The energy at Allianz Field wasn’t just alright Saturday night. In fact, it was alright, alright, alright. Austin FC, and its famous owner, may not have felt the same, but for Minnesota United it was a stellar performance that showed they can hang tough against some of the best competition that Major League Soccer’s Western Conference has to offer.
With new acquisitions in tow, the Loons attack came out of the gates quick and put the Austin FC defense on its toes for much of the first half. As they have in recent weeks, the MNUFC attack showed even more polish with those new additions to the squad. From the fluidity of the passing to the quick, decisive shots taken on goal, each game has shown the kind of development the Loons and the fans have been hoping for with the talent acquired, a trend that hopefully continues to trend upwards.
While there were some reasonable scoring opportunities early on, the 26th minute saw Emanuel Reynoso earn a penalty kick opportunity. Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver got a finger on the Reynoso shot, but not enough of one to deter the ball from finding the net. 1-0, Loons.
The Austin attack got itself going after the Reynoso goal to make the first half feel like a bit more of a tightly-contested battle between the sides. Though many of those opportunities weren’t much in the way of a challenge for goalkeeper Dayne St Clair, it was a questionable hand ball call on DJ Taylor in first half stoppage time that saw Austin FC earn itself a penalty kick before the half. Austin FC midfielder Sebastián Driussi went left and DSC went right, making it even at the half with a 1-1 scoreline.
The boys came out of the half with the same energy on the attack they had shown from the start. The Wonderwall was up to the task of matching that energy, as they did their best to serenade Austin FC goalkeeper Stuver with a crass, yet beautiful chorus of pleasantries. Perhaps the sounds of the home crowd were too lovely to ignore for Stuver and the Austin FC defensive unit, as they seemed to lose track of one Franco Fragapane. Using his killer speed and heads-up thinking, Fragapane swooped in on the Austin defense to get the steal and score over the head of Stuver. 2-1, Loooons. Additionally, the celebration that followed may have been as great as the goal itself.
With the lead in hand, Coach Adrian Heath gave his attacking starters the rest of the night off, subbing out Reynoso, Amarilla and Fragapane and subbing in new addition Ménder García, Wil Trapp and Joseph Rosales. Obviously, a quality squad like Austin FC wasn’t about to throw in the towel and allow the Loons to slowplay their way to victory. Their attack put the heat on the Loons backline with the clock ticking down, giving the boys a few close calls around the net. However, MNUFC were able to hold strong the rest of the way and secure the ever-so-important three points over an extremely strong Austin FC.
