“It’s about more than three points. It’s about guys who finally get their reward. All the months of being second string and just being supportive, great teammates, and now they can go and put it on display,” Carnell said. “I’m just a happy and proud coach.”
A String of Firsts
Carnell benched consistent starters such as striker Nicholas Gioacchini, right-back Jake Nerwinski, midfielder Indiana Vassilev and center-back Lucas Bartlett. Carnell opted to reward striker Samuel Adeniran, midfielder Aziel Jackson and center-back Josh Yaro with their first starts for City in MLS. Right-back Akil Watts replaced Nerwinski.
“It was a great time to come up with a change like this with an away game against a really hard opponent,” Carnell said.
Adeniran failed to score in four appearances for City earlier in the season. City decided to loan Adeniran to San Antonio FC for more playing time on April 25.
Adeniran scored four goals in eight matches with San Antonio. City’s recent injury struggles along with Adeniran’s excellent form prompted the team to recall Adeniran. “When I got the call, I was pretty happy to come back and help the team,” Adeniran said. “It was pretty much just packing my bags as quick as I can and then hopped on a flight on Friday morning.”
Adeniran’s redemption came in the 41st minute. Rasmus Alm delivered a pinpoint cross to Adeniran off a corner kick. Adeniran’s header left San Jose’s goalkeeper Daniel Brito motionless as City headed into halftime with a 1-0 lead. “When it comes to those set-pieces, Rasmus is great at them. He knows exactly where to put the ball, so credit to him,” Adeniran said.
But City’s nervy start to the second half was reminiscent of last week’s match against Real Salt Lake. Jared Stroud intercepted a San Jose pass in City’s defensive third. The 18-year-old Miguel Perez motioned for Stroud to pass him the ball in the middle of the pitch.
San Jose’s Jack Skahan predicted the pass and immediately pressed Perez. Perez checked his shoulder and saw Skahan’s incoming pressure. Perez attempted to shield the ball in order to complete a turn with it.
But Skahan tackled Perez, and the loose ball rolled to San Jose’s Jackson Yueill. City’s Tim Parker found himself outnumbered as San Jose’s Jeremy Ebobisse and Jamiro Monteiro charged forward. Yueill passed the ball to Monteiro who scored the equalizer in the 47th minute.
City displayed its ability to quickly turn defense into offense in the 55th minute. Aziel Jackson intercepted the ball from San Jose’s Carlos Gruezo near the half-way line and it rolled to Njabulo Blom. Blom passed the ball to Jackson who passed it out wide to Akil Watts.
Jackson continued his run through the heart of San Jose’s defense as Watts passed the ball to Rasmus Alm. Alm proceeded to chip the ball toward Jackson as he ran toward the corner flag. San Jose’s Jonathan Mensah chased down Jackson and inexplicably shouldered Jackson in the back.
Mensah’s rash decision prompted referee Marcos de Oliveira to initially award City a free-kick outside the penalty area. But de Oliveira reviewed the foul after Video Assistant Referee José Carlos Rivero suggested the contact occurred in the penalty area.
De Oliveira proceeded to award City a penalty after further review. Adeniran stepped up and scored to give City a 2-1 lead in the 58th minute. “Penalties are hard to take in difficult situations, but I'm glad that I was able to score and help the team win,” Adeniran said.
Adeniran deservedly received the Man of the Match award, but goalkeeper Roman Bürki’s performance ensured City would leave San Jose with three points. Bürki recorded eight saves on the night, with three coming after the 89th minute. “Bürki just came up so big,” Jackson said.
Players Proving Themselves
City’s victory makes it the first team in the Western Conference to reach 10 wins this season. City is tied for first place with Los Angeles FC.
City returns to CityPARK to face the underperforming Colorado Rapids on July 1. Colorado sits at the bottom of the Western Conference with a 2-9-8 record. City drew 1-1 with Colorado on April 22 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. João Klauss injured his quad during the match and is yet to return.
Players like Adeniran, Jackson, Watts and Yaro are now in contention for a second consecutive start after a stellar performance against San Jose.
With Klauss and Eduard Löwen out for several weeks, rotation players have an opportunity to prove a point to Carnell. “Making my life a misery is a good thing,” Carnell said. “I want a lot of internal competition. And I believe that's the next step for us as a group to take it forward, to be really successful.”
This story was produced in partnership with the River City Journalism Fund.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
