on target, but were kept relatively quiet by Chicago (0-1-5), hitting the target only twice.

The Fire spent a lot of time in Montreal’s half. They directed 17 shots at the net, and were awarded 10 corners during the game.

All the Chicago corners finally made the Impact pay in the 54th minute.

Off a corner, midfielder Jeff Larentowicz’s header rang off the crossbar before falling to Mike Magee, who squared it across to Amarikwa in the 18-yard box for his third goal of the season.

This was the first match for Impact coach Frank Klopas against his former team. Klopas played for the Fire in the late ’90s, and coached the squad for 81 games over three seasons before being let go in October 2013.

Notes: Montreal was without midfielder Hernan Bernardello, who left last week’s game against the New York Red Bulls after landing awkwardly on his right ankle. … The Impact and Fire play each other twice more this season. … This was the last game at the Olympic Stadium for the Impact. The team plays its opening game at Saputo Stadium on April 26 against the Philadelphia Union. … There were 19,313 people in attendance.