SAN JOSE - After hitting a bit of a rough patch in June, St. Louis City fell from the top spot in Western Conference of MLS. They traveled to San Jose to face the Earthquakes Saturday night, a team that hasn’t lost a game at home all season.
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On Saturday, City handed San Jose their first home loss since September of 2022. City, clad in their road “Arch Steel” gray kits, silenced some doubters and won 2-1 with a heavily rotated team.
And by “heavily rotated”, I mean they even called up USL Championship club San Antonio FC to recall loaned striker Sam Adeniran before Saturday’s match. Adeniran met up with the team in San Jose, and wasn’t able to practice with the team at all during the week.
When asked what it took to get Sam to San Jose before Saturday’s match, Bradley Carnell smiled and chuckled. “It took a phone call, I’m glad he answered.”
“(Adeniran)’s had a hot run of form in the USL,” said Carnell. “(When Adeniran was loaned) Sam was looking for minutes, and we weren’t able to get him minutes. Shout out to San Antonio, they kept him going and he got rewarded.”
Adeniran was one of three City players making their first-ever starts for the club, along with Aziel Jackson and Josh Yaro.
With the lineup changes, it was a different City team from the outset. Most players who’ve logged a lot of minutes over the past week were rested, guys like Niko Gioacchini, Indiana Vassilev, and Tomas Ostrak who’ve all played a role in filling in for City’s injured stars.
A refreshed City team looked exactly that to start the game: refreshed, rejuvenated, a new lease on life compared to the rather sluggish team that played at CITY PARK on Wednesday in a 3-1 loss to Real Salt Lake.
Notably, Aziel Jackson’s pace and impetus, his desire to move forward and attack the San Jose defense, made him a threat for the entirety of his time on the pitch at Paypal Park.
“AZ (Jackson) is an amazing player,” said fellow first-time City starter Sam Adeniran Saturday night. “He’s just so quick on the ball, he brings something to this team that not many have, a flair and speed. He’s a great player.”
Right on the ten minute mark, Jackson fired a shot on goal after Sam Adeniran passed it to him with space on the top of the box. Jackson’s shot was parried by Brazilian San Jose keeper Daniel, right into the path of Rasmus Alm, who smoked a shot right into Daniel’s outstretched body.
It was a chance Alm will tell you he should have scored. Luckily for Alm on this occasion, he was offside, so his miss technically doesn’t exist. That was the first City chance of the match, but already it was apparent that the different lineup was working.
In the 41st minute, City found the opening goal from a corner. Rasmus Alm’s corner kick was set up on a plate for Sam Adeniran, who didn’t even have to run to it, he just had to jump up and turn his head to beat the San Jose keeper at the near post to his left.
Adeniran, who was in San Antonio Friday, likely planning to take part in San Antonio FC’s USL Championship game against Sacramento Republic, now had his first-ever MLS goal in his first-ever MLS start. Good thing he answered that phone call.
“I got the call after training in San Antonio,” said Adeniran. “My agent called me, and after that Lutz (Pfannenstiel, City Sporting Director) and Bradley (Carnell) gave me a call. From there, it was pretty much packing my bags as quick as I could to hop on a flight Friday morning.”
With the 41st minute opener, City went into halftime with a 1-0 lead. Less than three minutes into the second half, the hosts equalized. A City turnover in defense caught the backline in transition, and San Jose’s Jackson Yueill slid a pass through to Monteiro who beat City captain Roman Bürki to his right.
It felt all too familiar for City. The good will they had earned through hard work and a good goal in the first half had evaporated right at the start of the second half, for a second consecutive game.
Instead of letting that malaise get the best of them, City stayed positive. A big Bürki save on a San Jose free kick in the 53rd minute might have been the motivation City needed to push and take the lead back.
Two minutes later, Rasmus Alm chipped a pass behind the San Jose defense for Aziel Jackson to run onto. Jackson didn’t meet the pass, but in the process he was bowled over by Quakes defender Jonathan Mensah.
Originally given as just a foul on the edge of the box, the VAR (video assistant referee) buzzed down to the on-field referee Marcos de Oliveira, and a penalty was awarded to St. Louis City.
Up stepped Sam Adeniran, who sent Daniel the wrong way. City’s striker had two goals, and he hadn’t even practiced with the team last week.
“Whenever I take penalties, I just focus on myself and focus on my breathing,” said Sam Adeniran. “Penalties are hard to take, especially in difficult situations, but I’m glad that I was able to score and help the team win.”
After Adeniran’s second goal on the penalty, San Jose threw everything but the kitchen sink at the City defense, and every player clad in City Arch Steel gray had to be sharp for the final 30 minutes.
San Jose’s best chance to equalize came on a rebound from a stoppage time free kick, and not for the first time this season, Roman Bürki came up clutch with a huge save to preserve a win for City. There were nine minutes of stoppage time, and City survived a late onslaught to take all three points on the road.
“(Nine) added minutes was tough, but we were able to manage it,” said Aziel Jackson following the win. “Bürki just came up so big, Isak (Jensen), Célio (Pompeu) was great, Indy Vassilev, the subs that came on were extraordinary. Everyone did their part today.”
“Credit to the boys, a real professional performance,” said head coach Bradley Carnell after the victory. “I’ve been waiting for a moment like this, we always speak about internal competition and growth as a club. A moment like this, it’s three points but it’s about more than three points.”
“This is about guys who finally get their reward, for all the months of being second-string and just being a supportive, great teammate. I’m just a happy, proud coach sitting here today.”
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