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Of all the chances St. Louis City SC had to score Saturday, the best came in the 68th minute, when Conrad Wallem brought the ball up the left wing and crossed it into the goal box, right to midfielder Akil Watts standing feet from the goal line. But the ball never got to Watts’ feet, instead bouncing off his left knee and out of danger.

So what happened?

“Everyone’s asking that,� Watts said Tuesday. “Honestly, I saw him driving. I started going towards the box. I thought he was going to play this way,� — Watts stopped and turned his body slightly with his right foot forward — “so I could take a step and take it with my right so I took one step and it hit my (left) knee.

“Maybe I could have went like� — he made a thrust with his hip — “but it happened so quick. ... It’s very frustrating.�

These are very frustrating times for City SC. Four minutes later, Sporting Kansas City scored the goal that put it ahead 1-0 and sent City SC to its third straight shutout loss, with a final score of 2-0.

“The chances are there,� Watts said. “It's just we have to put it in the back of the net. Being clinical there. It’s happening against us; teams aren't getting very many chances, but the chances they get, they're putting away. That's why it's a chase for us.�

City SC has scored four goals this season, against 7.2 expected goals, per Opta Stats. That difference of 3.2 goals less than expected is second-worst in the league. It doesn’t help that City SC’s expected goals total of 7.2 is 24th in the league.

One thing City SC coach Olof Mellberg thought his team could have done Saturday was start the game more aggressively.

“Looking at the first half,� he said, “we're in control of the game, I thought there were periods when we could have moved further up the pitch in our defending. We were in a low block for a little bit too long. We had really good positions in high defending. So I think we could have done that more often to put even more pressure on the opponents. We could have been a little bit more vertical in our possession, a little bit too much sideways and backwards, going back to Ben (Lundt, in goal) when we can get our strikers involved, be a little bit more direct. So, yeah, even though it was a solid game, there were still room for a lot of improvements.

"Up until their goal, we conceded very few chances and had some really big chances. So that's always something we're looking at, creating more and better chances than the opponents. And we did that. We reacted OK after their first goal, but the last 10, 15 minutes are very bad, and that's when they created their best chances. It became chaotic, unorganized. We were a little bit all over the place. So last 10, 15 was bad but very disappointed to concede the first goal, because I thought we were the team with the momentum, and up until then, the better team. So, yeah, it was a tough defeat."

Injury uncertainty

City SC is moving down on a lot of lists in MLS right now, but it’s at the top of at least two: most times shut out (five) and most players listed as out on the MLS availability report.

City SC had six injured players last week — goalkeeper Roman Burki; defenders Tomas Totland, Jayden Reid and Jannes Horn; and midfielders Rasmus Alm and Chris Durkin — and midfielder Eduard Lowen out for personal reasons.

Another player could be joining the list this week, after defender Joakim Nilsson left the field 26 minutes into the game with SKC with a knee injury. Nilsson did not practice with the team Tuesday, the start of the club’s work week, but his status for Sunday is uncertain.

“They're still trying to figure out what is wrong,� Mellberg said. “It doesn't seem to be so serious, but we don't know yet. ... I'm hoping he's going to be ready for the weekend, but he wasn't in training today and he's still in pain. So we just have to wait and see what the verdict is.�

Totland was with the team for the first part of practice but started training separately when the team began short-field drills. Horn was doing some aggressive work but not with the team, and Reid and Alm were running. Burki, who has missed four games, was on the field with the other goalkeepers, but his fractured right hand is still in a brace and he has yet to put on gloves.

“It's not obvious, but he's getting closer,� Mellberg said. “And he's feeling good, and there's a lot of things he can do without causing further damage to the hand. Once we get clearance from the medical side, hopefully it will just be a few days and he can play a game. So we're just waiting for that.

“(Totland is) looking good today. So hopefully soon as well. We’re looking forward to that. Those couple of players are important for us and did really, really well in preseason. So obviously a big blow together with all the other ones as well, a bit of an unfortunate situation now, with all the absences and injuries we have, but hopefully they'll be back soon.�

Academy to face Bayern Munich

The U-16 match between City SC’s academy team and Bayern Munich on Monday at the Generation adidas Cup in Bradenton, Florida, will be streamed by MLS on YouTube. The group-play match kicks off at 11 a.m.

Some, but not all, of the remaining elimination rounds of the tournament will also be shown on YouTube.