Its spot in the Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs already secured, Minnesota United entered Sunday night’s game looking to clinch a home game in the first round with a win over visiting LAFC. Full of confidence after defeating LAFC 2-0 at Banc of California Stadium earlier in the season, the Loons made life difficult for the Supporters’ Shield winners, clawing their way back after going down 1-0 to level the game and leave with a point — not as much as they had hoped for, but a nevertheless solid result against the presumptive favorites for MLS Cup.
"Second half, [we] played to the game plan, stuck to the plan that we spoke about all week and it actually looked like we might get something out of the game," said Head Coach Adrian Heath. "[We] kept playing into their own hands in the first half, trying to play short, play intricate passes out and that’s what they want. Anything that goes square, that goes back, they press [it] and they’re very good at it. But what they do do, they leave themselves really exposed. In the second half, Angelo [Rodriguez] was in really good spots. We got it into him and we had what? Three of the best chances of the night? That was the plan in the first half."
It was clear from the opening whistle that Minnesota United’s priority was not giving up anything on defense. In place of Heath’s preferred 4-2-3-1, the gaffer opted for the 4-3-3 look that got his team the win against Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday. It also matched up better with LAFC’s own 4-3-3 and sure enough, MNUFC didn’t find itself quite so overmatched in the midfield as the team did in the last game.
Nevertheless, LAFC’s extremely high and aggressive press caused problem’s for the home side. In the sixth minute, midfielder Lawrence Olum stepped to LAFC’s Carlos Vela as the presumptive MVP cruised along parallel to the edge of the box about 25 yards out. While he snuffed out the attack, Olum also conceded a FK in a dangerous spot, but nothing would come of it.
The Loons often found themselves slammed against the sidelines as they tried to find an avenue into LAFC’s final third. When Romain Metanire or Darwin Quintero got enough time on the wing, they could often pick out long diagonals that switched the field. The only problem was the visitors’ ability to turn around and close down the long pass’s recipient. The strategy paid off for the first time in the 21st minute when Quintero served a ball towards the top of the box that found midfielder Robin Lod. Lod chested the ball down and spun on the volley, which sailed harmlessly into the waiting arms of goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega. Nevertheless, it was the home side’s first good look at goal.
In the 34th minute, LAFC had their own best chance on goal in the first half. Midfielder Lee Nguyen sprang forward Brian Rodriguez. Rodriguez danced through the middle and evading goalkeeper Vito Mannone before popping the ball up into the air where is gently tapped the crossbar before falling back in bounds in front of the goal. Defender Wilfried Moimbé-Tahrat fought off no fewer than three LAFC attackers to keep his body between the ball and the goal, eventually sending it out to the right for a throw-in.
Just before the break, Moimbé-Tahrat came up big again. After keeping forward Diego Rossi onside as he dropped back to defend against the long ball, he turned and chased the diminutive attacker, sliding in at the last minute to send the ball out over the endline. The teams headed into the locker room shortly after, deadlocked at 0-0.
Out of the break, Heath decided to change the team’s look, putting in forward Angelo Rodriguez for Mason Toye. The Colombian made an immediate impact on the game, fighting off an LAFC defender on a long outlet from Jan Gregus and then chasing the ball into the box where his effort went off Sisniega and out for a corner kick. Lawrence Olum got a head on it but it went over the crossbar.
"[Rodriguez]’s obviously going to be disappointed with the opportunities [that] he’s had, couple of them he’s created them for himself but he gave us experience up there," said Heath. "I think that was the one thing that Mason [Toye] showed tonight. He’s 20 years of age, he’s learning the game [still] and he got bullied a bit by their two centerbacks. Angelo’s physical presence and just knowing where to stand, getting himself in good spots actually changed the game plus the fact that we played forward more which helped us rather than playing into their game plan."
Over the course of the first 20 minutes of the second half, Minnesota United began to find its footing, eventually even showing a bit of swagger as the team forced the visitors to defend the physical Rodriguez as the rest of Minnesota’s attack swooped in behind. But then in the 70th minute, LAFC found all the space it needed to score against the grain.
Forward Brian Rodriguez got the ball in space in Minnesota’s half on the left side of the field and drove in towards the box. The defense repelled his advance, forcing him sideways towards the middle where he was finally stood up. The ball dribbled out to the right, though, and directly onto the feet of Diego Rossi. Rossi settled it and, looking for options, sprayed it wide to Vela waiting on the wing. Moimbé-Tahrat jumped out in front of him, but left his dangerous left foot exposed. Vela lined up the shot and curled a beautiful ball past Mannone and just inside of the far post to put LAFC up 1-0. The goal was Vela’s 31st, tying him with Josef Martinez for most goals in a single MLS season with a game yet to play.
"We spoke about it," said Heath of Moimbé-Tahrat leaving his left foot open. "He’s disappointed. I always think with people like Vela, if you overcompensate to stop the shot, he’s going to drag it the other way but at least then, let’s see if he can score on his right foot which he’s not the weapon that the left one is. Even the goal, he set it up so far outside – the guys got real quality. That’s what you pay for and overall, when I look over the 90 minutes, we’ve handled him pretty well but then one moment, big moments, key moments [like that], change games."
That lead would only stand for five minutes, though. Following a foul on the left side of the pitch, Jan Gregus lined up a free kick with much of MNUFC pushed up. Defender Michael Boxall slipped away from LAFC’s Diego Palacios and he found himself with heaps of space down the middle. The Kiwi leapt and twisted, directing the ball past the helpless arms of a flat-footed Sisniega to level the game 1-1.
"If you look back, I can probably think of four occasions Boxy’s had the same opportunity and he’s not quite managed to put it in," said Heath. "He’s a big guy, he attacks the ball well and I think Jan [Gregus’] quality into the box has been excellent over the last few weeks and we’ve got some big guys getting in there. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got big guys, if the ball gets in the right area, the right place and defenders are running towards their own goal, it’s extremely difficult to defend. It was nice to see it go in. I actually thought that we would go on and win the game when we got the goal."
From there, both teams threw everything they had into the game. Minnesota came ever so close to snatching another goal in the 83rd minute when Sisniega launched a low goal kick that came directly to Olum. Thinking quickly, Olum sent it forward to Rodriguez, who skipped around the defender and fired a shot that Sisniega got a hand on. The rebound, though, came right back to Rodriguez, but his second effort trickles out over the byline. In the end, there was no separating the teams as each walked away with a point and Minnesota still in search of an answer to the question of whether the team will host a home game in the first round of the 2019 MLS Playoffs.
"It’s been better than I thought and I love the relationship that is developing between the players and the crowd which is always a great sign," said Heath of the first season in Allianz Field. "They’ve been incredible. The supporters have been everything we expected for the stadium and I think the players have been that as well. They’ve given performances here that they’ve been excited about. In the second half today, the willingness and the drive and the enthusiasm of the guys to try and make things happen and that’s what they did."
Minnesota United’s next and final game of the regular season is next Sunday, October 6 as the Loons travel west to face the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field. That game kicks off at 3:00 p.m. CT with pregame coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. on FOX Sports North, streaming on FOX Sports GO and on MNUFC Radio on SKOR North.
Lineups
Minnesota United FC Starting XI: GK Vito Mannone; D Romain Metanire, Ike Opara, Michael Boxall, Wilfried Moimbé-Tahrat; M Lawrence Olum, Hassani Dotson, Jan Gregus, Darwin Quintero, Robin Lod (Ethan Finlay 70’); F Mason Toye (Angelo Rodriguez HT)
MIN Unused Subs: GK Dayne St. Clair; D Wyatt Omsberg; M Miguel Ibarra, Rasmus Schuller; F Abu Danladi
Los Angeles Football Club Starting XI: GK Pablo Sisniega; D Eddie Segura, Diego Palacios (Mohamed El-Munir 84’), Steven Beitashour, Tristan Blackmon; M Eduard Atuesta, Lee Nguyen (Adrien Perez 80’), Mark-Anthony Kaye; F Brian Rodriguez (Latif Blessing 76’), Carlos Vela, Diego Rossi
LAFC Unused Subs: GK Tyler Miller; D Dejan Jakovic, Jordan Harvey, Walker Zimmerman
Game Events
Goals
70’ – Vela (Rossi) – LAFC
75’ – Boxall (Gregus) – MIN
Discipline
43’ – Toye (YC) – MIN
