Some Major League Soccer teams went out and spent a lot of money in the summer transfer window, bringing in big names or paying big transfer fees. ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC acquired an attacking midfielder from Iceland who was playing in the Belgian second division and a defender who was a backup on one of the worst teams in the league.
On Wednesday, those two saved City SC from what could have been a most ignominious result.
Anthony Markanich, who was riding the bench in Colorado, and Nokkvi Thorisson, the pride of Dalvik, Iceland, population about 1,400, scored three minutes apart in the final 10 minutes of the game as City SC turned what could have been a painful tie into a joyful win.
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City SC played with a man advantage for most of the game after goalkeeper got a red card in the 12th minute. It took 70 minutes of playing time before City SC was able to take advantage of playing with an extra man and turning it into goals in a 2-1 win over FC Dallas.
“I think it would have been a disaster,†City SC midfielder Njabulo Blom said, “because I think with them one man down first half, I think we should have played a bit more with urgency, but we were a bit sluggish with our buildup. I think if we drew the game, it would have been a disaster.â€
Instead, it was another win for City SC, its 15th overall, which puts it one win away from tying the league record for wins by an expansion team after the shootout era. With 47 points, City SC is tied for the fourth most points by an expansion team.
It has a seven-point lead on second place , which has played one less game, and , which has played one more game; and a nine-point edge on fourth place Houston Dynamo FC. And while City SC won’t be clinching a playoff spot any time soon because there are so many games to go in the season, 47 points is a number that in pretty much every year would put the team in a playoff spot.
And, reflecting the depth and range of this team, where anyone could be a hero on any night, the team’s two newest players made it happen because, for 82 minutes, 70 of them played with one man more than FC Dallas, City SC could not score and seemed headed to a 0-0 tie.
“You have to believe, though,†City SC coach Bradley Carnell said. “You have to believe. And sometimes, you have to earn and will yourself to the win. You have to create a bit of chaos. You have to create a bit of havoc. You have to be brave to play balls in the box and you have to do a couple of things that ... usually, you think, you’ve got the extra man; you should play more safe and really be strategic and methodical about how you are going to break them down. Sometimes you just have to throw the kitchen sink at them and bend the opponent, and force mistakes and force dangerous crosses and force these types of things. We changed systems, we put just about every attacking player we had on the field.â€
The first changes, at halftime, were Markanich, who went in for Kyle Hiebert, and Thorisson, who went in for Samuel Adeniran. It was Thorisson’s third game for the team, Markanich’s second.
“It’s good for integration of the team,†Carnell said. “We had an approach at the beginning of the season to recruit really humble, modest professional human beings. So obviously, the human beings and the soccer players we recruited have certain skill sets. So that we see certain skill sets so early on with Nokkvi and Anthony, it’s a credit to everyone in the club, making these players feel welcome, because they have a certain skill set that we need, and it’s not always easy to just hit the ground running.â€
After Paes got a red card for a handball outside the box in the 12th minute after City SC’s Rasmus Alm took advantage of a miscommunication between Paes and defender , which led to Paes sliding in to knock the ball away from Alm but having it hit his left hand in the process, Dallas then packed in its defense, hoping to get a point with a 0-0 tie, and City SC couldn’t figure out a way through.
Not until the 82nd minute when Alm, the most dangerous player on the field, played a ball into the box that went just over the head of Klauss, who had come into the game to raucous applause in the 72nd minute and found the knee of Markanich, bouncing into the net at the near post. It was the first MLS goal for Markanich in 15 MLS games, and after some prolonged screaming, he finally fell to his knees near the corner flag and dropped his forehead to the grass.
“To be honest, I didn’t know really what to do after I scored,†he said. “I was just full of happiness. So I mean, for me, it was just for my family. I know they’re happy right now.â€
But they weren’t on hand. While his parents had come down from Bourbonnais, Illinois, to see his first game with the team, he didn’t play in that game. This time, in the middle of the work week, they couldn’t get down to ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Three minutes later, Eduard Lowen played a ball into the box that Klauss let bounce over his leg and went to Thorisson at the far post, and Thorisson easily tapped it in. Unlike Markanich, Thorisson has scored goals before, and there was an exuberant joy to his leaping celebration as he also got his first MLS goal.
“That was an amazing feeling,†said Thorisson, who said he told Klauss he was behind him and praised the Brazilian forward for letting the ball go past him. “The fans are incredible and electric, like always. So, it was just a really good feeling to score and contribute to the win.â€
The goal mattered because Roman Burki bobbled a shot on goal in the 95th minute, and of Dallas knocked in the loose ball, costing Burki the shutout. The referee blew the whistle immediately after the ensuing kickoff.
“These three points meant so much to us tonight for the bigger picture,†Carnell said. “We have three more home games left, and we know every home game is vital for us in terms of our quest for glory or quest for playoffs or quest for home berth in the playoffs. So we’ll just keep on doing what we’re doing.â€