St. Louis CITY SC has been struggling to find points since the absence of Edu Löwen, and the extended absence of João Klauss, but Saturday night’s victory in San Jose was a serious step in the right direction.
The win sees St. Louis climb back to the top of a tight Western Conference on the shoulders of a striker who didn’t appear to be in the plans this season.
Sam Adeniran returned from his loan spell with San Antonio on Friday by meeting the team in San Jose ahead of the match.
“Yeah, when I got the call I was pretty happy to come back.” Adeniran would say after the match, “Obviously, tonight was just amazing to be able to help the team get that win. I feel so great.”
Adeniran returns after a successful spell in San Antonio, scoring four goals, along with an assist, in his six starts in USL.
It was a necessary call, Nico Gioacchini has been leaned on heavily by Bradley Carnell since the Klauss injury, and St. Louis doesn’t have another out-and-out striker ready to make the jump at this point.
Adeniran also offers a different physicality that Gioacchini can not offer, standing at 6’5” ‘Big Sam’ allows the club a level of hold-up play that has been sorely missing in recent months.
Adeniran wasn’t the only “new” face in the starting XI either; AZ Jackson, Akil Watts, and Josh Yaro all made their first MLS starts this season and were very well prepared for the occasion.
“I’ve been waiting for a moment like this”, St. Louis manager Bradley Carnell would exclaim after the match, “we always talk about internal competition […] I’m a happy, proud coach sitting here this evening.”
The match started off nervy for Carnell’s men, with San Jose brimming with confidence, CITY had to weather an initial flurry of play from the Earthquakes. That initial pressure soon waned as St. Louis was able to build into the match, making Adeniran’s first goal that much more momentous.
St. Louis won a corner late into the first half, and Sam Adeniran rose above everyone to guide the ball into the back of the net. Though Adeniran wouldn’t want all of the credit after the match, “Rasmus Alm is one of the best corner takers out there.”
However, San Jose would fight back with a Jamir Monteiro goal just into the start of the second half.
San Jose answering so quickly after the restart is starting to become a worrying trend for St. Louis, but there was enough fight in the squad to immediately respond.
A somewhat innocent ball would find its way into the far edge of the box, but as AZ Jackson raced for the ball, he’d be clattered to the ground, tangled up by Jonathan Mensah.
After a quick look at VAR, it was confirmed as a penalty, and Adeniran would step up and capitalize on the biggest moment of his young career.
He would send Daniel the wrong way and easily slot home his second of the night, taking his USL form a step further and put an end to St. Louis’ recent struggles.
The end of the match wouldn’t come easy for the ‘boys in red’, but huge saves from Roman Bürki would seal the match and deliver St. Louis back atop the Western Conference.
“Bürki just came up so big”, AZ Jackson would reflect in his post-match availability, “San Jose did a good job. They were just flooding our backline, and it was tough for us to get on the front foot so late in the game.”
Bürki’s night was, yet again, one of the better performances in the league this season, not just making eight saves on the night but being a crucial option to relieve San Jose’s pressure. Bürki’s fifty touches, along with nineteen completed passes are why he has been the team’s most important player this season… even if he isn’t draped in glory every night.
For now, St. Louis will be happy to have some rest in the midweek, and with some crucial starters rested in San Jose, it will be a well-rested squad ready to take on a Colorado team that tested them earlier this season.
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