What an atmosphere this weekend! The Loons really brought it to the second-place team in the Western Conference on Saturday night in front of a loud, rowdy Allianz Field crowd. The energy in the stadium was contagious, as the players seemed to feed on the crowd when they needed it, producing one of MNUFC’s most complete performances this season to down Austin FC. A final scoreline of 2-1 saw all three points stay right here in the Twin Cities.
Right away, the Loons looked like they were a step ahead of the opposition at all times. In the back, as well as on the break, Minnesota United was running circles around El Tree. This tireless work ethic persisted throughout the rest of the game, pleasing Head Coach Adrian Heath.
“Honestly delighted with the three points,” he said. “Against a very good team, very confident team. I actually thought we were a little bit wasteful at times tonight. The amount of times we broke on them, and we’ve had really good opportunities and our final ball was a little bit disappointing. When I look at the amount of times we’ve had two or three against two and hadn’t really made anything from it other than a nearly, that's disappointing. But I thought we started the game well. I thought we were really dangerous every time on the counter attack.”
Despite only keeping 36% possession across the 90 minutes, the Loons outshot their opponents 15-13 overall, 6-2 in shots on target. This is the epitome of counter-attacking football; understand your shape, recognize your opportunities, and play to your strengths. For MNUFC, two of those great strengths can be found on the wings.
With the score level in the second half, forward Franco Fragapane applied the pressure when he identified a pressing opportunity. After picking the defender’s pocket, a cheeky chip over the keeper put the Loons up 2-1. This was a situation that his team had prepared for, and the execution was sublime, as was the celebration.
“I think that the most important thing is that, if you play against teams that like to play like [Austin] do at the back, at some stage you have to start to make decisions, and Fraga [Franco Fragapane] did,” Heath said about the goal. “The easy thing for him would have been to stay with the fullback, but he picked it out. He realizes the ball’s gonna go back to the centerback, and he's coming at such a pace that he's probably caught the defender by surprise. It was a great finish as well.”
With this result, MNUFC has shown that they can compete with the League’s top teams. In more ways than one, this game was a statement for the Loons.
“The one thing…no matter what I think about the performance, the one thing we can't question is the actual dedication and the desire of the guys to keep a clean sheet in the second half,” he said. “You saw people throwing themselves in front of things at the end of the game. I knew this was gonna be a difficult game, because when you play teams that have got good players and they're so confident like they are because of the run they have been on. I knew that at stages of the game we would have to have a really good rear guard defensive action, and I thought that's what we did at times.”
With LAFC, FC Dallas, and Real Salt Lake still on the schedule, the Loons will be playing several more games against squads fighting them for playoff positions. Despite the tough games left on the schedule, Heath is not intimidated.
“We never get enough respect; that’s a certainty,” he said. “We can’t take that for granted. No, I don’t think…We don’t need any respect. We know what we are. When we play well here, we can play against anybody. I know that, and I think most people do. I think if you ask most coaches in the league coming to this arena with our atmosphere it’s a difficult place to play. I’m not surprised that we won the game. I knew it was going to be tough, but this team is capable of beating anybody. And I mean anybody.”
While there are no easy games in MLS, the right mindset can go a long way towards success. A willingness to work hard has helped Fragapane and company to gain an edge.
“I think in this day, the player who doesn’t run, he can’t play soccer,” Fragapane said. “Honestly, this league is a league where you run a lot, you press a lot. It’s very intense. For that, we train, we take care of ourselves, we prep for that. The team is in a great run of form. We’re doing things well but it’s not time to relax. We have to keep going; there are more games left before qualifying to the playoffs.”
With this win under their belts, MNUFC remain in fourth place in the Western Conference. They have two games in hand on third-place FC Dallas and sit just one point behind them. If they can keep up the same form that has seen them lose just once in their last 10 games, it will certainly be an exciting end to the season.
UP NEXT
Minnesota United FC v. Houston Dynamo FC
Allianz Field | Saint Paul, Minnesota
08.27.22 | MLS Game 27
2:30 pm CT (Univision, TUDN, Twitter (English audio), Bally Sports North, The CW - Twin Cities, 1500 ESPN)
