St. Louis CITY SC's illuminating performance in Montreal.

St. Louis CITY SC has been looking for a result that matches their play in recent weeks, and their trip to Montreal delivered everything they have needed. The first clean sheet of the David Critchley era begat the caretaker manager’s first win away from Energizer, and gave the club some space in the dubious Wooden Spoon race. 

Before we get into it, thank you so much for following my move to Ghost. I felt a need to move from Substack to become a little less reliant on the platform itself, especially after Substack’s apology for push notifications highlighting an actual Nazi blog to non-subscribers. I don’t want to be a part of that; it’s why I moved from Twitter to Bluesky last year, and it’s why I generally struggle to promote myself on social media these days. So, thank you all for supporting me as I venture further into the independent landscape. Your support is why I’m able to allocate resources to my personal work, and I hope you enjoy my renewed focus here on Talkinsoccer.com. Ok, back to the soccer.

The result was just desserts for a squad that has been playing more entertaining, fruitful, and free-flowing soccer as of late to no avail. Gone was the defensive lapse that ruined last week’s opportunity as they peppered FC Dallas with shot attempt after shot attempt. 

Instead of a turnover in the defensive third, CITY SC benefited from Fallou Fall’s goal-line clearance, and instead of wasted opportunities, the attack converted two goals (1.42 expected goals on target) on four shots on target. 

The individual errors turned into individual execution, and while the performance was far from perfect, the execution on both sides of the ball was notable.

Conrad Wallem scored his first of the season, leveling up after recent weeks have seen him with a more emphasized role as an attacking fullback. Wallem’s goal was the stamp of approval on a run of play that has included creating fourteen chances over the past four matches, becoming a player Critchley can count on as he works on his winning formula. 

“First of all, I think it's great for team morale,” Wallem said. “We've been grinding, training hard every week, staying in it, even though we have been getting hard results and hard punches in the face every weekend, we have stayed in it all together. And today we showed as a team what we really can do and how we can fight together and win on the road. You have to win games like this. You have to win as a team. And today we really showed that.”

João Klauss didn’t score, but he was tantamount to CITY SC’s success in transition with a blocked shot that landed at the feet of Wallem and a silky backheeled flick on Marcel Hartel’s ninth goal contribution of the season. 

Fallou Fall stood tall, recording two tackles and three interceptions, while combining with Henry Kessler for 15 defensive contributions. 

That defensive platform allowed the attack to buzz forward through João Klauss, Marcel Hartel, and Conrad Wallem as they took advantage of the gaps in Montreal’s defense. 

David Critchley was ecstatic with the buy-in after lamenting on his squad’s luck in previous weeks.

“I saw a massive amount of determination from the guys today against the ball.” Crithcley elated. “Everyone was really bought in. Everyone defended so aggressively, all the way from [João] Klauss and [Marcel Hartel] chasing down players, to big blocks and saves by Roman [Bürki], [Henry Kessler], Fallou [Fall], and those guys. So, it was a collective defensive performance tonight.”

It’s in that context that Critchley’s personnel decisions were fascinating. 

This was a match that CITY SC – as down as this season has been – should expect to win and control the run of play, so the starting XI and sub patterns after picking up another two-goal lead are especially telling. 

The Lineup.

Sangbin’s return from national team duty led to his return to the starting lineup and Critchley’s return to his preferred 4-2-3-1. Célio Pompeu returned to the wing, Wallem started over more defensive fullback options, while Kessler and Fall cemented the starting CB hierarchy.

Wallem’s importance is worth focusing on, especially as CITY SC has created dangerous opportunities from his ability on the overlap.

Like Devin Padelford, Wallem arrived in St. Louis on loan from his parent club. However, unlike Padelford, there is a buy option on Wallem’s deal. It’s hard to forecast what the club’s next sporting director will decide to do with this roster, but it seems like a no-brainer that the club needs to pull the trigger on Wallem’s buy option. There is a caveat here: sources said that the buy option was believed to be higher than his market value, but any fee below the TAMable threshold seems a given for the skill he brings to the table and his chemistry with Edu Löwen, João Klauss, and Marcel Hartel. 

Wallem has mentioned his desire to stay in recent weeks, but the lack of a Sporting Director casts a shadow over the process. 

Outside of Wallem, the most illuminating decision was Alfredo Morales’s replacement of Chris Durkin in the 61st minute, followed by Seth Antwi’s debut for Edu Löwen. 

The squad has talked at length about the need to keep a lead, and how frustrating their late match collapses have been, Hartel saying:

“We had a lot of good conversations in the team with the staff about that, especially about conceding goals after, I think 70 minutes, that we want to get much, much better in that. [...] We still have to improve, especially in the last 20 minutes, to also not let them get the opportunity to score.”

Durkin has not impressed at the six, and his disciplinary record makes the squad’s lack of depth at midfield even more noticeable. Morales is a good hand, but he’s at the tail end of his career and has played far too many minutes for a late pre-season invite. The decision to sign Seth Antwi for the remainder of the season also hints at the delicate balance of needing depth at the base of the midfield while giving players like Tyson Pearce and Miguel Perez the space to thrive down the homestretch of CITY 2’s MLSNP championship campaign. 

Antwi has clearly impressed with his commitment to training, and his inclusion as the fourth and final sub in the 0-2 win shows that Critchley values his steady play. Antwi isn’t the type of player to impress with his flair, but one tackle and five completed passes on eight touches point to the club’s need for positionally responsible midfielders. That the squad had no other options with Ostrák and Totland unable to fit the role is telling. 

Is it a preview for the vast overhaul that the squad has to conduct this offseason?

CITY SC on loan:

John Hackworth completed a few final moves before the roster freeze, loaning Jake Girdwood-Reich to A-League side Auckland FC and Joey Zalinsky to USL Championship side Indy Eleven.

It will be important for JGR to find consistent minutes, as it has become clear that Critchley is looking for something else out of him before he is reliable in the midfield, and that he is too far down the CB depth chart to play reliable minutes. It’s been tough for the young Aussie, but he gets to return home (well, close to home) with CITY SC still owning a year of his contract when he returns stateside. 

Hackworth is working hard to hand over the roster without some of the pitfalls that derailed the 2025 season, while looking to further develop pieces that aren’t quite ready for primetime. 

Zalinsky is another player who should have a spot when he returns. He heads to Indianapolis for the final six matches of the season, hopefully lending a hand in the club’s playoff chase. A key difference in developing in MLSNP with CITY 2 and the USL, Zalinsky was the youngest player to touch the pitch Saturday in Rhode Island, and had confidence in his play that stood out against his new competition. It’s not every day that clubs find production from late-round MLS SuperDraft picks, but it's becoming easy to see why Hackworth and the rest of the remaining front office pieces believe in Zalinsky’s future. 

Indy lost 1-0 to Rhode Island, but Zalinsky was a standout for Indy. He created a chance in the attack – one of four Indy created all match – and combined for two tackles and four interceptions.