St. Louis CITY SC rallied from a goal down to record a 2-1 win on the road against Minnesota United FC. After a scoreless first half, Minnesota opened the scoring in the 46th minute through Teemu Pukki who drove home a penalty kick. After coming on as a substitute, CITY SC forward João Klauss leveled the score after nodding home a cross from Jake Nerwinski. Njabulo Blom found the game-winner in the 73rd minute to give CITY SC their sixth away win of the season.
First Professional Goal for Njabulo Blom
Njabulo Blom opened his goalscoring account for St. Louis CITY SC in extraordinary fashion, smashing in the game-winner against Minnesota United FC. The goal marked the first of Blom’s career. Blom is the 17th player this season to record a goal for St. Louis in all competitions.
Postgame Notes
- With the win, CITY SC tied LAFC for the most wins (16) by an expansion team in their inaugural season in MLS history (excluding the shootout era)
- João Klauss has scored three goals in the last four matches, bringing him to 12 goal contributions on the season (8 goals, 4 assists)
- Njabulo Blom scored his first goal for CITY SC, which was also the first professional goal of his career
- With his goal, Blom became the 16th different MLS goal scorer for CITY SC this season, tying the team with Charlotte FC for the largest such total by an expansion team in their inaugural season
- CITY SC extended its unbeaten streak to four straight games
- Jake Nerwinski picked up his second assist of the season
- Aziel Jackson recorded his fourth assist of the season, giving him five goal contributions on the season (1 goal, 4 assists)
- CITY SC recorded its fourth come-from-behind victory of the season, tying the team with Minnesota United FC (2017) and LAFC (2018) for the most victories by an expansion team in MLS history (excluding the shootout era)
- CITY SC now has six road victories, trailing only LAFC (7) for the most away wins by an expansion team in MLS history
Goal-Scoring Plays
MIN – Teemu Pukki (penalty), 48th minute: Teemu Pukki converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
STL – João Klauss (Jake Nerwinski), 64th minute: João Klauss header from the center of the box to the top left corner.
STL – Njabulo Blom (Aziel Jackson), 73rd minute: Njabulo Blom right footed shot from the center of the box to the top right corner.
Next Game
St. Louis CITY SC heads back to CITYPARK for their third and final regular season matchup against cross-state rival Sporting Kansas City.
September 23, 2023 – Allianz Field (Saint Paul, Minnesota)
Goals by Half
MIN First (0) Second (1) Final (1)
STL First (0) Second (2) Final (2)
Scoring Summary
MIN: Teemu Pukki (penalty), 48
STL: João Klauss (Jake Nerwinski), 64
STL: Njabulo Blom (Aziel Jackson), 73
Misconduct Summary
MIN: Dayne St. Clair (caution), 20
STL: Josh Yaro (caution), 29
MIN: Jan Gregus (caution), 31
STL: Roman Bürki (caution), 47
STL: Jonathan Bell (caution), 59
MIN: Michael Boxall (caution), 79
MIN: DJ Taylor (caution), 85
Lineups
MIN: GK Dayne St. Clair; D Zarek Valentin (Devin Padelford 78’), D Miguel Tapias, D Michael Boxall; M Wil Trapp (Mender Garcia 78’) ©, M Jan Gregus (Kervin Arriaga 84’), M DJ Taylor, M Hassani Dotson; F Sang Bin Jeong (Franco Fragapone 71’), F Bongokuhle Hlongwane, F Teemu Pukki
Substitutes Not Used: GK Clint Irwin, D Bakaye Dibassy, GK Eric Dick, D Brent Kallman, F Ismael Tajouri-Shradi
TOTAL SHOTS: 18; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 10; OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 4
STL: GK Roman Bürki ©; D Jake Nerwinski, D Josh Yaro, D Kyle Hiebert, D Jonathan Bell (Anthony Markanich 74’); M Tomáš Ostrák (Aziel Jackson 58’), M Jared Stroud (João Klauss 58’), M Célio Pompeu, M Njabulo Blom, M Indiana Vassilev (Eduard Löwen 58’); F Niko Gioacchini (Akil Watts 83’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Ben Lundt, F Sam Adeniran, M Rasmus Alm, F Nökkvi Thórisson
TOTAL SHOTS: 16; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 19; OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 4
Referee: Victor Rivas
Assistant Referees: Jose Da Silva, Ben Pilgrim
Fourth Official: Fotis Bazakos
VAR: Greg Dopka
AVAR: Claudiu BadeaVenue: Allianz Field
Weather: Rain, 65 degrees
