ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

When ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ City SC gave up a goal in the 83rd minute to San Jose, turning a 1-0 lead into a 1-1 tie, the sag in team spirits was predictable. After all, this was not unfamiliar territory over the past 2½ months.

But for once, City SC managed to rewrite the script and turn David Critchley’s first game as interim coach from being more of the same to being, City SC hopes, the start of something new.

Simon Becher earned a penalty kick that Eduard Lowen drove home in the 92nd minute as City SC snapped its 11-game winless streak, winning its first game since March 15 by beating San Jose 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at Energizer Park.

As bad as it looked when the score went to 1-1, they believed.

“It was definitely tough,� said Lowen, who made his first start since March 22 after dealing with personal issues and had a goal and an assist. “We put a lot of pressure on ourselves. We wanted to win that game so much. We knew that game was very important, and then conceding a goal like that, kind of out of nowhere, was a little bit unexpected and a knock on the face. … But then a great ball from Conrad (Wallem), amazing Simon to get that penalty kick. So, it's amazing to win that game.�

“ ‘Belief’ is one word we're going to have around here,� said Critchley, who took over the team at practice on Wednesday after the firing Tuesday of Olof Mellberg. “I just had a feeling. I believed in the team, and I knew everything we talked about. We accepted nothing today but three points as a team. So, the mentality was super, super important for us. Yes, they equalized, gave us a little bit of adversity. It's OK. We're changing things around here. We don't sit back in those moments. We go and try and win a football game, and that's what we done and that's what was deserving of the three points today.�

There were plenty of changes on Saturday, some of them brand new, some throwbacks to earlier days in City SC history, but the biggest change was a win. After beating Seattle 1-0 on March 15, City SC had eight losses and three ties in MLS play, which led to Mellberg being fired after just 15 games. And it wasn’t just the results in that span, but how they got there: Just 11 goals scored compared to 20 goals allowed, with 11 goals allowed in the 70th minute or later in the past seven games (including one Open Cup game).

Enter Critchley, called up from City2 after time spent with the club’s academy teams. He made three changes to the starting lineup, moved Chris Durkin from defensive midfield to center back, and cranked up the high pressing defense to levels not seen this season.

“I think we get a corner kick in 20 seconds,� Critchley said, “and you can already feel fans on the edge of their seats ready for this place to explode. We talked about the first ten minutes, what did we want to look like and how did we want to engage the fans and how did we want to bring them into the game with us. This is the best stadium in the country at home for me. Why not utilize our fans and support, get them on the edge of their seat, and we done that from 30 seconds into the game all the way to 96 minutes.�

“Something that I like about him, that you can tell, is that he is a lot about relationships with the players,� said Lowen. “That makes it a little bit easier for you going out there with a coach who is giving you confidence and is pushing you to have joy out there, to have fun out there playing.�

Of course, for all of the X’s and O’s and back slaps and joking around from Critchley, the biggest difference may well have been Lowen’s return to the lineup. Since getting a red card against Philadelphia on March 22, Lowen has played just 66 minutes, 45 of them in an Open Cup game against a third division team. Lowen was good healthwise, but needed time to deal with a personal matter that isn’t over and could force him to leave the team again. On Saturday, he served a long ball to Klauss that the striker won and turned into a goal and then put in the game-winning penalty kick.

“I think from day one,� Klauss said, “everybody in this room knows how important Edu is for us, not just as a player, but for the group. Everybody knows what he's going through, and we have to respect him and give him his space. But it's very, very important for us to have him back. I was joking with him before the game. My job is easier now. I just have to pass the ball to Edu and then run again, and that's how we scored. So, I'm very happy to have him back, but as I say, we have to give him his space. We don't know how much he’s going to be around. I think that's his decision, and I think everybody should respect that.�

“So composed, so calm in that moment where a lot of players can get carried away,� Critchley said. “But I had no doubt he was going to score that penalty at the end. It was written for him. So, to have him back on the team has been fantastic.�

Lowen said he almost didn’t play. He took a knock in training that left him with headaches and had a sore hamstring.

“I had quite some pain,� he said. “I kind of kept it to myself. I wanted to play so much, and I was so excited for that game, and then I was able to play throughout the entire game, which I can only give glory to the Lord.�

On City SC’s first goal, two minutes into first half stoppage time, Lowen played a long ball to Klauss, that he headed toward the San Jose goal. Earthquakes goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. thought about coming out to get it, then changed his mind. His initial move froze San Jose center back Max Floriani, giving Klauss a chance to win the race to the ball and he one-timed the shot from about 10 yards to score.

“Normally when you go these duels, you expect someone to run into the space,� Klauss said. “You normally don’t have enough time to get to the ball. When I saw the goalkeeper didn’t come out, I saw the opportunity and it was a good finish.�

It was the fourth goal of the season for Klauss, though two of those came in Open Cup matches. For Lowen, it was his first assist of the season, though he gave all the credit to Klauss. “I think it was a decent ball,� he said, “but he made a lot out of it.�

Holding leads hasn’t been a City SC strength this season and in the 83rd minute, Jozef Martinez got his foot on a ball into the box by Vitor Costa and redirected it past Roman Burki to tie the game. It was the second time in the past three games City SC had given up a tying goal in the 83rd minute or later.

But this one was different. Becher had come on in the 72nd minute for Klauss, who left the field limping but said after the game he felt fine, and outraced defender Reid Roberts for a long ball, with Roberts falling down on the play. That put Becher alone in the box with Edwards and he played the ball to the side to try to get around Edwards, but how that would work we’ll never know because Edwards plowed into Becher, knocking him over. Referee Ismir Pekmic didn’t hesitate to signal a penalty kick and Lowen drilled it to his lower right for the game-winner. Energizer Park exploded in cheers.

At the final whistle, the scene was repeated. Lowen dropped to his knees at the center circle, while players and staff, including sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel, mobbed Critchley.

“I'm obviously a smaller guy and a lighter guy,� Critchley said, “and guys are dragging me all over the place, and I'm trying to soak it in and I'm trying to enjoy it. I'm trying to be thankful for the moment.�