MINNESOTA UNITED FC vs. PORTLAND TIMBERS FC
Allianz Field | Saint Paul, Minnesota
07.24.21 | MLS Week No. 14 | MLS Game No. 14
7:00 p.m. CT (Bally Sports North, The CW Twin Cities, MNUFC Radio on SKOR North)

2021 Regular Season Records (W-L-D):
POR: 6-6-1 (1-4-1 on the road)
MIN: 5-5-3 (4-2-1 at home)

A week after ending the Seattle Sounders’ 13-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0 win at Allianz Field, Minnesota United welcome Seattle’s Cascadia Cup brethren Portland Timbers FC to Midway on Saturday night. The win over the Sounders was against the run of play — in seven tries, the Loons had never beaten Seattle. Against Portland, MNUFC will look to sustain a trend: Portland have not beaten the Loons since 2018, and never in Minnesota. That doesn’t mean a result will come easy. The Timbers are an experienced team that will punish mistakes. The home side have to stay disciplined and tight to ensure that Portland’s penchant for counterattacking play is not rewarded.

THE OPPOSITION

The Timbers arrive in Minnesota more or less straight from topping LAFC at home in a 2-1 game that went down to the wire. The hero of the night was Felipe Mora, fresh off playing in the Copa Americana for Chile. Mora came on in the 74th minute with Sebastian Blanco, with the former sending in the game winner on an assist from the latter in the 93rd minute. To get consistent results going forward, Portland will need to be able to get the max out of players like Blanco and Mora alongside mainstays like Diego Valeri and Diego Chara. Expect the Timbers’ gameplan to not deviate from their tried and true approach of defending deep, springing the counterattack and capitalizing on mistakes. If the Loons can limit their errors, they should be able to keep their five-game unbeaten streak against Portland going.

ADRIAN HEATH ON BRINGING NIKO HANSEN ON

“He had a hand in the goal, it was a great ball of [Emanuel Reynoso], but the one thing about Niko is, it was publicized in the MLS last week, he’s the fastest guy this year in the league. He has that pace, he does have game-changing pace and his end product was there this weekend. It’s always when you put a few subs on and they have a hand in the goal, you look as though you know what you’re doing. We were pleased for the guys who came on but they’ll be the first to say this was all about the group. We were delighted with them.” MORE

WIL TRAPP ON HOW HIS PARTNERSHIP WITH HASSANI DOTSON IS EVOLVING

“Really well in the sense that he’s someone that I find a lot of, how do I put this, help from. In any good relationship, you’re taking what someone’s good at and what someone’s not good at and you’re matching it together, right? Hassani’s physical attributes, his range, his ability to win balls and then also get forward is what makes him a great player. And for me it’s now that helps me do what I’m good at. Dictate play, move the ball from my spot forward. In that sense, I think that relationship is continuing to grow. We love to talk about the game together, we love to continue to sharpen one another so it’s been really fun.” MORE

STORYLINES PRESENTED BY BMW

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN:Minnesota United’s first captain in MLS was, you guessed it, Vadim Demidov. The hope that the Latvian centerback would provide a measure of experience and gravitas for the expansion Loons in 2017 evaporated after just three games in which MNUFC conceded 16 goals. The captaincy was bestowed upon Francisco Calvo, then just 24 years old. The talented, fiery defender brought plenty of spit and venom to the role, but his inconsistency and tendency to get caught up going forward instead of keeping the back safe ultimately contributed to the club’s decision to move him to the Chicago Fire in 2019. The Loons were fortunate enough to have acquired Osvaldo Alonso prior to the start of the 2019 season and he stepped into the captain’s role with ease, having stewarded the Seattle Sounders to MLS Cup in 2016. Since then, whenever Alonso has been unavailable, Michael Boxall has donned the armband for MNUFC and done so capably. While perhaps less visibly commanding than defensive midfielder Alonso when it comes to setting the tone, plenty of opposing forwards have learned how little guff the New Zealand centerback will take. But with Boxall sidelined by an injury for the first time in what feels like forever and Alonso not an every game starter at this point in his career, the captaincy has come to rest on Wil Trapp. The 28-year-old has taken on that role before for both Columbus Crew SC and the U.S. Men’s National Team at various levels. As a player, Trapp — who plays the same position as Alonso — leans a little more cerebral, his game based a bit more on vision. It will be interesting to see how his measured, even personality and leadership can influence the team going forward. MORE

FIRST TOUCHES

• Lod’s strike gave him three on the year and the goalscoring lead for the Loons. He and Franco Fragapane each have 5 points on the year with three goals and two assists and two goals and three assists, respectively. MORE