COURTESY ST. LOUIS CITY SC
Eduard Löwen celebrates with defender John Nelson during the game against FC Cincinnati.
St. Louis CITY SC snapped its two-game losing streak on Saturday night in a 5-1 victory against FC Cincinnati. Cincinnati had conceded only four goals in seven matches before facing CITY. Cincinnati sat atop the Eastern Conference with five shutouts, also known as clean sheets, before Saturday night.
Cincinnati’s unbeaten streak includes a 1-0 victory against the Seattle Sounders — the Sounders defeated CITY 3-0 on April 8. The team's success can largely be attributed to its solid defensive record and the impact of star attackers Luciano Acosta and Brenner. Cincinnati is “normally very good, organized. They’re physically very strong. They're very good in the air, and they have some dangerous players up front. We just kept them at bay today,” sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel noted after the match.
But Acosta and Brenner did not appear for Cincinnati on Saturday night. Their absence explains why Cincinnati failed to generate meaningful attacking sequences. Cincinnati might’ve hoped to rely on its stellar defense to pick up a result against CITY. But Cincinnati’s defense had an uncharacteristically poor performance on Saturday night.
Unexpected Circumstances
Stormy weather caused a two-hour delay to the start of the match. Both teams passed the time in their locker rooms. “We had a really great atmosphere,” Eduard Löwen reflected after the match. “We had a lot of laughter. [Indiana Vassilev] was running some jokes like always. So it was really enjoyable.”
Fans who entered the stadium before the delay were instructed to shelter on the concourses until the storm passed. Those who had yet to enter the stadium took shelter in nearby buildings in the Downtown West neighborhood.
CITYPARK was about two-thirds full by kick-off. “That is just incredible and a great example, like always, how the fans and the city [are] supporting us. And we are very thankful for that,” Löwen said.
Cincinnati Defensive Struggles
The unusual start to the match led to a hectic first two minutes. Neither team could keep clean possession of the ball and both teams committed multiple fouls. This fiery start rattled Cincinnati defender Álvaro Barreal.
CITY midfielder Rasmus Alm found himself shielding the ball as it made its way out of bounds down the right side of the pitch in the second minute of the match. Alm posed no offensive threat, but Barreal thought otherwise.
Barreal inexplicably fouled Alm by pushing Alm in the back. Barreal had a lapse in concentration, and CITY capitalized on it.
Cincinnati deploys zonal marking when defending set pieces. Zonal marking is when a team assigns its defenders to mark dangerous “zones” rather than mark in the traditional man-to-man style. The zonal marking left CITY’s Jared Stroud open at the back post. CITY midfielder Löwen stood over the free-kick and crossed the ball into the box. The ball bobbled off forward João Klauss and made its way to Stroud’s path. Stroud proceeded to smash the ball into the net to give CITY an early 1-0 lead.
Defender John Nelson is a former Cincinnati player, and he played a crucial role in CITY’s second goal in the 39th minute. Nelson dribbled down the left side of the pitch and managed to get past two defenders. Löwen followed Nelson as Nelson crossed the ball into the box.
One of Cincinnati’s defenders continued to chase down Nelson while the other, Santiago Arias, unwisely stayed behind. Arias committed a cardinal sin in soccer: He was caught ball-watching. Ball-watching occurs when a player loses focus and watches the ball instead of maintaining an active role in the play.
Arias should’ve followed Löwen. As the play progressed, the ball bounced into Löwen’s path. Because Arias failed to track Löwen’s run, Löwen found himself with the two most valuable elements in soccer: time and space. The ball bounced toward Löwen, and he struck it off the volley to double CITY’s lead.
Cincinnati’s defensive woes continued in first-half stoppage time. CITY’s Nicholas Gioacchini had a 1v1 matchup with Cincinnati’s Barreal on the sideline. Gioacchini came to pause with the ball and caught Barreal flat-footed. Gioacchini recognized this and attempted to drive the ball past Barreal.
Gioacchini would’ve been in a dangerous position if he managed to get past Barreal. Barreal knew this and committed a tactical foul against Gioacchini. Barreal probably believed he saved his team from conceding a third goal before the half by fouling Gioacchini, but he was wrong.
Cincinnati reverted to its zonal marking that left CITY’s Stroud open once again. Cincinnati won the initial cross into the box and the ball fell to CITY’s Jake Nerwinski. Nerwinski lofted the ball to Klauss who flicked the ball to an open Stroud down the left hand side.
The Cincinnati defenders immediately prepared themselves for an imminent cross. But instead of man-marking CITY’s attackers, Cincinnati reverted to marking the dangerous zones.
CITY’s Kyle Hiebert and Gioacchini positioned themselves into one Cincinnati defender’s zone. Gioacchini drew the defender’s attention which created space for Hiebert. Stroud sent a pinpoint cross to an open Hiebert who scored CITY’s third goal of the half.
Maintaining Momentum
St. Louis native and Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan realized that his team needed a big response in the second half. Noonan made two substitutions and adjusted Cincinnati’s formation to generate more offensive power. Even so, CITY continued its dominance in the second-half.
CITY attacked Cincinnati in transition in the 53rd minute. Nelson received the ball down the left hand side as Alm made a run toward the heart of Cincinnati’s defense. Cincinnati’s center-backs were out of position and Gioacchini exploited the gap between the center-backs. Nelson delivered an accurate pass to Alm, and Alm flicked the ball into Gioacchini’s path. Gioacchini slotted the ball away to give CITY a 4-0 lead.
CITY kept its foot on the pedal throughout the match as Löwen crossed the ball into Cincinnati’s box in the 57th minute. Despite winning the initial header, Cincinnati cleared the ball to the worst position possible: the center of the pitch.
Defenders are taught to clear the ball anywhere but the center because it's a dangerous area. Clearing the ball into this area increases the possibility of the attacking team winning the “second ball” and shooting from a favorable position.
An unmarked Alm positioned himself at the edge of the penalty area and shot the ball. Alm’s shot hit the post, but the ball rebounded off Cincinnati’s goalkeeper to give CITY a 5-0 lead.
Midfielder Isak Jensen replaced Alm in the 61st minute. Jensen carried the ball just outside Cincinnati’s penalty area but was indecisive about what to do next. Cincinnati took advantage of Jensen’s hesitation and intercepted the ball.
Cincinnati then launched a lethal counter-attack and scored a consolation goal in the 62nd minute.
Home-Field Advantage
CITY’s commanding victory against Cincinnati provided a much needed momentum shift for the club. “It was so ugly for Cincinnati to play against us and you could feel that we just, you know, dominated the game,” Löwen said.
Stroud believes that everything went in CITY’s favor against Cincinnati. “The tactics were right on. And yeah, the fans staying around helped us enormously,” he said.
Carnell hopes that CITY can continue to make CITYPARK an intimidating venue for opposing teams. “We want to make this place a fortress,” he said.
“We wanted a proud, strong performance. A gritty performance, a fighter’s performance. And I think the boys showed excellent character.”
This article was produced in partnership with the River City Journalism Fund.
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