ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Saint Louis FC won 1-0 against Reno 1868 FC in front of 4,027 fans at Toyota Stadium in Match 29 of the USL Regular Season.
There was a lot on the line going into this game as Saint Louis FC started the night outside the playoff spots with Reno 1868 FC above them in the standings by three points. The home side would come out to a fast start and forward Kyle Greig notched his 12th goal of the season in the 27th minute to secure the crucial win. The result sees Saint Louis FC improve to 11-8-9 with 42 points while Reno 1868 FC falls to 11-7-9 with 42 points in the USL Western Conference.
The first half saw Saint Louis FC on the front foot and they nearly opened the scoring in the 15th minute as Lewis Hilton found Wal Fall at the back post from a free kick but Fall’s header was caught by Reno goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski. Kadeem Dacres had a chance in the 18th minute as he weaved through the defense and cut inside from the right but his shot was also saved by Marcinkowski. Austin Martz would then set-up the breakthrough in the 27th minute as he knocked the ball past his defender and crossed to find Greig who popped the ball up and smashed the volley from inside the box past Marcinkowski to see STLFC take a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
The second half saw Reno make a couple of substitutions as they looked for the equalizer but would face an uphill battle once Jordan Murrell received his second yellow card and was dismissed in the 53rd minute to finish the game with 10-men. The away side nearly scored in the 59th minute, however, as Guy Abend took a shot from outside the box that was saved by STLFC goalkeeper Tomas Gomez. STLFC responded from a corner kick situation that found Greig at the near post but his flick was saved by Marcinkowski in the 60th minute. The home side had a number of breakaway chances to finish the game but could not find the second goal and the game would finish 1-0.
“I think it was a fantastic performance and a fantastic result and I’m really pleased with all the players,” said STLFC Head Coach Anthony Pulis. “I thought we defended well and pressed in the right moments, and I’m disappointed honestly that we couldn’t make it two or three [goals]. It’s a huge three points for us, but now we have to recover and go for another against Real Monarchs SLC.”
Saint Louis FC embarks on a two-game road trip next week as they face the top team in the Western Conference in Real Monarchs SLC on Wednesday, September 12th in the USL Game of the Week aired live on ESPN3 before facing Swope Park Rangers on Saturday. The team then returns home on September 22nd at 7:30 p.m. CT for a critical playoff spot battle against San Antonio FC.
