Herriman, Utah (Friday, April 19, 2024) - Real Monarchs (1-1-3, 5 Pts) fell to St. Louis CITY II 2-0 on Friday night in Missouri as CITY was able to net two second-half goals, handing Real Monarchs their second consecutive shutout loss.
The first 45 minutes of play started off with unrelenting pressure from the St. Louis CITY II side in front of their home fans. Right from the jump they created a chance, nearly putting one in the net in the 6th minute. As Real Monarchs came under pressure from the STL high press, they played it back to Will Mackay in goal, who took a heavy touch as John David Klein III darted forward to take advantage and poke it into the net, seemingly taking an early lead for his side before the offside flag went up.
Applying some pressure of their own, Real Monarchs came right back and created a chance in the 9th minute. Coming onto the end of a through ball, Sebastian Joffre darted into the left side of the box and turned towards goal. Electing to round the keeper, Joffre danced left towards the end line and gave himself a sharp angle to score the goal but hit the post on his attempt.
The first half would continue to be back-and-forth, with St. Louis CITY’s Mykhi Joyner rushing down the left wing in the 15th minute to threaten once again. Finding space for the cross, Joyner whipped it centrally for Brendan McSorley in the box. Mackay came out to deal with the danger just as it was pinballed out of the box to the feet of a CITY player for a long shot, just missing the open target.
Finally, Real Monarchs claimed the last chance of the half in the 34th minute. Bertin Jaquesson sliced deep down the right wing, pinging a ball across the face of goal but nobody was there to connect. Failing to clear the ball, it deflected straight to the feet of Damien Barker John around the penalty spot but could not get a shot off, sending both teams to the locker room at 0-0 after a full 45.
Unlike the first 45, the second half was controlled completely by St. Louis City II, dominating possession and a vast majority of the chances. A bulk of their chances came as a result of their unrelenting high press, as Real Monarchs came under pressure the second Mackay released the ball to his outfield players.
CITY converted this quality play into a lead in the 54th minute, when Joyner broke through to score. As a ball was whipped in from the right corner area, Mackay came out punch the ball on a seemingly routine play when the ball glanced off his punch and landed right at the feet of Joyner in the box, calmly dispatching the easy chance.
Not sitting back but instead electing to push for a second, St. Louis took a commanding two-goal lead later in the half on a 75th minute score by Caden Glover. Just five minutes after Glover had a goal taken back for offsides, one of three St. Louis goals disallowed in the match, he broke through to put his side up two. Ryan Becher, freshly substituted into the match, charged down the left side of the box, holding up play just along the edge of the box as Monarchs defenders converged. Looking to stop the attack, Monarchs defender Luis Rivera won it from Becher and played a ball towards the middle of the 18 when Glover charged through the middle of the box to intercept the pass and deposit the simple finish.
Real Monarchs return home to Zions Bank Stadium next weekend for a showdown in the Beehive State with Vancouver Whitecaps FC II. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. MT on Sunday, April 28.
SLC 0 : 2 STL
GOAL-SCORING SUMMARY:
STL: Mykhi Joyner, 54th Minute: St. Louis set up a corner kick in which the service went inside the six. Monarchs goalkeeper Will Mackay went out to punch the ball, ultimately miss hitting it, resulting in the ball dropping near Joyner’s feet securing a tap-in to take the lead for STL.
STL: Caden Glover, 75th Minute: Building out of the back the Monarchs made it to midfield with a chance to attack but an errant pass turned the ball over in which St. Louis got into the final third. Looking to stop the attack Monarchs defender Luis Rivera played a ball towards the middle of the 18 in which STL attacker intercepted the pass and put the ball away.
LINEUPS:
Real Monarchs (4-2-3-1): Will Mackay; Tommy Silva, Zack Farnsworth, Bobby Pierre, Omar Alba; Beni Redzic, Noel Caliskan ©, Daron Iskenderian (Izzy Amparo, 13); Bertin Jacquesson (Matthew Bell, 46), Sebastian Joffre (Ilijah Paul, 67), Damien Barker John (Luis Rivera, 74)
Subs not used: Griffin Dillon, Jude Wellings, Marzuq Puckerin
St. Louis CITY 2 (4-3-2-1): Christian Olivares Molina; Jayden Reid, Eric Kinzer (Gabriel Mikina, 85), Michael Johannes Wentzel ©, Tyson Pearce; Mykhi Joyner (Ryan Becher, 56), Cameron Ciley (Carson Locker, 85), Seth Antwi, Wan Juzain Wan Kamal (Dida Armstrong, 85); Brendan McSorley (Caden Glover, 69), John David Klein III
Subs not used: Kai Jaegaer, Nolan Mcguire, Samuel Gomez, Andrew Soloman Kohlberg
Stats Summary: SLC / STL
Shots: 6 / 10
Shots on Goal: 4 / 1
Saves: 2 / 1
Corner Kicks: 5 / 7
Fouls: 12 / 15
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
SLC: Pierre (Yellow, 43), Amparo (Yellow, 45+2), Joffre (Yellow, 47) 12 Total Fouls
STL: Kinzer (Yellow, 66) 15 Total Fouls
