Austin FC forward Jon Gallagher, left, and City SC midfielder Celio Pompeu chase the ball in a match on Saturday, March 9, 2024, in Austin, Texas.
A 0-0 tie at home against a struggling opponent is not the best result for a soccer team like St. Louis City SC, but when coach Bradley Carnell looks back on it, he comes up with one word: encouraging.
“I thought really good stuff with and against the ball, dominate the game in all phases,” he said. “It’s just a pity that we don’t reward ourselves.”
For all the possession, the shots, the box entries (35 of them, which Carnell termed “incredible”), and the passing accuracy, what the team didn’t have was goals which was why the team didn’t win. “The fact is, we didn’t score a goal and we need to find ways to get the ball over the line,” he said. “But no need for any unnecessary panic.”
“I don’t think everything’s wrong,” said striker Klauss, who had seven of the team’s 26 shots against Dallas. “We know that we have to get better, we know that we have to win these games, these games that we have seven shots (on goal). I think if we have the performance we had against Dallas, we’re going to win more than we lose.”
City SC looks to snap a five-game winless streak – one loss and four ties – on Sunday against Austin at 3:45 p.m. at CityPark (Channel 2 and Apple TV Season Pass). The teams met earlier this season, playing, not surprisingly in retrospect, to a 2-2 tie in Texas, thanks to a 93rd minute goal by City SC’s Celio Pompeu. Overall, City SC has five ties in seven games. So while the team has lost only one game in its first seven, it’s also only won one of those seven.
“Do we wish we won five in a row like we did last year, of course,” said vice captain and center back Tim Parker. “But looking back at it, learning how to not lose games is really big in this league and getting points, home and on the road, they all count up at the end of the year. So can we turn some of those ties into wins that obviously makes the group feel better, but some of the frustration in those ties would be worse with losses. So sometimes you have to look at a tie as a good thing as well.”
But at some point, City SC is going to have to start winning games.
“It’s hard because you don’t want to stress the ability that you’re OK with not winning games because you’re not,” Parker said. “You want to be able to win games, you want those full three points, but at times and places there’s going to be an OK result with a tie. At home, obviously, we want to win every game. On the road, sometimes you’re going to be OK with a tie, especially depending on where you play. So there’s certain situations that, especially in this league, account for a little bit of maneuverability in terms of where your expectations can be. So for the group, it’s just kind of managing those expectations.”
City SC could have two of its top players back this week, though how much they can play is uncertain. Midfielder Eduard Lowen, who has been out four weeks with a hamstring injury, and center back Joakim Nilsson, who has missed two games with a cracked rib, have been training with the team all week. “Both of them are feeling really fresh and pain free,” Carnell said. “Looking forward to getting them integrated and part of the team.”
But Carnell cautioned that Lowen probably isn’t ready to go a full game, which would affect his ability to start. Last season, when Lowen missed a similar amount of time with a quad injury, he made two second-half appearances off the bench before starting again. But just having Lowen around is a plus for Carnell.
“Good players always bring a boost because of their charisma and their aura, as well as quality,” he said.
The timing of Nilsson’s return is good because center back Josh Yaro, as well as defensive midfielder Njabulo Blom, are out with injuries. It’s part of the revolving door on City SC’s backline, which because of injuries has used four different combinations in the first seven games. The first choice combination of Parker and Nilsson have played just two full games. Last season, City SC was able to use the same back four in nine of its first 11 games.
“A lot of doctor’s visits,” said Parker. “Everyone knows what to expect out of one another. We have faith in the next guy stepping up and when that time comes around, we expect you to do the same job that the guy before you did. So, we need that hunger, that attitude and that tenaciousness that the guy before you was providing in order to keep that spot. And when you get that time to play, then hopefully you’re able to grab it.”
City SC also needs to grab goals. In the past five games, City SC has eight goals including two on penalty kicks, two by center backs, and an own goal. The only goals in the run of play from attacking players have come from Pompeu, Tomas Ostrak and Indiana Vassilev. Though the team is tied for seventh in the league with 11 goals, it has just one goal in its past two games, which is one of the reasons Carnell focused his team on finishing this week.
“It’s just little movements, little combinations, little relationships in the box,” he said. “Everyone’s trying their best to put themselves in the best spot. Can we find little ways to get the relationships a little bit more polished?”
Austin star Sebastian Driussi, who didn’t play in the first meeting, is back for this one. Austin has gone 2-1 since Driussi returned to the starting lineup.
“I’m just OK with where we are right now,” Carnell said. “For sure, we would like more points on the board, but we’re scoring freely. We just need to buckle down and minimize critical moments in games, and there’s not too many of those, either. We feel success is just around the corner.”
