CITYPARK, ST. LOUIS – A record 22,423 fans cheered on St. Louis CITY SC in their debut appearance in the U.S. Open Cup as they took down Union Omaha in a 5-1 rout. St. Louis continued its rich history in the Open Cup, with CITY SC taking the biggest win of the third round, where MLS teams enter the fray of the biggest professional tournament in the United States.
CITY SC got up and running early thanks to Man of the Match Aziel “AZ” Jackson, scoring three minutes into the first half. Ben Lundt, starting in net for Roman Bürki, faced his first challenges of the evening in 13’ with two narrow saves to keep the lead going into halftime. Calamity struck for Union Omaha quickly at minute 48’, when midfielder Célio Pompeu delivered a strike deflecting off Joe Gallardo for an own-goal.
Pompeu, already with an assist in the match, would add two more as CITY SC piled on in 62’ and 66’, when Pompeu found Akil Watts wide open on the right side. Later, he would thread a pass perfectly to Jackson in the center for his second goal of the evening, giving CITY SC a 4-0 lead.
Pedro Dolabella would end the clean sheet bid, as confusion on the left side of the net lead Dolabella to rifle one in almost parallel to the goal line at 79’, making it 4-1. Midfielder Eduard Löven, subbed in for Tomáš Ostrák, would squash any sign of life in Union Omaha, however, with a deke around the defender and a 5th CITY goal at 86’. The whistle blew at 93’ to complete a dream debut for CITY SC with a resounding 5-1 win.
“An early goal helps; a good start helps;” said head coach Bradley Carnell after the game, “but to have the willingness and the ruthlessness to carry on right until the 90th minute… a professional performance, and we move on.”
Carnell also praised the fans showing up in record attendance to the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. “The fans never cease to amaze us. We know what we have in St. Louis and we know that when teams come to St. Louis, it’s not just a team that they’re gonna play against; it’s also this cauldron that we have – the fans, the fan base, the stadium. Everything’s on display right now.”
With the remaining third round games coming up, the geographical re-draw will come Thursday, where STL SC will learn their next opponent for the round of 16. On the MLS side, CITY SC will travel to Portland Saturday to take on the Timbers, 7:30pm.