St. Louis CITY SC was always going to have a tougher time in Orlando than their 6-3 win over Austin last weekend.
Orlando City had not lost at home since April 22nd, and Oscar Pareja’s side seem to be hitting their stride down the homestretch of the MLS season.
The duel between Carnell and Pareja was fascinating with the home club successfully shutting down CITY’s transition game. Orlando City built in the wide spaces left open by Akil Watts’ transition to the middle of the pitch with Njabulo Blom serving his suspension, and neither Kyle Hiebert nor Jake Nerwinski being too capable stretching the pitch vertically from the wide spaces.
St. Louis CITY have struggled at times in their 4-4-2 diamond formation on the road this season, that isn’t to say that St. Louis churned out a bad road performance. However, the disjointed nature of their first half performance was frustrating for a a club whose expectations have ramped up dramatically.
A 2-1 loss doesn’t sting as much if CITY are just another expansion club, but those expectations have risen now that the club is sitting four points atop the Western Conference table as the season enters it’s final stretch of matches.
There are some silver linings in this loss for St. Louis, though.
Joakim Nilsson made his first start and looked well worth the hype, Nökkvi Thórisson made his longest appearance in a CITY kit (subbing on at the half for an injured Niko Gioacchini), Anthony Markanich made his debut, and João Klauss made his long anticipated return to the pitch.
It was those changes that really turned the match on its head for Bradley Carnell’s side.
Down 1-0 after a delicious Facundo Torres goal in the 48th minute, CITY needed a shot in the arm, only generating 0.03 expected goals in the twenty-five minutes before Jared Stroud and Anthony Markanich made their impact on the match.
The fresh legs were important, Stroud’s insertion out wide would move Vassilev deeper into the midfield, while Markanich’s move to LB would force Kyle Hiebert centrally.
Anthony Markanich would then show exactly why Carnell and Pfannenstiel acquired him from Colorado during the transfer window.
Thórisson and Markanich showed a nice understanding deep in Orlando territory. Feeling the momentum, Markanich drove the end line, sent the ball into the mixer, saving the play by millimeters, and found Rasmus Alm in stride to bring the match level.
Unfortunately, Markanich would be on the receiving end of some bad luck on the other side of the pitch. VAR would rule that Markanich committed a hand ball in the box, a penalty that Torres would easily convert in the dying embers of the match.
Bradley Carnell backed his guys after the match, saying, “Unfortunately the scoreboard doesn’t give us any credit and we’ll have to live with that”.
It is easy to see where Orlando were successful, especially through the first sixty minutes. Orlando’s game plan successfully slowed down CITY’s plan to transition quickly, and successfully isolating Sam Adeniran from the rest of the attack.
Luckily, St. Louis lost no ground in the table.
LAFC and Real Salt Lake failing to find results makes the loss easier to stomach, but the club’s continued fight in close matches speaks volumes.
Ultimately, CITY are once again defined by the players that weren’t available.
Tim Parker would be unavailable, staying home with the imminent birth of his child (congratulations to the Parker family on their baby boy), and Njabulo Blom would miss the match as he served his suspension for yellow card accumulation.
Njabulo Blom’s absense was increasingly noticeable with Edu Löwen often playing deeper on the pitch to compensate. Blom doesn’t have the flash, or stature, of Edu Löwen or Roman Bürki, but St. Louis CITY SC is 10-1-2 with Njabulo Blom in the starting XI and 4-1-9 in MLS play without Njabulo Blom in the starting XI.
The next week will be a real inflection point for the club if they are to really make their intentions known. Hosting FC Dallas from CITYPARK on Wednesday will be no easy task, before they head to Kansas for the second edition of the ‘yet to be named’ derby.