It was Saturday night in St. Louis, and the Loons weren’t content with leaving the Gateway to the West without a positive result. By the end of the night, Minnesota United made good on that hope, notching a 3-1 win over St. Louis CITY SC.
After a series of starts, stops, and restarts in the Loons’ MLS regular-season schedule, the team aimed to create some distance between themselves and those on the outside looking in at the Western Conference playoff race. Not only did Minnesota keep their playoff push alive with three crucial points, but they also effectively knocked last year’s number one seed out of playoff contention.
St. Louis CITY came into the night ready to fight for their playoff lives. In fact, it was CITY who struck first, taking the lead just five minutes into the match. St. Louis’ Simon Becher won a long ball amidst a pileup in the Loons’ box, and the ball popped loose to the feet of forward Cedric Teuchert, who calmly finished to give CITY the early 1-0 lead.
While Minnesota’s defense struggled at the start, they found redemption as the game progressed, starting in the 24th minute. South African star Bongokuhle Hlongwane, continuing his excellent form in the second half of the season, forced a turnover in midfield before finding himself in the right place at the right time to complete the score. After a Kelvin Yeboah shot attempt, Hlongwane pounced on the rebound and slotted it home to bring the match level at 1-1.
The teams entered halftime tied, but the Loons came out in the second half determined to grab the lead. They got a little help from St. Louis along the way. In a transitional play, Yeboah beat CITY’s right-back, Jannes Horn, and forced a clearance from Jayden Reid. Unfortunately for St. Louis, Reid’s attempted clearance ricocheted off the corner of the crossbar and into the net, giving MNUFC the 2-1 advantage.
The final blow came when the Loons would earn the penalty kick off a St Louis handball in the box. Striker Kelvin Yeboah would coolly step up and convert the penalty kick with his signature stutter-step technique. The goal put MNUFC up 3-1 with 30 minutes remaining.
Despite a few close calls from St. Louis’ attack, the Loons held firm and proved too much for last season’s Cinderella story. Minnesota secured three valuable points for their playoff push and now turn their attention to a midweek clash at Allianz Field against one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams, FC Cincinnati.
