Minnesota United fell to Austin FC by a scoreline of 1-0 after playing with 10 men for over an hour. A slower tempo kept the scoring low, and while the Loons tried to stick to their principles despite the disadvantage, Austin’s composure proved to be too much to overcome in the end.
The Loons started out with what was a 5-4-1 on paper, but not in practice. In possession, the home side operated in more of a 3-4-3, while dropping back into a 5-2-3 while defending. The shape resembled what fans have grown used to seeing, and matched up well against the 4-2-4 that Austin often fell into. El Tree’s wide midfielders were practically nonexistent for much of the match, but found the majority of their success when pressing forward.
The opening 25 minutes of the half were relatively uneventful, with methodical, technically sound soccer taking the place of the high-octane track meet we witnessed in Dallas earlier this week. Slight miscues were the only thing keeping the Loons from putting the cherry on top of some extremely clean passages of play, while Austin’s patience on the ball could have easily been seen as a lack of urgency. In the 26th minute, though, everything changed.
After receiving his first yellow card of the night just a minute earlier, Hassani Dotson was given his marching orders with his second caution. This forced MNUFC to abandon their preferred five-back, as Kervin Arriaga stepped into the midfield to join Wil Trapp. The shape resembled more of a 4-1-1-3 by the time it was all settled, with Arriaga sitting slightly behind Trapp, who was evidently given the responsibility of connecting the entire field from the center.
The 10-man Loons did an admirable job of covering for his absence, but with the space opened up by his dismissal, it was only a matter of time before Austin found a favorable position with their patient buildup. The opening goal came just five minutes later, as Clint Irwin’s cross clearance fell to the feet of Diego Rubio in the box, with the Chilean forward taking his time to pick out the precise finish and, ultimately, winning the game for his side.
The second half was chippy at times, but largely uneventful. The Loons created the better chances across the second 45, and the introduction of Caden Clark and Franco Fragapane in the 58th minute certainly provided a 10-minute boost in attacking output, but a case of lackluster finishing—mixed with a general apprehensiveness to shoot the ball—kept the home side from putting anything in the back of the net.
In the closing ten minutes, Austin dominated possession, as midfield gaps allowed them to put together more organized sequences and tire out the under-manned Loons side. Sang Bin Jeong continued to press high until the final whistle, often on his own, and a spark from Joseph Rosales and Caden Clark in the 85th minute saw the Honduran’s run out of the back give Sang Bin a chance to produce the game-tying goal.
A lot of effort ultimately resulted in very little for MNUFC tonight, and while the hosts certainly dealt with their hour spent playing down a man admirably, it’s a tough task to get a result without 11 players on the field. The entire backline put in a good shift through 90 minutes, and had someone stepped to Rubio a bit sooner, would’ve earned the clean sheet they deserved. Wil Trapp was often a one-man midfield after Dotson was sent off, while Sang Bin’s tireless efforts didn’t go unnoticed.
Though there were moments of quality throughout the match, Austin’s patience and a few costly mistakes kept MNUFC from picking up any points tonight. They sit in fifth in the Western Conference after this result, with 29 points from 19 games. The Loons will be hoping to get back in form in their next match against Portland at Providence Park next Saturday, June 29 at 9:30 p.m. CT.
