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MLS St. Louis City SC

St. Louis CITY SC and FC Dallas Play to 0-0 Draw at CITYPARK

April 7, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
St. Louis City SC News Release


ST. LOUIS - St. Louis CITY SC remained unbeaten at home in MLS play with a 0-0 draw against FC Dallas at CITYPARK. CITY SC registered 24 shots, seven shots on target and nine corner kicks in the match. Both goalkeepers were busy between the posts as Roman Bürki recorded four saves and Maarten Paes made six saves. The all-time record between the two sides is now 1-1-1, after both teams recorded home victories last season.

Postgame Notes

CITY SC recorded its highest single match shot total (24) of the season

Across all competitions this season, CITY SC has recorded 12 more shots on target (36) than their opponents

Roman Bürki recorded his second clean sheet of the season

Bürki's clean sheet was his tenth with CITY SC over the past two seasons

Anthony Markanich (4) created the most chances in the match

Chris Durkin led the match with 12 duels won

Rasmus Alm made his first start for CITY SC since August 30, 2023, when CITY SC defeated FC Dallas 2-1 last season at CITYPARK

CITY SC remained unbeaten at home, moving to 1-0-3 at CITYPARK in MLS play

CITY SC is 2-0-3 at CITYPARK across all competitions this season

April 6, 2024 - CITYPARK (St. Louis, Missouri)

Goals by Half 1 2 F

St. Louis CITY SC 0 0 0

FC Dallas 0 0 0

Misconduct Summary

DAL: Liam Fraser, 12

STL: Tim Parker, 15

STL: Chris Durkin, 69

STL: Tomas Totland, 82

Lineups

STL: GK Roman Bürki ©; D Tomas Totland, D Tim Parker, D Josh Yaro (Kyle Hiebert 63'), D Anthony Markanich; M Chris Durkin, M Tomáš Ostrák, M Indiana Vassilev (Sam Adeniran 73'), M Aziel Jackson (Njabulo Blom 73'), M Rasmus Alm (Célio Pompeu 46'); F Klauss

Substitutes Not Used: GK Ben Lundt, M Akil Watts, F Nökkvi Thórisson, M Hosei Kijima, D Nikolas Dyhr

TOTAL SHOTS: 24; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; FOULS: 14; OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 4

DAL: GK Maarten Paes; D Omar Gonzalez, D Sebastian Ibeagha, D Sam Junqua; M Patrickson Delgado, M Paul Arriola © (Ema Twumasi 88'), M Dante Sealy, M Liam Fraser; F Sebastian Lletget (Tsiki Ntsabeleng 79'), F Petar Musa, F Eugene Ansah (Logan Farrington 60')

Substitutes Not Used: GK Jimmy Maurer, D Carl Sainte, D Nkosi Tafari, M Herbert Endeley, F Bernard Kamungo, F Enes Sali

TOTAL SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 6

Referee: Marcos DeOliveira

Assistant Referees: Cory Richardson, Eduardo Jeff

Fourth Official: Calin Radosav

VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero

AVAR: Chantal Boudreau

Venue: CITYPARK

Weather: Clear, 57 degrees

ST. LOUIS CITY SC POSTGAME QUOTES

Audio: Recordings

Head Coach Bradley Carnell

Opening statement:

Yeah, really, I would say an entertaining 0-0 draw where today I felt a little of control, a level of comfort on the sidelines, and yeah, just unfortunate we couldn't score a goal tonight. I thought we did enough. I thought the boys put in an excellent effort, both sides of the ball and just the last bit of momentum, the last bit of, I don't want to say luck, but yeah, just something was keeping it out of the net tonight.

You know, if you can't score, don't concede. And I think that's what we did tonight, a really good, solid performance defensively. I thought the game was played exactly the way we wanted to play the game against a very stingy, greedy Dallas team who usually are difficult to play against, and we've seen this before. But credit to the boys. I think it was 27 shots if I'm not mistaken. So again, we have to -- we just couldn't break them today but I thought it was a really good performance.

Q. Is there frustration on the offense on nights like that, Klauss, the number of chances, seemed like the good chances are going to go in and just don't?

BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, again, we have a couple of different looks from a couple of different players tonight, which tells me the game plan was really good. I think the performance was really good. I think the opportunities and getting to those areas; I'd be posing a lot more questions if we weren't getting into these dangerous areas.

Eventually it will come, all right. Eventually, Paes had a really good game in front of goal for them tonight and kept Ernie's (ph) team in the shutout. We'll continue to be us and we'll continue to develop and evolve and control these types of games, and yeah, we just need to now get that one over the line or take that last jump over the hurdle to get the three points.

But again, I thought we had a very controlled performance tonight.

Q. Another game where Bürki comes through with a couple saves in a two-minute span.

BRADLEY CARNELL: Sure, you're never going to be able to control everything, right, and there are going to be moments in the game. Whether it's big plays from the centre-backs, whether it's big plays from the outside backs or whether it's big plays from the goalkeeper, Roman. But he shows his value, shows his quality, and today I can think about two really big ones, one if the first, one in the second.

Again, I think levels of control. You know, the game was played where we need it to be played.

Q. Was it the most aggressive game you've played offensively this season so far?

BRADLEY CARNELL: He's getting sharper and sharper, right. You know, and I see his level of commitment. I see how long he can last and I can see he can last 90 minutes now and the more sharper he gets the more dangerous he gets as well because then he's got some oxygen left in the body to execute the shots. Now he's getting the shots on frame. He's very dangerous. He's got the respect of the opponents. I think it's just a matter of time. I know it's a matter of time before this narrative changes, and then once it does change, I think there will be a lot of reward for the guys down the line.

Q. After last week's loss, are you happy with the team's response and the performance tonight?

BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, I think so. I don't know how many times we've had over 60 percent possession. But possession is one thing. If it's played in our half and is it sideways, backwards, and you have no threatening power out of it, but can you use now the possession if the opponent gives you to create -- to use it as a tool, to create chances, and I thought the game plan worked really well. I was proud of the boys for the adaptation of the game plan because we knew going into this game, Dallas had played a couple of times in a back three or a back five and the last couple of games in a 4-4-2, so we didn't really want to focus too much on them. We wanted to focus more on ourselves. I think by doing that, it gave us more clarity on what we wanted to do, and I saw a lot of good execution tonight.

Q. Five straight games of anything but a win. Do you think you are playing 0-0 soccer or are just getting unlucky?

BRADLEY CARNELL: No, it's a really good question, thank you. I think if you just look in that stats column, 27 shots, eight or nine or whatever it is on target, HG'S 2.5 or whatever it is, I don't think you just have to look at the results of a 0-0 to think that the team is playing negative.

You know, we are playing the game in the opponent's half. We are putting them under pressure. The opponent has to work really hard to keep it out of their net. So I thought it was like some games, you get the feeling where you play really well and the result doesn't go your way. I think this is one of those nights.

Q. Can you break down a little the game plan and when you're against that big of a team -- why you wouldn't let Klauss start --

BRADLEY CARNELL: Like I said, we are focusing on ourselves, right, and this wasn't sure -- Tafari or Gonzalez, so does that change the equation and does that change the game plan? No. But if you look at I think the last ten goals Dallas have conceded, I think seven of them have come from crosses.

You know, crossing was a big part of it. Getting into certain areas was a big part of it. I thought the boys executed that really well. You know, so we can talk about some of the quality of crosses, you know, when it's on the ground or whether it's cutbacks or back post, but as long as I see an adaptation or an interpretation of the game plan, and that was on the menu tonight.

Yeah, that's one of the reasons.

Q. Tomáš Ostrák had a good game out there. Was it a decision in the off-season to give him more time at the center mid spot or was that more early in the season when Löwen was still getting going in the Houston game?

BRADLEY CARNELL: I think we've seen over time that Tomáš Ostrák is a really talented soccer player. Obviously we knew in the off-season what was going to be happening with Edu and his green card absence and what have you.

But players have to earn their spots and earn their minutes, and Tomáš has been playing away in training and doing really well and committing to everything, whether it's been in the six, the eight or the ten, he's a really good counter presser first and foremost. When we lose it, he's the first won one to jump on the scene and to counter pressure, regain possession, and I think you saw that tonight.

We had been chatting in the off-season or during the start of that preseason where we can utilize him. So yeah, we want to create more minutes for Tomáš but Tomáš has to earn them, and so far he's doing that.

Q. You play really fast and direct and obviously Dallas challenged you guys to create something with the ball, and the team looked very, very patient in the buildup and not so direct, really moved the ball. Was that part of the messaging throughout the week? Was that something you really, really harped on to stay patient and wait for a result?

BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, I think you just have to see ask take what the game gives you, if there's no space to play vertical direct through the lines, then there's no space, so you have to come up with another plan. You know, we want to have a balance and a control to games.

I just don't want to be on a knife's edge every single time and I saw that control tonight which was really good, and then eventually Dallas started opening up and then it becomes a game that we are used to, right, so we have an ability to find an acceleration to the game.

I thought, yeah, Durkin -- Chris, was really brave to play through those lines. I think Ostrák was really brave to play through those lines, and I think AZ Jackson was brave to put himself between those lines and to progress the play.

I spoke about the east-to-west possession. Yeah, we have a stat for that. We don't like that and I don't think you saw too much of that but I saw a brave team trying to break a good defensive team down. Yeah, I'm happy with tonight's approximate of.

Q. What were you hoping to see from Rasmus?

BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, Rasmus just has an ability to put team under pressure with his energy, right. So I think Célio has a big upside on the 1v1 side. Rasmus can get you on a 1v1 but direct, pacing, getting behind. His reactions are really sharp and he can whoop in a really good ball. So Célio offers more the in isolation one versus ones can solve those problems alone, can be threatening to cutting side. But Rasmus has a good link-up plays and sees the next pass and has the ability to wreak havoc on a defense that's sitting deep.

Q. The substitution for Josh Yaro?

BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, I'm still waiting to see what is going on. So yeah, as we are getting guys back, meaning Josh as well, he had a hammy injury a couple weeks ago. We hope it's nothing reoccurring. We just have to see that and hear from the medical guys to what the status of that is. But we have full trust in Kyle Hiebert and thought he came on and did really well.

Q. Edu, the fourth game he's missed - the corner kicks are not as effective? Edu was great at corner kicks.

BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, I think in the last couple of games in, Indy gets an assist or Edu gets an assist or AZ gets an assist. I would say we have actually grown in that department and really happy with the sort of messaging from Alex, the goalkeeper coach and set piece coach.

But also, yeah, we want these guys to solve these puzzles and solve these problems. You look at the first one, AZ gets a nice flick on, falls at the back post for a tap in. Unfortunately we weren't there.

In terms of what we are trying to do, it's happening.

Q. You talk a lot about the attack today, a lot more passes in their half than your own. Is the finishing, is that last touch, is that the only thing the offense was missing tonight or was there another thing that you guys can do to unlock ask crack these teams when they sit back and allow you to go at them for the whole game?

BRADLEY CARNELL: Yeah, I mean, listen, we want to look at the value of the chances we get, right, the value of the 27 shots, and see, you know, which are the ones that got a way from us, which were the ones.

But I think we can go to the last ten minutes alone or Klauss on the crossbar, Klauss on the side foot, Sam against RSL a couple weeks ago, Sam cuts in and does the same thing with his left foot. I know this time he chooses to go to the outside of the boot but it's millimeters, and that's the balance of a soccer game. Sometimes you can control it. Sometimes you have more times. Sometimes, yeah, it just doesn't go your way, and I think tonight was one of those nights it just can't go our way.

Rasmus Alm

On the number of chances the offense created:

Yeah, of course it's frustrating, but I also see the other side of it that we create a lot of chances and that's a good sign. And yeah, I think if we score one this game, we might score more. Like some games are like that, before you score then everything opens up, but today unfortunately we couldn't get one in. But I think it's a positive sign that we created a lot of chances.

On how this performance can help the team moving forward:

I think this is a good step forward. I think if we compare, like, just the energy level from today, and last week, it was a big difference. And I think that's what makes us who we are. And yeah, we should continue building on this and then the wins will come.

On getting the start against FC Dallas:

I just tried to give my all to the team and try to help as much as I can. And I think my role in this team is to bring a lot of energy and get the guys going with me and that's what I felt like I did today.

Tomáš Ostrák

On tying FC Dallas:

I just want to win. So, I'm a little bit disappointed, but I think we have to be positive and take the good things and just keep building on that. And I'm pretty sure that we're going to continue like that. We will be rewarded. It's that, right? All right. So yeah, I'm very comfortable, and I believe in us. So, we are a good team. We are good players. So, I mean, just keep going and it's coming to us.

On what has been missing from the offense:

I think we have to be a little bit calm. And you know, like, just believe it's going to come and it's going to, you know, find the next pass and just be prepared and mentally focus for the next action. And yeah, I think this is the point.

On playing multiple positions tonight:

I'm, like, flexible player. So, for me it doesn't matter where I play, I just want to give my best and help my teammates and just show coach that I'm flexible. So, it's better for me that I'm flexible for the many positions and that I can be useful for the team at these two positions.

Roman Bürki

On getting a clean sheet although it is not a win but a tie:

After the last few weeks, yes, definitely feels good to have a clean sheet. But on the other side, we should have definitely won that game.

On what might need to change to start a winning streak:

We definitely have to get back to being a team that is hard to beat, in the last few weeks. We weren't that team today. We weren't a team. We were dominating the game one hundred percent. We had more from the game sometimes. We had a lot of phases where we put them under pressure. But to be a really good team we have to win games. We have to be crucial in front of the goal. And like I said we have to decide sometimes the games earlier because we have the chances to and if you don't do that the other team is still smelling a little bit of hope or having a little bit hope and tries to try so use that.

On making back-to-back saves minutes apart:

I think the first one was just a reflex, you know. I don't really think about it in these moments, and I just look at what happens and somehow the ball hits me. It's similar to the save I had against Galaxy. You know, it's like you just do it. You don't even know that you're going to do that, I just do it. On the other save luckily once I stopped watching the ball from the corner, I picked the right player that is going to hit the ball because sometimes you look where the ball could go and pick which player is ready to hit the ball and I just followed through the ball and in my action. So, it was definitely a little bit luck involved, but I'll take that.

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