City SC’s run in Leagues Cup ends with 4-2 loss to Club America of Mexico

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What very nearly became the biggest win in the young history of St. Louis City SC instead became one of its most painful losses.

There was City SC, up 2-1 on Club America, the Mexican soccer powerhouse, regarded by many as the best team in North America, with 11 minutes to go in the game and weathering one attack after another. But finally, City SC could not hold back the continuing onslaught of the Aguilas, giving up two goals in the final 11 minutes of regulation and another in stoppage time for a 4-2 loss at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, in the round of 16 of the Leagues Cup.

“It's such an emotional (roller coaster),” said City SC interim coach John Hackworth. “I mean, I'm literally as pissed and upset as I can possibly be, and at the same time, I'm really proud of the way we played. Congratulations to Club America. Fantastic opponent. That said I felt like we played a really good game ourselves, and until the last 20 minutes, I thought we had good control of that game.”

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The loss ended City SC’s run in the tournament and the team is off until Aug. 24, when it plays at Portland as the Major League Soccer schedule resumes.

City SC has nine games remaining and realistically needs to win seven of them if it is to make the playoffs. The good news is that it won’t face a team as good as Club America the rest of the way. The bad news is that City SC still hasn’t gotten this winning thing figured out. It led in all four of its Leagues Cup games and won only two of them.

“We're so close to being a team that is capable of beating a team the quality of Club America,” Hackworth said, “but at the same time we still have lessons to learn, and if you just think about a game like this, you have to finish it out, and that's where we let ourselves down tonight.

“We needed to put pressure on the ball. We needed to deny service. We needed to get matched up in the box. And those little details we let slip. We let the guy have too much time to serve the ball (on the tying goal). We didn't get matched up in the box. We didn't recover in the right ways. Those are things that teams can learn to do. For sure, the harder part was what we displayed tonight with some beautiful soccer. Our buildup play was fantastic. We created some really good goal scoring opportunities. Didn't finish as many as we needed to. But this is a game where there's so many positives to take away and yet as a coach, I sit here after a loss like this, and it's going to take a long time to get over it.”

Another bit of bad news was that forward Cedric Teuchert left the game in the 35th minute with a leg injury that is hoped isn’t severe.

“He definitely couldn’t sprint,” Hackworth said, “and that game required a lot of sprinting, and he couldn’t do it there. Wise of him to pull himself out.”

Teuchert is one of the team’s trio of new attacking players added during the summer window who are essential to City SC’s hopes of making the playoffs.

The mere fact that the team had a lead to try to close out this time was something. A year ago in this tournament, City SC got wiped out by Club America 4-0 in St. Louis. This time, even though the team lost 4-2, it was a world closer. Even when it fell behind, City SC kept on the attack, only to be let down by its finishing in front of the Club America goal. The team’s 2.8 expected goals was its second highest total of the season, and also was significantly higher than the .3 xG it had against Club America last season. In the second half, City SC came out attacking, got a quick goal from Indiana Vassilev, who came on for Teuchert, to tie the game in the 49th minute and then a penalty kick by Eduard Lowen in the 55th minute after Marcel Hartel was tripped in the box.

City SC trailed 1-0 at the half and easily could have been ahead. Nokkvi Thorisson missed a sitter in the penalty area, shooting over the crossbar from 6 yards, and Chris Durkin blasted a shot from close range that Club America’s goalkeeper made a quick reaction save on. The missed chances were frustrating but the fact they existed was encouraging.

“If you just looked at the expected goals at halftime,” Hackworth said, “we should have scored a couple more in that first half. So, another really good moment is to come out of a halftime talk, execute on what you've talked about, and put yourself in a position to be back in the game. We did that. We not only did that, but then we get the second goal. And so you know you're going to have to defend and you're going to have to absorb pressure against a team like Club América. So again, a lot to be proud of in that performance, but it's all for naught if we're in a knockout phase of a tournament and we're going home without the success we wanted.”

Vassilev’s goal started with City SC getting a clearance on what was looking like a dangerous chance for Club America at the other end. Hartel brought the ball upfield, then got it to Lowen, for his fourth assist of the tournament. He fed Vassilev in the box and he left-footed it inside the far post for his fourth goal over all competitions this season. Vassilev is one of the players paying the price for the team’s offensive additions. He started 21 of City SC’s first 24 MLS games, but has started only one of the past five and as long as everyone is healthy, will find it hard to slip back into the first 11.

“I just told Indy, this is a massive opportunity for you, go show them how good you are, and he certainly did that,” Hackworth said. “Fantastic. We have some depth right now in the attacking positions and Indy is one of those guys that, despite not starting the last couple games, his attitude is fantastic. And he always tells me, whatever you need, whatever you need, I'm going to do whatever you need, coach. Tonight he not only did that, but he made a really good impression.”

Lowen’s PK gave City SC an unlikely lead with 35 minutes to go, and then it was a matter of holding on. It looked like the lead was going to vanish three minutes later when referee Marco Ortiz gave Club America a penalty kick for a ball that hit Tomas Totland’s arm, but VAR saw that it hit the sleeve of Totland’s shirt and was high enough up his arm to not count as a handball. In one stretch Kyle Hiebert, one of the few players to start both Club America games, blocked three shots in the box in short order. But in the 79th minute, Diego Valdes headed in a cross from Richard Sanchez to tie the game 2-2.

If the game finished tied, it would have gone to penalty kicks to see who advanced, but in the 86th minute Josh Yaro headed away a Club America scoring chance, but the ball first hit Totland’s leg then bounced up and hit his arm.

This time the penalty kick was not going away and Brian Rodriguez, who scored the game's opening goal in the 15th minute, converted to give Club America a 3-2 lead. Lowen had a diving header get deflected wide by the Club America keeper and City SC’s Roman Burki came up to try to score on the ensuing corner kick. When City SC couldn’t, Club America's Rodrigo Aguirre scored before Burki could get back to his net.

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