Opening Cup Semi-Final Report
St Louis City saw off Colorado Rapids 3:0 in the Opening Cup semi-finals on Wednesday evening, booking their place in the final with a performance that prioritised efficiency over territory. The hosts took an early lead through S. Jeong in the thirty-second minute, then doubled their advantage just after the interval before adding a third to settle the tie.
Colorado controlled the ball, finishing with 63 per cent possession, but failed to create a single big chance from 133 attacks. Their five shots on target yielded only one on target, while St Louis converted five attempts into three goals. And here's the thing about matches like this — possession without penetration is just expensive patience.
The visitors looked for width with twenty-five crosses against two for the hosts, but the accuracy figures told the real story: five successful crosses from Colorado compared to three from St Louis, neither side able to truly trouble the opposition. The Rapids' goalkeeper made two saves to his counterpart's one, a reflection of how rarely the away attack found the target.
St Louis made tactical changes at the hour mark, bringing on M. Navarro, G. Minoungou and R. Cannon in a single substitution window. The hosts then added further fresh legs as the game settled, with S. Jeong coming off after scoring, and later W. Frederick and A. Matan making a double change.
Colorado Rapids end their campaign at this stage of the competition, having lost both of their recent away fixtures — 3-0 at Columbus Crew and 3-0 at San Diego. St Louis City advance to the final, where they will face the winners of the other semi-final tie.
