St Louis City became the first expansion club in Major League Soccer history to win their first four games of the season as they beat San Jose Earthquakes 3-0 on Saturday evening.
The result means that St Louis City lead the Western Conference with a perfect record.
There were concerns about whether the club could hold their own in the league, but any such concerns have been quelled in the opening four weeks.
Head coach Bradley Carnell claimed that the team is relishing the league, and the preseason doubters fueled a desire in the squad, “Is it a surprise for us? No. The boys were confident from day one. The boys were angry from day one, that no one believed in them.”
“So yeah, we’ve got the chip on the shoulder, we had the chip on the shoulder. But now we’ve shown that it’s not just about having a chip on the shoulder. We can compete… we can dominate, we can take control, and we can execute.”
Coach praises breakout star Klauss
On Saturday, City cruised to a 2-0 lead in the first half with goals from Nicholas Gioacchini and Joao Klauss.
Tomas Ostrak then made it three in the 68th minute in front of a sold-out City Park in what would go down as a memorable evening for years to come.
Carnell claimed that this was his side’s most complete performance and also had special praise for breakout star Klauss “He’s just a winner by trait. He drives us all. His toolbox is massive. He has so many different things he can provide, different weapons.”
Klauss has scored three times this campaign, contributing with a goal or an assist in each of the four games.
Goalkeeper Roman Burki also secured his first clean sheet of the season as Carnell stated that the former Borussia Dortmund star was given the ball at the end of the game.
The head coach, however, was cautious and stated that the team has to keep their feet grounded and not get carried away with tougher opposition waiting in the coming weeks.
“We just now have to stay grounded I don’t doubt this group for one single day that we don’t remain humble, that we don’t remain eager to learn and to commit. I just want to keep this going. Right now the motto is, comfortable, but never satisfied.”
Photo Credit: Imago / Icon Sportswire
