CITY vs AVFC: The Takeaways and What to Look Forward to.   

                   by Henry Chappell

A Wednesday night friendly was a change of pace for a CITY squad that has lost five of its last six MLS matches. The first-ever English Premier League team to visit Energizer Park, with no wins in its previous three pre-season matches. It was also the first appearance for a new CITY signing and the first of multiple appearances for recently added players to the CITY squad. 

The same team that took the field against Minnesota on Saturday, and in my opinion, the best available starting 11 that CITY could have fielded against a strong opposition, that is, Aston Villa. The jolting start CITY had in its match against Minnesota was reversed on them by this visiting side. A couple of giveaways in the midfield saw two early shots, one from Donyell Malen and another from John McGinn. Both went straight into the hands of Roman Burki. Villa certainly lived up to being a possession-friendly side early on, and their infuriating defensive presence led to an early mistake by CITY and an opening goal, more on that later. 

Villa's goal was a difference in class more than anything else, a perfectly weighted cross by Matty Cash, dropping over the heads of two jumping CITY defenders and finding the head of Oli Watkins for Villa's second goal in '56. 

This match sure didn't matter in the MLS standings, but that doesn't mean there weren't takeaways to be had from this one. Unlimited substitutes, a first-time matchup, and some signs of the same and or different things to come for the rest of the season for CITY. Let's get into Villa's 1-0 victory in the Lou.  

The starts continued for the recently debuted players. 

This matchup saw St Louis CITY SC send out three different players, all of whom are recent acquisitions in the transfer window. Let's discuss how each of them played in this friendly. Sangbin Jeong had more of a quiet evening in midfield, due to the standout performances of his positional counterparts. Padelford made several nice dribbles up the left-hand side during the match, one of which drew a foul leading to a yellow card for Villa's captain, John McGinn. Padelford was also on the end of another rough tackle by Pau Torres in the midfield. 

Not once did he look intimidated by the opposition or overwhelmed by the occasion of the match. Continuing to make a solid first impression in the starting lineup could well lead to him being a more consistent presence in it; only time and more performances will tell. Fallou Fall's second-half appearance saw him partnered with Thomas Totland, Jake Girwood-Reich, and Kyle Heibert in the backline. A brief moment of solid ball progression to Teuchert for a possible second goal showed a brief flash of what Fall is capable of creatively. He is playing with a wrap on his right arm. Critchley gave a post-match reasoning. 

"I don't know the extent of it, but it's a small crack in the bone," Critchley said. "He's got another three weeks. Injury was caused weeks ago."

Eduard Löwen continues to be a creative force in the midfield. 

Since his return from injury, I'm consistently reminded how different CITY looks when Lowen isn't there. The consistent pinging of balls into the final attacking third, which helped set up Celio Pompeu's shot inside the box in the first half, reinforces the impact that No. 10 brings to Critchley's 11. 

The left side build-up, or lack thereof, cost CITY its opening goal

A sloppy turnover in the midfield, due to Villa's press and CITY's inability to navigate out of its midfield triangle, led to free space for Morgan Rogers in front of Roman Burki and Villa's opening goal. Padelford being too high up the field for an available outlet and Hartel, Lowen, and Ostrak being unable to transition into the attacking third on this go-around gave Villa an ideal start in '14. 

The bounce back that CITY repeatedly showed after conceding does matter. 

Austin FC only had 2 shots and zero shots on goal. The CITY attack seemed to gain more momentum in the first 25-30 minutes, and a late low right-footed shot from Thomas Ostrak troubled Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez on his near post, but didn't beat him, leading to the final corner of the half for CITY. A slightly more favorable ricochet, and the match is level heading into the break. The same trend is true after Villa's second goal. 

Three minutes later, CITY's Cedric Teuchert caught Villa napping and, after helping force a turnover, calmly slotted home a right-footed finish into the bottom right corner. Maybe the shot wouldn't have beaten Martinez if he were in the game, maybe it would have. Regardless, the temperament of the CITY side continued to improve after Villa's second goal in the second half and I asked Critchley about this afterwards.  

"That's something we spoke about a lot lately," Critchley said. How we react after we concede a goal...the response from Cedi & the team tonight was great…you have to be brave to put that kind of pressure on an EPL team."

Scattershot Takeaways

• It was a cool sight to see a Premier League team in action, knowing that the CITY franchise just came to fruition a couple of years prior. This would have been a bleak thought more than five years ago when Saint Louis just got the occasional club or international match at Busch Stadium.
• The on-air interview with Diego Gigliani simply reinforces what has been said to CITY fans by the leadership before. "Another season where we are way below our expectations. Our fans deserve better. Our ownership group deserves better."
• Critchley was nervous about a response after the Minnesota match: His team gave him one. "They actually took this game with a great attitude. Anytime these guys get to play at home at Energizer Park, they get excited for that moment."

Photos courtesy of St Louis City SC.