Head coach Bradley Carnell has created a no-excuses team culture. At the same time, both he and his players are uncommonly candid. So it was unsurprising when Njabulo Blom noted in a post game comment that Löwen “is the one who is able to start the play for us, and we struggled to start the play today.”
City’s attack relied heavily on Löwen’s ability to turn defense into offense. He’s the X-factor St. Louis missed against Salt Lake. Data bears this out.
FBRef is a soccer statistics website that tracks various statistical categories in MLS. According to FBRef, Löwen leads the team in tackles, progressive carries and progressive passing. He also ranks first in dribbles completed and total touches on the ball.
Löwen’s ability to dictate tempo for City led to eight goal contributions in 16 matches before his injury.
Injuries have prevented City from consistently fielding its best team throughout the season. But Carnell believes they are a part of the game. “[Salt Lake] were without four of their key players,” Carnell said. “They were more depleted than us.”
Sticking to the Principles
City prides itself on taking risks and being aggressive defensively. This philosophy assigns defenders to push forward and challenge attackers higher up the pitch rather than sitting back.
Center-back Tim Parker stepped up past midfield to challenge a Salt Lake long ball in the 15th minute. Parker failed to make adequate contact on the ball as it fell to Salt Lake’s Pablo Ruiz.
Ruiz recognized Parker was out of position and immediately passed the ball to the open space Parker vacated. Salt Lake’s Danny Musovski ran toward the ball and carried it down the right side of the pitch. His teammate Damir Kreilach made a supporting run through the middle.
City’s Lucas Bartlett and Jake Nerwinski found themselves in a 2v2 situation against Musovski and Kreilach. Bartlett initially opted to cover the center space rather than immediately attempting to cut off Musovski.
This decision granted Musovski enough time to see Diego Luna running unmarked at the back post. Musovski crossed the ball, and Kreilach intelligently allowed it to go through his legs. The ball made its way to Luna who scored to put Salt Lake 1-0 up.
Parker believes he made the right decision despite the goal. “It's something that we're expected to do as a backline. So, sometimes you can get punished for it, sometimes you can get rewarded for it.”
City scored the equalizer in the 21st minute. A clearance from Salt Lake’s Andrew Brody found City’s Célio Pompeu at the edge of the box. Pompeu passed the ball out wide to Jake Nerwinski. Nerwinski delivered a pinpoint cross to Nicholas Gioacchini who scored for the fourth match in a row.
Sloppy Second Half
Salt Lake punished City for a slow start to the second half. “Second half started and [we] looked like an expansion team. Just a little bit leggy, just a little bit slow in the thought process,” Carnell said. “We let our principles get away for certain moments and individuals from the opponent team find little pockets of space to penalize and hurt us.”
Salt Lake’s Luna exploited pockets of space in the 48th minute. Luna dribbled through multiple City defenders and passed the ball to Maikel Chang in the box. Chang flicked the ball to Damir Kreilach who scored to put Salt Lake 2-1 up.
City aggressive defending approach cost the team another goal in the 66th minute. Salt Lake completed a switch (passing the ball from one side of the pitch to the other) to left-back Brody. City tends to press the recipient of a switch and attempt to close down all the passing lanes. It’s one of City’s most effective pressing cues for forcing turnovers.
But Salt Lake exploited City’s tendency to press in these situations. City’s Rasmus Alm immediately pressured Brody. City’s Nerwinski marked Salt Lake’s left-winger Luna.
Luna moved toward the half-space to provide an option to Brody. Nerwinski adhered to City’s principles by following Luna’s movement. But Nerwinski’s decision provided an open space for Salt Lake to exploit.
Brody passed the ball to Luna who immediately passed the ball to the space Nerwinski abandoned. Brody continued his run to provide a numerical advantage with Musovski against City’s Parker.
Musovski attempted to receive the ball with Parker challenging behind him. Musovski shielded the ball enough to prevent Parker from winning it. Parker overcommitted and Brody ran onto the loose ball. Brody identified Kreilach making a delayed run into the box. Brody crossed the ball to an unmarked Kreilach who scored to put Salt Lake 3-1 up.
A sloppy second half performance once again resulted in a loss for City. “We didn't apply our principles correctly, and then they capitalized on our mistakes. It was a bit of being sluggish, not facing at the right time, not being in the right place,” Blom said.
City’s aggressive playstyle took MLS by storm earlier in the season, and there is no doubt the team has exceeded all expectations so far. But teams around the league are beginning to identify City’s weaknesses after 18 matches. Injuries to key starters have also hindered City’s ability to field its strongest starting 11.
But accountability is a pillar of City’s culture. Carnell hopes his team can continue to work hard despite injury struggles. “We don't want any excuses. We don't want any free rides,” Carnell said. “We embrace it, and we look forward to the next time that we can get guys fit and healthy but right now, no excuses.”
This story was produced in partnership with the River City Journalism Fund.
Subscribe to Riverfront Times newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
