While the international break isn’t quite over yet, a majority of the Minnesota United roster were back in St. Paul to welcome SC Paderborn 07 from across the Atlantic. The game had no shortage of nervous moments courtesy of a motivated Paderborn side, but the Loons made enough plays with the scoring opportunities they had to come out of Saturday night’s game with a 4-3 win in this international friendly.
As the final score indicates, offense was definitely the flavor of the day. The Loons got things going right away in the 6th minute, when Bakaye Dibassy directed the first corner kick of the game off his head and into the net to put the score at 1-0.
Paderborn didn't waste too much time in responding in the 21st minute to Minnesota United’s quick goal, as Sirlord Conteh stuck his left foot on a low-cross from Gryszkiewicz and into the net.
As the first half clock was ticking down, the Loons Jacori Hayes made the most of his start against Paderborn when he took the ball up the left hand side of the penalty box. With one quick move, he created enough space between him and the defender to put a left-footed laser into the top left corner of the goal. The score gave the Loons a 2-1 lead heading into the locker room for the half.
Coming out of the half, Paderborn manager Lukas Kwasniok brought on a number of subs to put some fresh legs in the mix. The move proved fruitful in the 54th minute after right-back Johannes Dörfler found Marco Schuster, who put a beautiful boot from the edge of the penalty area and into the top corner of the goal, bringing the match even at 2-2.
Then, in the 64th minute, a much needed and long overdue goal from Luis Amarilla, who made a quick move to the right of goalkeeper Leo Zingerle and gave the ball a little love tap into the net with ease to reclaim the lead 3-2.
As Coach Adrian Heath started to bring on some of his young talent, Aziel Jackson made the most of his opportunity when he checked in for Amarilla in the 60th minute. He put a beauty of a free kick just over the heads of the Paderborn defensive line and into the top left corner of the goal, extending the Loons lead 4-2.
That doesn’t mean Paderborn had any intention of conceding to the hosts. In the 80th minute, Tachie’s cross found Jonas Carls who got enough space to shoot and score. While that brought the score to 4-3, that was as close as the visitors would get, as the Loons defense held tough against the Paderborn attack until the clock ran out.
The Loons were able to walk away with the victory in this entertaining matchup that, hopefully, will be the start of a scoring trend that continues to go upward as the rest of the MLS season gets underway.
UP NEXT
New England Revolution vs. Minnesota United FC
Gillete Stadium | Foxborough, MA
06.19.22 | MLS regular season game no. 15
7:00 p.m. CT (MLS Live on ESPN+, Bally Sports North, The CW-Twin Cities, 1500 ESPN)
