MINNESOTA UNITED FC vs. HOUSTON DYNAMO
TCF Bank Stadium | Minneapolis, Minnesota
07.29.17 | MLS Week #20 | MLS Game #20
7:00 p.m. CT (My29, MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN)

2017 Records:
MIN: 5-11-3; 5-4-1 at home
HOU: 8-7-4; 0-7-2 on the road

Minnesota United FC opens a stretch that will see the team play four home matches in just 17 days on Wednesday against Houston Dynamo. The teams fought to a 2-2 draw in Houston back on April 15 — one of the first truly encouraging results for MNUFC after struggling out of the gate — and the Loons will look to cash in on a Dynamo side with a real Jekyll-and-Hyde streak: Houston is a strong 8-0-2 at home and a woeful 0-7-2 on the road. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. with pre-match coverage beginning on My29 and MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN at 6:30 p.m.

The Loons will once again have to cope with some conspicuous absences from their customary starting XI. With both Costa Rica and Jamaica advancing in Gold Cup play, Johan Venegas, Francisco Calvo and Jermaine Taylor will be away. Out of necessity, then, it will be yet another opportunity for players like Joe Greenspan, Justin Davis, Bashkim Kadrii and others to get minutes and try to make the most of them.

“I always say to the guys, every time that you train, every time that you play, you have an opportunity to impress people,” said Head Coach Adrian Heath. “And that’s what it’s all about: people who actually train so well Monday to Friday, they start to make you wonder whether they should be playing. At the weekend, I thought Joe Greenspan did himself a great deal of favors. He was terrific. As I say, it’s up the them — the players — to prove every single day that they deserve a starting spot. And once they get in a starting spot, then it’s up to them how their performance is to keep it.”

Recent signees midfielder Sam Nicholson and defender Michael Boxall are unlikely to be ready for action against Houston, but forward Brandon Allen — who arrived last Thursday night from New York Red Bulls and started on Saturday against Atlas FC — could be one of those players driving competition for spots. He was going hard at training on Monday, striking balls authoritatively into the back of the net in drill after drill.

“Brandon Allen is a perfect example,” said Heath. “We’ve got Christian Ramirez, who has been the number nine all season. Abu [Danladi] would be the alternative, but Abu has missed too much football. We’ve had to bring somebody in, and Brandon has got a really good goal record. We’ve done a lot of finishing drills. He’s obviously a really good finisher. So he will help us. The more options, the more variety you have, the better it is. If we can bring another two or three players in during this window, I think it’ll help everybody.”

When MNUFC took a point off of Houston earlier in the season, it came after its first win of the season against Real Salt Lake at home and a gritty effort in holding a strong FC Dallas side to two goals on the road. In all, those three matches marked a turnaround from a few early disasters to begin the team’s inaugural MLS season. But if that result and Houston’s shaky road record are reasons for hope on Wednesday, Heath knows it will still take a lot to come away with a result, even with Houston missing Romell Quioto, Erick Torres, Boniek Garcia and Alberth Elis to international play this week.

“They’re obviously a really confident team, because their season has been very, very good at home,” he said. “Not so good on the road. I think we’re one of the few teams that have taken any points off them on the road. We’ve got to make sure that we take advantage of the fact that maybe two or three of their better attacking players are not playing. We’re also missing two or three players as well, so it swings around about you. You know, you win on one end, you lose on another.”

Over the last few weeks, Heath has consistently reiterated his feeling that this next stretch of matches at TCF Bank Stadium could be critical for the team as it heads into the latter part of the season. Secure nine or 10 points and the table could start to look drastically different for an expansion side working toward getting above that red line.

But there’s more to what can happen for the team before they next hit the road than just what shows up in the boxscore at the end of the day. Soccer relies — perhaps more than almost any other major sport — on small patterns and systems being built on the fly between cells of players as they seek to move the ball forward through the defense. The effectiveness of those systems and how they connect with each other is built on a familiarity and understanding that only comes about with repetition. Beyond the points, a good homestand will mean putting those things together within the context of teamwide success.

“I think the most important thing is that the chemistry within the group, and the patterns of play, and the combination play in certain areas is getting better,” said Heath. “On the days that we play well in the middle of the park and our combination play, we look like we can open teams up. And looking to this next half of the season, we want to really enhance that and get that better and better as the season develops.”

There’ll be no rest for the weary following Wednesday’s tilt as MNUFC will host New York Red Bulls on Saturday, July 22 at TCF Bank Stadium, presented by SeatGeek. That match kicks off early at 3:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN and MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN, with pre-match coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. on 1500 ESPN.

INJURY REPORT

Minnesota United
OUT: M – Bernardo Anor (left lower leg injury)
OUT: M/D – Thomas de Villardi (left Achilles injury)
OUT: D – Marc Burch (sports hernia surgery 6/20, out 8-12 weeks)
OUT: D – Vadim Demidov (left knee injury)
OUT: GK – John Alvbage (right thumb)
OUT: F – Abu Danladi (right thigh injury)
QUESTIONABLE: D – Brent Kallman (pelvis)
INT’L DUTY: Johan Venegas, Francisco Calvo, Jermaine Taylor

Houston Dynamo
OUT: D – George Malki (torn ACL 3/15, out for season)
OUT: M – Eric Alexander (right knee MCL sprain 5/6, out 8-12 weeks)
OUT: D – DaMarcus Beasley (right thigh injury)
INT’L DUTY: Romell Quioto, Erick Torres, Boniek Garcia, Alberth Ellis

DISCIPLINARY REPORT
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FIRST TOUCHES

• Tyler Deric played under Adrian Heath with the Austin Aztex in 2009.
• Adolfo Machado and Francisco Calvo played together in 2016 for Saprissa.
• Sam Cronin and Ricardo Clark are both natives of Atlanta, Georgia.
• Dynamo’s top goalscorers — Erick Torres, Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto — are unavailable due to Gold Cup duty with their national teams. Torres (Mexico) will be facing Elis, Quioto and Boniek Garcia (Honduras) in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Thursday, July 20.
• Houston signed its third Designated Player in Tomas Martinez on Saturday. The Argentina international joins the team from Sporting Braga of Portugal’s Primeira Liga. All of Houston’s DPs are under the age of 25.
• Ramirez became the eighth player in MLS history to score 10 goals for an expansion team when he scored against New York City FC on June 29.
• Mauro Manotas is one of the most accurate shooters in MLS, with 61% of his shots ending up on target.
• Minnesota has currently gone 171 minutes without a goal scored in MLS play. Its longest scoreless run was 221 minutes.
• Houston has been caught offside just 24 times this year, the third lowest total in MLS.