Lessons learned from ST. Louis CITY SC's 1-1 draw with RSL, 9 unbeaten.
St. Louis CITY SC were left frustrated after a 1-1 draw and a Marcel Hartel performance to remember as Yoann Damet's side made it nine unbeaten.
Fans left Energizer Park soggy and frustrated after St. Louis CITY SC drew Real Salt Lake 1-1 on Saturday night. The frustration speaks to how quickly expectations have risen around Yoann Damet’s squad during the nine match unbeaten streak across all competitions.
Over this nine-match stretch, only Inter Miami have more points per match and a higher goal differential, only Houston has allowed fewer goals against, and only Miami, Portland, and Philadelphia have a better expected goals differential. Needless to say, things are going well, but when familiar problems echo underneath the aesthetics of more brilliant passing sequences throughout a scoreless first half, then there’s still a feeling of yearning.
Yoann Damet and his players echoed the desire for more.
“What I'm very pleased with is the feeling of not being satisfied.” Damet said, “We could have won the game. I thought we did everything can he could to try to win the game. I really enjoyed the way we're defending forward. I really enjoyed the way we are playing. There are a ton of things that can be better. That's also the thing: the feeling we've got within the group is nobody is getting satisfied no matter what.”
It was going well through the first 55 minutes. CITY SC smothered RSL and kept Roman Bürki well-rested through 148 minutes in total without an opposing shot on target, completing some gorgeous passing displays out of pressure, and asking some questions of RSL in transition.
“Sometimes I’m standing in the back, and it’s just amazing to see the way that we play.” Bürki reflected afterwards, reveling in the growth of his squad over the past 8 months. “It’s great to see how we defend and press all together, and we are on the same page.”
It always felt like the first half needed to produce a goal or else CITY SC would regret it, and unfortunately, RSL figured out how to break the dam.
“Five minutes where we lost momentum, where we started to get disconnected a little bit and defend deeper.” Damet said, “They made us pay by scoring a goal.”
The midfield controlled the first half, but Pablo Mastroeni figured out how to manipulate the space in CITY SC’s midfield rectangle after the idea of dragging runners through the empty space failed to produce a great scoring chance despite the defensive stability. Once RSL figured out how to manipulate the middle of that space, it broke the match open with two good scoring chances, finally breaking the deadlock with Sergi Solanz’s goal in the 60th minute.
STL Soccer News
Yoann Damet recognized that his squad was vulnerable and attempted to remedy that by bringing on Marcel Hartel and Alex Mățan. The former came off the bench after Damet revealed the German was “not feeling 100%” towards the tail end of the week, and the latter made his CITY SC debut.
Mățan replaced Chris Durkin – who once again is on a yellow card caution going into San Jose – but was tasked with a slightly revised role. Drifting wider to overload the left side with the freedom to follow the attack deeper into the attacking third.
“I believe you guys also got a glimpse of what Mățan is about when it comes to defending,” Damet said. “Don't look at him for his height or like his size but look at him for the work he's putting in, and tonight, he gave a good sample of what I know he's capable of.”
The unfortunate reality is that this match is most likely much different if Hartel is at his usual fitness. Over the 30 minute stretch, Hartel and Mățan put on a masterclass down the left side. CITY SC were threatening to break the door down before Hartel intercepted Cabral’s attempt to clear out of the counterpress with Sangbin bearing down on him.
Following the goal, St. Louis kept their foot on the gas with Hartel on the end of nearly 0.5 xG, but it was once again clear that a secondary scoring option was needed even as Mățan nearly pulled off a worldy from distance with one of his first touches.
It’s easy to see where Carlo Holse will not just make life easier for a player like Hartel who has arguably been the best attacker in MLS since the World Cup break. Hartel leads MLS in goals added (a stat in the ASA database that measures total impact) since the World Cup break, and while that stat is more insightful over long stretches, Hartel also ranks third in the season long g+ table: only trailing Lionel Messi and Gabriel Pec.
"Cello [Hartel] is that player, the heart of our offense." Bürki said. "I mean, without him, we saw what we saw today. There's not a lot going on. We have the ball in their half, around their box. But the creativity, the quality that he brings is just like no other player than him on the team."
Outside of the sometimes nebulous advanced stats, Hartel now has nine goals and three assists across all competitions, and five total contributions in the four matches.
The final whistle blew to the chagrin of every CITY SC player who believed they were on the verge of the go-ahead goal. Still, the draw is better than a loss against a side that St. Louis has failed to beat since the 0-4 win that sealed the club’s first and only five match win streak. That Damet’s side couldn’t equal that mark signals that there is more room to grow before they are ready to claim more club history.
Standout Performers
I highlighted Mățan and Hartel earlier, but this was also the best night in a while for Conrad Wallem on the wing. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it comes as both Wallem and Totland were pushed into the wing vs Wallem becoming the wingback tracking back most often. The advanced role frees him up to do what he does best in transition while also allowing him to invert at times and join the midfield perimeter.
Despite some poor performances at the start of the season, Wallem has been a positive g+ player since May. While his passing metrics still have to improve, Wallem has been a positive in in how he receives and progresses the ball on the dribble and has benefitted from the rotation Damet has thrown his way over the last 10 matches. This isn’t me saying that St. Louis should stop looking to add out wide, but with Totland and Wallem playing well and with Joyner finally grabbing minutes, it’s less of a need than it was a few months ago.
Does that still invite Corey Wray to use that open U22 spot on a wide player, or is the depth – along with Zach Zengue, Riley Lynch, and Tyson Pearce – enough to shift focus to bringing in a young striker who can compete with Simon Becher and Palmer Ault for minutes? Striker does seem like the weakest position in the player pool while there is a glut of 10s, wide attackers, midfielders, and centerbacks working through the Academy and CITY2 ranks.
Is raising the floor also stockpiling depth? There’s a case for it.
It’s easy to draw that conclusion with David Critchley’s relative lack of options after Palmer Ault joined the first team full time. CITY2 struggled through the World Cup break, racking up just one regulation win until last night’s 3-0 trouncing of the Real Monarchs. Ault returned to the 2 side for sharpening, along with Perez, Joyner, and Pearce. The Indiana grad picked up a pair of assists, including a beauty of an assist to Zach Zengue on the opening goal.
Ault is still the only striker to score for CITY2 this season; it’s a great opportunity for Chidube Nwankwo and Sam Goldstein, who are making the jump from the Academy.
