For St. Louis CITY SC, new arrivals equal instant impact.
After spending the past two months searching for help for its ailing attack, CITY saw exactly how a new-look lineup could pay dividends for the club during the second half of this season—and beyond.
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With Cedric Teuchert and Marcel Hartel plugged in, CITY matches could become much more fun to follow. And make no mistake; that excitement isn’t limited to the stands of CITYPARK. Interim head coach John Hackworth also recognizes the jolt that Bundesliga veterans Teuchert and Hartel can provide St. Louis after the pair accounted for both goals in CITY’s 2-1 win over FC Dallas in Saturday’s Leagues Cup opener.
“I was excited,” Hackworth said. “The players and staff could tell that we were all excited.”
The contributions of Teuchert and Hartel were especially impressive Saturday night, given how recently the two joined the club. Although he’s been training with CITY for weeks, Saturday’s match was only Teuchert’s second with St. Louis. For Hartel, it was his first game—he only arrived in town a few days before making his debut. With the new guys in the mix—that includes fellow forward Simon Becher, who also received a start in his first game with the club—CITY’s attack felt dangerous in ways not seen since early last season.
Although it is evident that Teuchert is still building his sharpness, his crafty goal to answer Sam Junqua’s opener served as a reminder of the type of finish that CITY has been desperately missing in 2024. In addition to the goal, Teuchert finished the night by creating two chances and tallying six recoveries against Dallas’ build.
“For us players, every minute is important, every game is important,” Teuchert said. “It’s [all about] getting better every time you touch the pitch. It was a good result; an important performance.”
Hartel, along with his game-winning penalty in the 49th minute, created two chances to go along with six recoveries. He created space in the midfield while working between Edu Löwen and Jayden Reid, overcoming the understandable unfamiliarity that comes with joining a lineup mere days after arriving in a new country.
“That’s part of the excitement,” Hackworth said about the spacing in the midfield. “We knew that they were going to run into each other because they hadn’t been playing together enough.”
Hartel seems eager and ready to step into his role leading the CITY attack, convincing Löwen that he was the right man to take the penalty shortly after halftime.
“I’m grateful for Edu,” Hartel said. “I think it went very well. It was my first time with the guys. I had one week to prepare with the guys and to meet everybody, see how their playing style is, and I think this was a very good night.”
The Germans may have earned the headlines, but Becher’s work is also worth highlighting. Becher’s hold up play was especially valuable—another aspect of the CITY attack that has been missing through João Klauss’ injury. Becher, a former Saint Louis University standout, earned three fouls, completed two passes into the final third, and drew the penalty that saw CITY win just its third match since May.
Hackworth most likely isn’t married to his new-look formation. He’s a manager that lives for experimentation. But the fluidity that these new signings offer gives him the tools and flexibility to try new things as the club searches for more positive results this summer.
“From my standpoint, I love the mobility,” Hackworth said. “And that makes it really difficult for an opposition to kind of key on one way to defend you.”
St. Louis hosts FC Juárez this Sunday, and the club could take the field for that match with its ticket to the tournament’s round of 32 already punched if Juárez can upset Dallas tonight. If not, CITY SC can be guaranteed the top spot in the group—and a home game in the knockout stage—with a result this weekend.
