Memphis 901 FC ensured the gap between it and 10th-place Saint Louis FC remained at six points as it earned a hard-fought draw despite playing with 10 men for over an hour on Tuesday night at West Community Stadium.
FENTON, Mo. – Saint Louis and Memphis settled for a scoreless draw in the first ever meeting between the two clubs. The hosts looked to get on the front foot in the eighth minute when Kadeem Dacres’ right-wing cross narrowly missed a sliding Kyle Greig and was cleared narrowly over his own crossbar by 901 FC captain Marc Burch. Memphis was reduced to 10 men in the 27th minute when Cameron Lindley committed a high sliding challenge on STLFC midfielder Collin Fernandez and was shown a straight red card by referee Jon Freemon. The home side looked to make the most of that advantage five minutes later when Jeff Caldwell failed to clear Russell Cicerone’s cross towards Greig, but the Memphis goalkeeper was let off the hook when Dacres couldn’t get the loose ball out of his feet fast enough. Cicerone had a good chance just after the hour mark when he snuck in behind Wesley Charpie to reach Bradley Kandem Fewo’s cross but was denied by Caldwell at a tight angle. 901 FC had its best chance to get on the board in the 73rd minute when Ewan Grandison tried his luck from nearly 40 yards out and got plenty of power behind it but directed his shot at STLFC goalkeeper Tomas Gomez. The hosts had one last golden opportunity to snag a winner with four minutes remaining as Caldwell parried Kandem Fewo’s left-wing cross to Cicerone, but his lofted finish found the roof of the net as the two sides settled for a share of the spoils.
USLChampionship.com Man of the Match
Jeff Caldwell, Memphis 901 FC – Caldwell made a pair of saves to keep a clean sheet as 901 FC salvaged a point in Saint Louis despite playing over an hour with 10 men.