St. Louis CITY SC Eliminated From US Open Cup, Mellberg's Seat Red Hot

Wednesday night, St. Louis CITY SC were eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup in heartbreaking fashion. On Thursday, CITY fans watched their notifications all morning for an emergency press conference and the expulsion of head coach Olof Mellberg, but time revealed the snowman will stay put through at least Saturday night's tilt with Colorado Rapids.

Ownership had two clear goals for the 2025 season:

- Make the playoffs

- Win the U.S. Open Cup

With one of those a big fat CITY Red X and the other in jeopardy, it is no secret that Olof Mellberg is laying in the guillotine. Perhaps forgotten about is the whopping 20 players in contract years as well; João Klauss hit on this point in his pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend's match.

Scoring Recap:

MIN 1 - 0 STL | 10' - Wednesday's match featured an early case of déjà vu, with an early goal against as Yeboah flicked one around Josh Yaro's poor defensive attempt and into the back of the net, which remained the only score of the first half.

MIN 1 - 1 STL | 55' - The second half is where things got spicy. Marcel Hartel knocked in a header from Timo Baumgartl after a barrage of "air raid" style attack from St. Louis, with ball after ball sent into the box looking for the finish.

MIN 1 - 2 STL | 65' - Just ten minutes later, João Klauss netted his second of the tournament with a powerful back door header served up by Marcel Hartel. The two designated players proved very impactful for St. Louis.

MIN 2 - 2 STL | 85' - Around the 80th minute is where it all went wrong. A series of substitutions left the match pretty wide open, and former St. Louis CITY SC player Anthony Markanich punished STL in poetically tragic fashion, equalizing the match off a defensive breakdown.

MIN 3 - 2 STL | 88' - Merely minutes later, Markanich put the nail in the coffin with a late equalizer off a corner. That corner was the result of a heroic Josh Yaro goal-line clearance, but the loons weren't to be denied as they punched their ticket to the final 8.

Key Takeaways:

St. Louis CITY SC got into an attacking rhythm were actually fun to watch for 35 minutes. That first portion of the second half was a thing of beauty. Even without the "dribbly boys," as Matthew Rocchio likes to call Célio Pompeu and Xande Silva, on the pitch, St. Louis were generating a lot of attack in the first portion of the second half, getting 2 goals and an assist from the designated players. That portion of play was by far the most dynamic attacking performance since the first match of the season against Colorado (foreshadowing, I hope?).

Klauss continues in good form. Unfortunately, he was forced to exit before the final whistle with calf tightness he had begun to experience by halftime, but for the big Brazilian in a contract year, getting into peak form is his only option--and it will drastically benefit CITY.

The team showed something that can't be quantified statistically: heart. This has been something that has felt like it was missing for weeks on end. CITY played until the final whistle, nearly finding an equalizer from Simon Becher in stoppage time. A team that will battle for one another is a team that will find ways to win matches.

Silver Lining: the schedule won't be quite as congested. This is key for a CITY side just beginning to get players back into form after injuries, such as Jannes Horn, Henry Kessler, Joakim Nilsson, Jay Reid, and Jake Girdwood-Reich.

Betting Recap:

Unfortunately for CITY fans, Eric Sontag's lean of Minnesota on the moneyline did in fact cash--though it was certainly one that would have had any bettors sweating.

Looking Ahead:

CITY have a huge match in Colorado. It could be a frozen lifeline for Olof Mellberg's job should CITY get a favorable result. It could be a lifeline for the team's playoff hopes. It could be a lifeline for the confidence of the players. It could be a lifeline. It could be a lifeline. It could be a lifeline. I'm trying to manifest it. See you in the post-match show!