St. Louis pay penalties for dropping leads

Vancouver Whitecaps 3-2 St. Louis City SC

VANCOUVER, BC–The story of the season for St. Louis City SC, at least recently, has been their inability to hold leads on the road. This match was no exception as twice St. Louis had the lead, but twice Vancouver equalized and very late in the match got a Thomas Müller penalty to win the match, 3-2. The Lou is now 1-11-2 away from Energizer Park.

St. Louis got on the board first in the 14th minute as Conrad Wallem sent a diagonal ball that Eduard Löwen would head in past Yohei Takaoka. Vancouver would pull level just before halftime from the penalty spot as Tristan Blackmon was pulled from behind in the area and Brian White would convert the spot kick.

The Whitecaps nearly got the lead in the 64th minute, but Ali Ahmed’s shot was saved and Brian White’s rebound attempt was cleared off the line by Timo Baumgartl. St. Lous would take the lead in the 73rd minute on the counter with Joao Klause scoring. However, the Whitecaps would once again equalize off a set piece. Sebastian Berhalter’s free kick would be headed in by Daniel Rios to make it 2-2.

Photo: Gerrit te Hennepe

There was a minimum of ten minutes of second half stoppage time, and in the tenth minute as such, Mykhi Joyner was adjudged by VAR to have tripped Matias Laborda just inside the area. Müller would convert the spot kick for his first goal as a Whitecap and claim all three points at BC Place.

The Whitecaps’ next match won’t be for another three weeks due to opponents advancing in Leagues Cup. That match will be at BC Place against Philadelphia Union on Saturday, September 13th at 6:30pm PT on Apple TV. St. Louis will be playing next Saturday at home against Houston Dynamo (7:30pm CT, Apple TV).

Photos by Gerrit te Hennepe