ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC interim coach John Hackworth speaks to the media after the team's win over the Portland Timbers on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. Video by Beth O'Malley
In one game Friday night, ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC took two big steps forward. One step advanced them in the Leagues Cup, the other they hope is progress toward a renewed team when MLS play resumes.
By beating the Portland Timbers 3-1 before a small crowd at CityPark, City SC moved on to the round of 16 of the Leagues Cup, two steps farther than the team went last season when it didn’t get out of the first round.
The other step was how the team looked. It was one of the best games the team has played in a long time: three goals, one for each of its three new attackers; the opportunity for several more goals; a solid game in goal from goalkeeper Roman Burki, who made seven saves.
“Yeah, there’s a lot (to like),†interim coach John Hackworth said.
Even City SC’s biggest mistake — giving up a goal just three minutes after taking the lead — turned out OK as the team kept on the attack and got its lead back.
“I think every day, every week, we play better and better,†said forward Cedric Teuchert, who scored City SC’s first goal. “Also in the training, it feels better and better every day. So I think today was a huge performance from the team, from the staff, it feels very good.â€
Of course, the success comes with a dash of reality. City SC’s next opponent will be Mexican powerhouse Club America on Tuesday in Carson, California. The 15-time Mexican champions advanced with a 2-1 win over another Mexican club, Atlas. A year ago, when City SC and Club America met in the first round of the Leagues Cup, America won 4-0. City SC may be improving, but that’s an awfully big task ahead of it.
Should City SC beat Club America, it would be back home for its next match, against either Colorado or Toluca, on Friday or Saturday.
City SC is unbeaten in four games, with two wins and two ties, and has won two out of three games for the first time this season. That may not sound like much, but City SC has won as many games in the past two weeks as it had in the preceding two months, so times are changing.
“For us to play with the rhythm that we had at times,†Hackworth said, “and then dealt with them attacking and being dangerous and not giving up many big chances, that was a key. The goal we gave up, I don’t you know, it’s just unlucky. … I’m not going to hold the guys accountable for that one, for sure, but then to keep grinding and to find a way to get the second goal and then the third one right after that was really good. I think a growth moment is that we need to close out the game a little better, but it’s a really good performance overall, and something that I think the whole group knew they were capable of and kind of believed in going into this game.â€
Of course, none of this means anything, at least directly, in the Western Conference standings, where City SC remains 10 points out of the final playoff spot with nine games to play. But the team is playing with its eyes on both the Leagues Cup and late August, when MLS play resumes.
“I think our confidence in the last days, weeks, it’s getting better and better,†Teuchert said. “So, it was a lot of fun today.â€
“We weren’t on the best run before,†said Jake Girdwood-Reich, who came on for an injured Kyle Hiebert in the 64th minute at center back, “but I think we’ve got a couple of good games under our belt now. We’ve also got to the last 16, so I think there’s a lot of confidence building in the squad. By the time the league comes back around we should be ready.â€
Making the situation look even brighter is that sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel went into the summer transfer window looking to help his offense and, in the past three games, each of the players he brought in to do that has scored two goals. Teuchert put the team ahead 1-0, Marcel Hartel made it 2-1 and Simon Becher sealed it with a goal that made it 3-1. And there were opportunities for each of them to have more. Meanwhile, midfielder Eduard Lowen had two assists, his first multi-assist game of the season. He has assists on three of City SC’s past four goals, as City SC’s premier playmaker has more players who can finish off what he creates. “When he cooks the way he cooked tonight,†Hackworth said, “it’s pretty fun to watch.â€
Hackworth has praised the talent of his new assets, while using caution to avoid putting too much pressure on them as saviors of the team. But that may soon cease to be an option considering the way they’ve started.
‘In the end, it’s why we are all here,†said Hartel, playing his first game in ºüÀêÊÓƵ in front of his wife and infant daughter, who arrived from Germany nine days ago. “We are coming to help the team go back to the success and the last three games, I’ve felt like it’s a good beginning for the new players and also for the guys who are here longer. We have to continue in the future.â€
The scoring started with a steal by Hartel, a blocked shot and a rebound that came to Teuchert, who controlled it and blasted it in from about six yards out. That was in the 51st minute, and three minutes later, Portland tied it on a very good goal by defender Claudio Bravo, shooting from outside the box. It was eerily similar to the way Juarez had tied the game Sunday four minutes after City SC had taken the lead.
But while that game ended in a tie, City SC kept going in this one. In the 82nd minute, Hartel tied it. A steal by Jayden Reid had led to a chance and a corner kick. Hartel took the corner kick and played it short to Lowen, and after a back and forth with Tomas Totland, he found Hartel unmarked and he scored from very close to the spot Teuchert scored from. Four minutes later, Lowen dribbled into the box and put a ball a little ahead of Becher that he was able to stick out his foot on and poke in.
“We’re playing some good soccer,†Hackworth said. “We’re defending better, I like our in-game adjustments that the players are making and the staff is making. We’re making progress.â€