10/23 - US Open Cup Final Review

Game Review

St. Louis City SC defeated Columbus Crew in penalty kicks in the US Open Cup final on Wednesday, winning their first trophy in club history. After 120 minutes in which both sides were held scoreless, St. Louis ultimately prevailed in penalty kicks, winning 5-3. In a game featuring two sides that have played beautiful soccer over the past few months, it was actually their pressing abilities that stole the show. Throughout the game, both midfields were able to disrupt the flow of the game by forcing turnovers and committing fouls. However, in the first 45 minutes, Columbus looked the better side. The Crew were able to pin back St. Louis into their own half and made it impossible for them to build out. While both sides were about equal in terms of possession numbers, it was where they had the ball that was important. St. Louis were mainly playing the ball around across their backline, as they were unable to connect the lines and build into the final third. On the flip side, Columbus were able to control the ball in St. Louis' half for much of the first stanza. This culminated in a few decent opportunities, including one deflected shot that Bürki expertly saved off the post. But for the most part, St. Louis defended extremely well. This started with their midfield, who were relentless all game long. Even if you were able to beat one of them, the other defensive midfielder was always there to cover for their partner. Edelman and Durkin's partnership has been special all season long, and they needed to be superb in the biggest game of their season. St. Louis' backline was also sensational in defending their own box: they had numerous key blocks and defended very well in 1v1 situations. However, the most impressive part of St. Louis' defense was their team shape. Columbus play a very flowing style of soccer that leaves room for their attackers to float around the field and pick up dangerous spaces. St. Louis did tremendously well to defend this threat. The center backs stepped out of the backline when they needed to, the midfielders worked tirelessly to cover the half spaces and recover for each other, and the attackers even had moments where they were defending their own box. Columbus were ultimately unable to take advantage of their field tilt in the first half, and this would eventually cost them.

In the second half, St. Louis grew into the game. They were able to sustain their intensity and got on the ball in better spaces. This helped them gain more confidence as the game went on, instead of having to defend wave after wave of Columbus attack. The biggest moment of regulation came in the 69th minute. Santiago Rodríguez drove into the box before going down following a challenge from Carlo Holse. The ball then bounced to Anass Zaroury, who was in on a 1v1 with Bürki. The City captain made a heroic save before sustaining a head injury from a collision with Zaroury. This felt like Columbus' biggest chance to put themselves ahead on their home soil, but VAR did not determine that there was a foul on Holse and Bürki stood strong when his team needed him the most. St. Louis then substituted in eventual hero Benjamin Lundt and Damion Downs. Downs made an impact when he came off the bench, providing more pressure on the opposing backline and helping St. Louis advance up the field. The rest of the game continued to be a chippy affair without very many true goal scoring opportunities. Extra time proved to be cagey and many of the players appeared to have tired legs. Even when Columbus attackers, namely Brais Méndez, got in good positions, they weren't able to capitalize. This brought us to penalty kicks. Lundt made a save on Rodríguez's penalty kick, the first for the Crew, which was a blow that Columbus were never able to come back from. All 5 of St. Louis' penalty kick takers dispatched their spot kicks brilliantly, ending with Edelman's coolly taken penalty kick down the middle of the net to secure St. Louis City SC their first ever trophy.