ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC's Aziel Jackson might be on the move; Celio Pompeu out for season
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Celio Pompeu has played his last match this season for ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC because of an injury he suffered in Saturday’s 2-0 loss at FC Dallas, and Aziel Jackson appears to be leaving City SC altogether.
Multiple sources are reporting Jackson, a 22-year-old midfielder, is being sold to the Columbus Crew. City SC coach Bradley Carnell would not confirm the reports about Jackson’s status Monday afternoon.
“There’s a lot of chatter online about a lot of things,†Carnell said. “We’ll just have to move along and see how things go.â€
Jackson, a native of New York, showed plenty of potential with one goal and four assists last season.
He started the team’s first seven Major League Soccer matches this season but has only started once since for City SC (3-5-9, 18 points). He has yet to hit the scoresheet in 2024.
Known for his speed, Jackson came on in the 77th minute of a 2-0 loss Saturday at FC Dallas. He played 20 minutes in a 0-0 tie with Portland on June 8.
Jackson scored his lone goal in a win over Toronto on July 8, 2023.
“No official news as of yet,†Carnell said.
City SC is reported to be receiving $650,000 in guaranteed general allocation money in return for Jackson.
Pompeu’s absence looked imminent when he was injured Saturday night in Texas, and it was confirmed Monday by the team that the 24-year-old midfielder suffered a fibula fracture and ankle dislocation.
He underwent successful surgery over the weekend at a hospital in the Dallas area and was reported by the team Monday to be facing a rehabilitation of at least nine months.
Pompeu has three goals and three assists this season.
City SC midfielder Eduard Lowen on Saturday called Pompeu’s injury, “the darkest part of the game.â€
Carnell and his players are eager to have the popular Pompeu return to ºüÀêÊÓƵ, even if he can’t get on the field.
“He always brings a smile to us in our environment,†Carnell said. “And now it’s time for payback and give him the smiles and the energy he needs right now.â€
A native of Fortaleza, Brazil, Pompeu started 15 of City’s 17 MLS matches this year.
Pompeu’s injury seemed slow the early momentum City SC had built in Saturday’s loss, which pushed City SC’s winless streak to six games.
“It’s a tough moment,†Carnell said. “We’ll help him get through this.â€
ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC suffers 2nd consecutive shutout. 'Didn't use the chances we had.'
Bradley Carnell did not have to look at the replay Saturday night.
The City SC coach was well aware the injury to talented midfielder Celio Pompeu was serious.
Pompeu went down in a hard collision with FC Dallas defender Nkosi Tafari in the 13th minute of the teams’ match at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
“We have a game where it gets kind of sidetracked with Celio’s horrific injury,†Carnell said. “Not sure of the exact details. It didn’t look good at the first visual.â€
Pompeu did not return to ºüÀêÊÓƵ with the team and remained in a Dallas-area hospital overnight.
City SC got off to a solid start, but the match went south soon after the eight-minute delay as Pompeu was stretchered off the field with what looked like a bad leg injury.
FC Dallas used a penalty-kick goal by Jesus Ferreira in the 28th minute to go in front on the way to a 2-0 win. It was the third goal of the season for Ferreira, who played on the U.S. World Cup team in 2022.
City SC (3-5-9) is winless in its past six matches, the longest skid in the short history of the franchise. Its last win was a 3-1 triumph over Chicago on May 11.
FC Dallas (4-8-5) snapped a five-match MLS winless streak in its first game under interim coach Peter Luccin. Nico Estevez was fired on Monday, June 10, after leading FC Dallas since the start of the 2022 season.
Pompeu, who had three goals over his first 16 matches, helped City SC get off to a solid start. Then things started to go downhill after he left the pitch.
“Seeing Celio’s injury was the darkest part of the game,†City SC forward Eduard Lowen said. “It looked so bad.â€
Pompeu was not the only City SC starter to do down. Joakim Nilsson left in the 36th minute because of an apparent hamstring injury. Nilsson was replaced by Josh Yaro on the back line.
Despite the bad luck on the injury front, City SC outplayed FC Dallas for long stretches. It outshot the hosts 22-10 and fired eight shots on goal at FC Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes, who recorded his fourth shutout of the season.
For the second consecutive match and fifth time in 11 games, City SC was shut out. It tied 0-0 in its last contest June 8 against Portland despite 15 shots in that match.
“The team still did a good job,†Lowen said. “It’s frustrating that we fly out of Dallas without any points.â€
Ferreira blasted his penalty kick to the right of goalkeeper Roman Burki, who guessed wrong and dived to his left.
Nilsson was whistled for a foul on Paul Arriola in the box to necessitate the PK.
“At the end the day, we lost the game because we didn’t use the chances we had,†Lowen said.
That has become a familiar theme for City SC. It has recorded 37 shots, 12 on goal, over the past two matches without a tally.
“The thing is we have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves,†Carnell said. “We have to be critical in our evaluation. We have to share when it’s not good enough.â€
Tafari put the match away for FC Dallas by scoring on a header off a corner kick from Sebastian Lletget in the 81st minute.
City SC came out strong in the opening minutes of the contest, dictating pace and possession until the Pompeu injury.
Still, City SC regained its offensive form late in the opening half and created numerous chances in the second half as well. Lowen had six shots, and Klauss added five.
City SC’s best chance may have come late in the first half when Akil Watts put a perfect cross on the head of Nokkvi Thorisson, who replaced Pompeu. Paes made a save on the blast.
“We dominated in a lot of areas,†Carnell said. “The more problems that come your way, you either have a belief system or you drift away. It’s our job to make sure that we’re all connected and we share a common belief.â€
At the midway point of its season, City SC has 18 points and sits 11th, three points out of playoff position in the Western Conference. The top nine teams in each conference advance to the postseason.
City SC will try and right the ship with a couple of home matches this week. It faces Colorado (7-7-4, 25 points) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Atlanta (4-8-5, 17 points) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
City SC defender Tim Parker picked up a yellow card in the 35th minute and will miss the next match because of yellow card accumulation.
Oh, Canada
City SC defender Kyle Hiebert was not available after he was selected to play for Canada in the Copa America tournament, which begins next week. He was on Canada’s roster for a pair of friendlies and played a few minutes late to help Canada close a 0-0 tie last week at France.
The Winnipeg, Ontario, native learned early Saturday he made his country’s final 26-player roster. He was one of 13 MLS players called up to the Canadian squad by new coach Jesse Marsch.
Hiebert has started six matches for City SC this season. He will miss at least four SC matches, maybe more depending on how long Canada remains in the tournament.
Canada will play Argentina in the tournament opener at 7 p.m. Thursday in Atlanta.
Copa America matches will take place in 14 stadiums in 13 cities across the United States. It will conclude July 14 with the final in Miami.
Moving on up
City SC has signed midfielder John Klein on a short-term loan agreement from its City2 squad. He came into Saturday’s contest in the 77th minute.
Klein, who played at ºüÀêÊÓƵ University from 2018 to 2022, has four goals and two assists in 12 matches for City2, which plays in the MLS Next Pro loop.
“When I came on, I just wanted to create something,†said Klein, who graduated from Rock Bridge High in Columbia, Missouri. “But when the result goes this way, it’s a little disappointing.â€
Bradley Carnell on the team's resilience and referee decisions
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ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC winless skid hits six games with 2-0 loss at FC Dallas
ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC has had no trouble putting shots on frame.
Scoring goals is another story.
FC Dallas used a penalty kick goal by Jesus Ferreira in the 28th minute to kick-start its way to a 2-0 win over City SC in a Major League Soccer contest Saturday at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
City SC is winless in its last six matches, the longest skid in the short history of the franchise.
Its last win was a 3-1 triumph over Chicago on May 11. FC Dallas (4-8-5) snapped a five-match MLS winless streak.Â
City SC outshot FC Dallas 22-10 and fired eight shots on goal. Yet FC Dallas keeper Maarten Paes was equal to the task.
For the second consecutive game, City SC was shut out. It tied 0-0 in its last contest June 8 against Portland despite 15 shots in that match.
Ferreira blasted a shot to the right of goalkeeper Roman Burki, who guessed wrong and dove to his left. Joakim Nilsson took down Paul Arriola in the box to necessitate the PK.
Nkosi Tafari put the match away by scoring on a header in the 81st minute.
City SC (3-5-9) came out strong in the opening minutes of the contest, dictating both pace and possession.
But a pair of costly injuries seemed to slow that momentum.
Celio Pompeu suffered a left leg injury during a gruesome collision midway through the first half. He remained on the ground for seven minutes before he was stretchered off the pitch. He was replaced by Nokkvi Thorisson.
Nilsson came up limping with what appeared to be a hamstring injury in the 36th minute and was replaced by Josh Yaro.
Those injuries forced a season-high 12 minutes of stoppage time in the first half.
Midfielder Indiana Vassilev just missed on a left-footed blast for City SC that went over the net just six minutes into the match.
Hosei Kijima also fired a shot just wide just five minutes later.
Thorisson also created an opportunity on a header that was stopped by Paes.
Joao Klauss came up close on a header in the 45th minutes that sailed inches wide.
City SC started well in the second half as well. Klauss sent a right-footed shot on net in the 49th minute. He also just missed on a pass from Tomas Totland just over 10 minutes later.
Eduard Lowen and Totland created scoring opportunities down the stretch.
City SC will try and right the ship with a couple of home matches next week. It faces Colorado on Wednesday and Atlanta on June 22.
The contest marked the halfway point of the 34-match regular season.
This was the 51st MLS match for City SC, which came into the league last season.
The teams played to a nil-nil draw on April 6 at CityPark.
FC Dallas was playing its first contest under interim coach Peter Luccin, who took over when Nico Estevez was dismissed earlier in the week.
Oh Canada
City SC defender Kyle Hiebert was not available after he was selected to play for Canada in the Copa America tournament, which begins next week.
Hiebert was on Canada's temporary roster for a pair of friendlies and played a few minutes late in Canada's 0-0 tie at France last week.
The Winnipeg native learned early Saturday he made his country's final 26-player roster.
Hiebert has started six matches for City SC this season. He will miss at least four SC matches, maybe more depending on how long Canada stays alive in the tournament.
Canada will play Argentina in the tournament opener Thursday in Atlanta.
Copa America matches will take place in 14 stadiums in 13 cities across the United States. It will conclude July 14 with the final in Miami.
Moving on up
City SC has signed midfielder John Klein on a short term loan agreement from its City2 squad. He came into Saturday's contest in the 77th minute.
Klein, who played at ºüÀêÊÓƵ University, has four goals and two assists in 12 matches for City2, which plays in the MLS NEXT Pro loop.
He has scored 17 goals in 41 matches over the past two seasons with City2.