Chicago Fire’s Kellyn Acosta scores PRAYER from midfield to pull out 4-3 win over CF Montreal in stoppage time after trailing 3-1 in the 82nd minute… but did he get help from the wind?

Chicago’s nickname “Windy City” was not the result of actual gusts of wind, but rather the reputation of 19th century politicians as profit-hungry blowhards. Don’t tell that to CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois, who fell victim to a strong breeze in stoppage time on his way to a stunning collapse against the Fire in Chicago on Saturday.

Kellyn Acosta set up a wind-assisted, leveling goal from midfield in the final moments of second-half stoppage time as Chicago scored twice after 90 minutes for a stunning 4-3 victory over visiting CF Montreal.

Trailing 3-1, Chicago (1-2-1, 4 points) began its rally when Montreal substitute and ex-Fire defender Raheem Edwards drew a red card in the 82nd minute for an apparently violent elbow, setting his team back up to 10 men.

Homegrown midfielder Brian Gutierrez converted from the penalty spot two minutes later for the Fire (1-2-1, 4 points), before Hugo Cuypers leveled the score at 3-3 with a goal through traffic in the fifth minute of injury time.

Four minutes later, Acosta delivered his heroics when he appeared to send the ball forward from midfield. The bending ball was aided by a brisk lakeside wind and carried past the outstretched arms of Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.

CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois reacts after allowing a winning goal

The ball found the back of the net and caused a wild celebration on the field and in the stands.

The surreal finish overshadowed Montreal’s two successful first-half penalties from Matias Coccaro. Dominik Yankov added a goal for Montreal after a brilliant back pass from Josef Martinez, extending the lead to 3-1 in the 70th minute.

Montreal (2-1-1, 7 points) grabbed an early break when video review determined that Chicago’s Chase Gasper, with the backswing of his foot, made enough contact in the penalty area on a pursuing Coccaro to draw a foul and score the first penalty of to justify the match.

Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady got a hand after Coccaro’s penalty in the eighth minute, but not enough to keep him out of the net.

Four minutes later, Coccaro was awarded another penalty when he was fouled from behind by the Fire’s Tobias Salquist. The Chicago defender was booked and Coccaro then converted his second penalty attempt to stun the home fans.

Chicago broke through on the eve of halftime by taking advantage of extended injury time. Maren Haile-Selassie got behind the Montreal backline and received a long signal from Rafael Czichos before turning the ball aside past Sirois to give Chicago life going into halftime.