In the moments after St. Louis CITY SC ended Saturday night’s game with its league-leading ninth draw of the season, goalkeeper Roman Bürki made his feelings clear.
“It’s annoying, to be honest,” Bürki after CITY’s 0-0 result against the Portland Timbers at CITYPARK. This past weekend produced another match where CITY played like the better team and had the better chances, yet failed to pick up the full three points. Not only was it the club’s latest tie in a season full of them, it was CITY’s third scoreless draw through 16 games.
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After CITY shut down the Portland attack, especially as the second half progressed, Bürki was left feeling as though his fifth clean sheet of the season was a wasted opportunity for a club hungry for points.
“We are just not cool enough in front of the goal,” Bürki said. “I talked before the game to the guys, and I said, ‘Guys, we had a good performance [last week]. Let’s keep going that way. I think we played good, but again, in front of the goal, it’s just not enough. We could also lose this game. They had three chances in the first half. And if we are unlucky, we lose this game.”
CITY, though, was unlucky not to win the game. João Klauss scored for St. Louis in the first half, but the goal was pulled back. Eduard Löwen hit the post on a free kick later in the second half, which led to Tim Parker collecting the rebound in a dangerous spot. Parker’s shot, however, caromed off the back of a Portland defender.
Once again, CITY couldn’t get it done in front of the goal. On the other end of the field, the club’s captain watched another frustrating night unfold.
“Up front, we just need a little bit of help with a goal,” Bürki said. “If you score a goal, it also helps defensively. It takes a lot of pressure off of you.”
Help is on the way. The recently-signed Cedric Teuchert will be available for selection come League Cup tournament time next month, and his arrival can’t come soon enough for a team that has struggled mightily to find the goal this season. Until then, St. Louis head coach Bradley Carnell wants to see more patience out of his attack.
“I just want guys to see a clear picture,” Carnell said. “When we win the ball as we did a few times in the first half, up high, they tried to play through. We jumped on them. And then can we connect that first one? Can we play out of the pressure? Can we advance the ball? Can we create overloads off the ball? Can we make runs in behind? We just couldn’t capitalize.”
There is no question that there is work to do, St. Louis now finds itself in 11th place in the Western Conference standings, three points off of the final playoff spot.
On the bright side, Carnell’s squad has found ways not to lose this season. Yet, for a club with clear postseason aspirations, those draws must turn into wins soon. In the captain’s eyes, the path forward calls for team-wide reflection and a dedication to finding ways to be better—particularly at CITYPARK.
“I talked to the guys and said, ‘…Look at what you can do better, where we can improve because only we can come out of this situation,’” Bürki said. “I don’t know if others have a different opinion, but I’m not happy in the situation we are in.”
