The double whammy of the red card ѿý City SC midfielder Eduard Lowen got in the 66th minute on Saturday in Philadelphia after receiving a second yellow card is that not only did City SC have to play a man down for the remainder of that game, but Lowen also has to sit out City SC’s next game, on Sunday against Austin.
Which means coach Olof Mellberg and his staff have to figure out how to replace the player through whom the team’s offense flows.
“It will be hard,” said midfielder Marcel Hartel. “Edu is a very important player for us, especially with the ball. He’s a leader on our team and we will miss him on the weekend, but there’s a chance for another guy to step up so someone else will get the chance.”
Lowen is pretty much a one-of-a-kind talent on the team, so there’s not an easy replacement option.
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“It’s different,” Mellberg said. “You get an opportunity to see someone else in that position, which is nice. I like that. We don’t want players out, suspended or injured, but it gives us the possibility to see someone else there. And we have players.”
The most obvious fill-in would be Alfredo Morales, the veteran midfielder signed during training camp who has subbed on for Lowen in four of the team’s five games. Another choice would be Tomas Ostrak, who has played just 23 minutes in the first five games as he comes back from an injury last season.
“(Morales) can, I think so,” Mellberg said. “He’s improving all the time and showing quality when he plays. So that is an option. Definitely. ... (Ostrak) as well.”
Lowen also received a fine from the league’s disciplinary committee on Tuesday for “failing to leave the field in a timely manner.” The amount of the fine was undisclosed.
According to data at , the only other red card in Lowen’s career came on Sept. 16, 2016, when the then-19-year-old got a straight red in the 33rd minute while playing for Nuremberg II in a fourth-division Regionalliga Bavaria match against SpVgg Bayreuth for what the match report terms “violent conduct.”
Klauss vs. Carnell
City SC striker Klauss was upset with his former coach Bradley Carnell about something on Saturday, needing to be restrained from going after him following City SC’s 1-0 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday. Carnell declined to comment on the incident after the game. Klauss is taking to a similar strategy about what led to the situation at Subaru Park.
“Emotions are a natural part of soccer,” Klauss told the Post-Dispatch on Tuesday after practice, “especially in close matches, but I prefer to keep the exchange private and not dwell on it too much. We had a really positive and intense session today which is good for everyone. So what happened on Saturday is behind us now; my focus, and the team’s focus, is already on our upcoming match against Austin on Sunday.”
It’s been a difficult start to the season for Klauss, who has been in the starting lineup for just two of the team’s first five games and didn’t get off the bench against Seattle. Klauss played the final 19 minutes of the Philadelphia game. He has yet to score a goal.
“I thought he had good energy when he came on,” Mellberg said. “We’re in that position up front where sometimes we played with two, sometimes with one, and at the moment, it’s not like any of them have scored all of the goals, but they’ve all done well for periods. For every game we’re just trying to have a game plan and to play the players we think are going to give us the most. Klauss is competing for that place in the team. He had a good energy when he came on and he had a good energy today in training. We’ll see what happens in the next game.”
Baumgartl chance coming?
Timo Baumgartl was one of City SC’s offseason acquisitions, brought in to bolster the team’s center back position. He has played just eight minutes total in the team’s first five games, with Mellberg saying Baumgartl isn’t game-ready because of the long break since he last played in Germany.
Baumgartl played 90 minutes for City2 on Sunday, anchoring a four-man back line as one of two center backs. City2 time is often a prelude to increased time with the first team.
“It was good to get a game in,” Mellberg said. “We saw an opportunity and he saw an opportunity to get in. So it was good. We have spoken about it and both thought it was a good idea.”
City2, which is one of four undefeated teams left in MLS Next Pro and the only one at 3-0, will play a doubleheader with the first team on Sunday at Energizer Park. City SC will play Austin at 1:15 p.m. and then City2 will play Austin II at 4:30 p.m. Fans at the MLS match can stay for the Next Pro match, and gates for the Next Pro match will open about 3:30 p.m. Some first team players will be available in a meet-and-greet between games.
Notes
Michael Wentzel and Jake Girdwood-Reich, who both have been rehabbing injuries to start the season, rejoined the first team at practice on Tuesday. Neither did the full session, but it was the next step on the road to getting onto the field.
“It’s really nice to see JGR back in training after a long, long period,” Mellberg said.
- Also on the field for the first time since his injury was goalkeeper Roman Burki, who did some work with goalkeeper coach Alex Langer while the rest of the team was doing its pre-practice work in the gym.
- Wentzel, who had been wearing No. 40, has switched for this season to No. 13, which had previously been worn by Anthony Markanich.
