Chaos is at the center of St. Louis City SC’s philosophy. The speed City plays with puts opponents out of rhythm. It’s a tempo the Colorado Rapids struggled adapting to in City’s 2-0 victory on Saturday before another capacity audience at CityPark in Downtown West. City scored both its goals within the first 11 minutes of the match.
“It's very important for our style of play just to make sure we get out there guns blazing without being naïve and vulnerable,” said head coach Bradley Carnell at the post-match press conference.
Setting the Tone
Colorado nearly opened the scoring 20 seconds into the match. Colorado’s Cole Bassett recovered a clearance. Bassett immediately passed the ball out wide to Michael Barrios. City’s Joshua Yaro lost track of Colorado’s Kévin Cabral as Cabral ran behind Yaro.
Barrios proceeded to pass a perfect through ball into Cabral’s path. But Cabral’s poor first touch allowed Yaro to recover and pressure Cabral’s shot. City’s Roman Bürki blocked the shot to save City from an early disaster.
“[Bürki]’s our captain and leader for a reason,” Carnell said. “He's not just a voice in the locker room, but he also leads by doing.”
Big players show-up in big moments. Bürki’s save demonstrated why he was selected to represent Major League Soccer as an All-Star against Arsenal FC on July 19. Tim Parker was also selected to participate in the All-Star game, and his big moment came minutes later.
City’s Aziel Jackson stood over a corner-kick in the fourth minute. City’s Kyle Hiebert stood in front of Parker near the penalty spot. Colorado’s Keegan Rosenberry tightly marked Hiebert while Danny Wilson sagged off Parker.
Hiebert ran forward as Parker ran toward the first post. Hiebert’s run resulted in Wilson bumping into Rosenberry as Wilson attempted to follow Parker. But Wilson failed to recover as an unmarked Parker headed the ball to put City up 1-0.
Corner-kicks have evolved in modern soccer. Teams nowadays create set-plays to optimize the probability of converting on a corner-kick. Goalkeeper coach Alex Langer also creates plays for City on corner-kicks. “Alex [Langer] drew it up in training two days ago, and it was working,” Jackson said.
City’s fast-tempo playstyle resulted in its second goal in the 11th minute. Rosenberry carried the ball in Colorado’s defensive third and attempted to pass it to Bassett. City’s Jared Stroud pressed Rosenberry and forced Rosenberry to misplace the pass. Hiebert stepped and passed the ball down the line.
Colorado’s Connor Ronan and City’s Samuel Adeniran chased down the ball. Ronan initially appeared to have the advantage, but Adeniran’s pace allowed him to win it. Adeniran recovered the ball near the byline, and Ronan inexplicably allowed Adeniran to take a touch toward the goal.
Ronan’s reaction suggested that he expected Colorado’s Andreas Maxsø to cut-off Adeniran at the byline. But Maxsø arrived late, and Adeniran managed to pass the ball to an unmarked Stroud who scored to double City’s lead.
The goal was undoubtedly made possible by Adeniran’s desire to win the ball. Ronan failed defensively, and Adeniran capitalized. “I didn’t even know if [Adeniran] was going to get to the ball to be honest. I just took a gamble. I saw him win it on the byline, and I knew I was open. It was a really good play from [Adeniran],” Stroud said.
A Defensive Display
City forced Colorado goalkeeper William Yarbrough to make five saves during the match. City managed a total of 20 shots with only 39 percent possession. Colorado shot the ball nine times with the remaining 61 percent of possession.
Though Bürki made three saves on the night, Colorado’s attack stagnated on numerous occasions. Colorado primarily relied on switches and diagonal balls to disrupt City’s defense.
But City executed its plan masterfully. “A lot of the times, [Colorado] got the ball, looked and saw [the passing lane] was blocked or covered. So we nullified quite a lot of that. Credit to the boys for the game plan,” Carnell said.
Colorado has been winless since May 6. But Carnell still believed Colorado could pose problems for his squad. “Playing against a team who has not had a great run of form lately, that's when they are at their most dangerous because at some time that trend stops. That trend was not going to stop here at CityPark,” Carnell said.
City successfully withstood Colorado’s attack for the remainder of the match as Bürki earned his fifth shut-out of the season.
“I think we have the best goalie in the league,” Stroud said. “And of course, the first second [Colorado] gets a huge chance, but [Burki]’s a difference maker. He's been one all season. He's just saved us in so many ways.”
City continues to sit atop the Western Conference after Saturday’s victory. Stroud believes City can continue to defy all expectations and stay there. “We don't want to be anywhere else. We're just fighting every week to get three points. We've got a little eye on the table. We like being up there.”
This story was produced in partnership with the River City Journalism Fund.
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