MNUFC bounced back in resounding fashion after a disappointing 3-0 loss in Vancouver earlier in the week by defeating the Montreal Impact 3-2 on a last minute goal by substitute Abu Danladi. In all, it was a cracking matchup, with each team conceding a penalty but only one converting and lots of feisty and impassioned play.
“It was a big win for us,” said Head Coach Adrian Heath, “because obviously when you’re in Vancouver late Wednesday night and you’ve got to travel the full width of the country and the time delay and all that sort of stuff — I’m really, really pleased for the players. They got a little bit of reward for all their hard work.”
Following a pattern they’ve established in their last few matches, the Loons fell behind early. The Impact opened the match aggressively, with midfielder Ignacio Piatti putting on a dribbling clinic in the opening minutes and finding seams in the MNUFC defense. The team as a whole was incisive with their passing and it paid off in the ninth minute when midfielder Patrice Bernier found the back of the net after the ball ping-ponged around Minnesota’s box for a 1-0 Montreal lead.
Two minutes later, it looked like things were about to get a lot worse when defender Jerome Thiesson got a forearm on the ball as he slid to block a cross in the box. Once video review confirmed it, Montreal were given a penalty and Piatti lined the ball up on the spot. Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth came up huge, though, guessing right and deflecting the shot away after Piatti made the mistake of striking it at a middle height and not far enough out to make Shuttleworth stretch.
“We can’t start the game like we do, because if Piatti scores the penalty, the game’s probably over and we’re talking about a different scenario,” said Heath. “Now the dressing room is completely different because they bring that on themselves. When we don’t give the opposition the opportunity to punish us, we’re not bad and we’ve proved that on the road.”
Shuttleworth’s massive stop didn’t precisely turn the tide, but it seemed to rally the Loons and, less than 10 minutes later, it was Minnesota’s turn to benefit from a defender’s hand as Victor Cabrera’s hand got in the way of midfielder Ibson’s cross near the edge of the box on the left wing. Midfielder Kevin Molino stepped up and drove the shot right down the middle as goalkeeper Evan Bush dove harmlessly to his right to leave the score level at 1-1.
As the match settled in, each side began to put together strong sequences of possession, with MNUFC stringing together passes from their own right wing across to the left side of the midfield and eventually all the way back to their offensive right wing. When they came up empty there, Montreal took their turn, eventually sending a cross through the box that Shuttleworth couldn’t get a hand on. Unfortunately for the Impact, though, there was no one there to receive the pass — a pattern that would recur throughout the night for the Canadian side.
As the first half wound down, the Loons mounted several dangerous forays into the final third, including a beauty of a free kick in the 38th minute from Molino that found a streaking Francisco Calvo at the edge of the 6-yard box. Calvo got a head on it, but Bush was there to swallow it up. In the 44th minute, some careless ballhandling by Montreal resulted in a turnover close to goal, but it was not to be for the Loons, who would have to settle for winning the possession battle 55% to 45% and head into the break even at 1-1.
After a rugged start to the second half that saw both teams playing a little too fast and loose, it was Montreal who pounced on an opportunity. In the 55th minute, a lofted through ball was headed back from forward Michael Salazar to midfielder Blerim Dzemaili nailed a volley into the back of the net from the edge of the box.
In the 58th minute, Molino — who saw a lot of the ball and worked hard all match to hold up defenders and force them to get physical — went down as he snaked through the midfield, leading to a free kick in a dangerous spot. As he took the kick, it sailed in towards goal and midfielder Ethan Finlay sent it back across to Ibson, who calmly chipped it over the Montreal defenders and found a waiting Christian Ramirez. Ramirez headed it in for his 12th goal on the season and his first since missing over a month with a hamstring injury. He also followed up his usual goal celebration by putting the ball under his shirt, a celebration usually reserved for expectant fathers and — sure enough — he had something more than a goal to celebrate.
“It was the first time I knew about, when he put the ball where he did,” said Heath. “So: pleased for him, he’s been injured the last five, six weeks with a hamstring so for him to come back and start and play the way he did and get a goal, really pleased for him.”
Ramirez, though, wasn’t ready to go the distance yet and came out in the 64th minute. With the teams level, Minnesota’s defense stood tall for the next twenty-plus minutes, with Shuttleworth making several key saves and Finlay clearing a dangerous ball that bounced off Shuttleworth and back in front of goal.
The teams traded blows down the stretch, with defender Laurent Ciman narrowly missing a header wide right for Montreal in the 85th minute and then Finlay missing just wide left after sub Sam Nicholson cut him loose down the right side with a pretty through ball in the 88th minute.
For all the world it looked like the teams would split the points, but rookie Abu Danladi had something to say about that. In the 89th minute, he found himself with the ball at the edge of the box on the right side. He turned and knocked the ball out just far enough to get it past a defender’s foot and then he fired an absolute rocket into the back of the net to give the Loons a 3-2 lead that would stand and give them all three points.
“He’s getting better,” said Heath. “And he’s starting to understand the importance of getting hold of the ball, not flicking it and losing it and thinking it looks clever. Starting to defend from the front a lot better and the kid looks dangerous.
“We have to treat every game like it’s a Cup Final for us,” Heath continued. “When people go, ‘You’ve got nothing to play for,’ we’ve got everything to play for. Them players in that dressing room, every single one of them, has something to play for. And between now and the end of the season, I think it will give me a big indication of where we are and what we need for next year.”
Minnesota’s next match has them returning home to TCF Bank Stadium to face FC Dallas on Saturday, September 23 at 7:00 p.m. Pre-match coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on FOX 9+ and MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN.
Lineups
Minnesota United FC Starting XI: GK Bobby Shuttleworth; D Jerome Thiesson, Michael Boxall, Francisco Calvo, Marc Burch; M Collin Martin (Collen Warner 72’), Ibson, Ethan Finlay, Miguel Ibarra (Sam Nicholson 83’), Kevin Molino; F Christian Ramirez (Abu Danladi 65’)
MIN Unused Subs: GK Patrick McLain; D Brent Kallman; M Jose Leiton, Johan Venegas
Montreal Impact Starting XI: GK Evan Bush; D Hassoun Camara, Victor Cabrera, Laurent Ciman, Daniel Lovitz; M Patrice Bernier (Andres Romero 72’), Samuel Piette, Blerim Dzemaili; F Michael Salazar (Ballou Tabla 65’), Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Ignacio Piatti
MTL Unused Subs: GK Maxime Crepeau; D Chris Duvall, Deian Boldor; M Marco Donadel, Hernan Bernardello
Match Events
Goals
9’ – Bernier (Dzemaili) – MTL
20’ – Molino (PK) – MIN
55’ – Dzemaili (Salazar, Lovitz) – MTL
60’ – Ramirez (Ibson) – MIN
89’ – Danladi (Finlay) – MIN
Discipline
2’ – Martin (YC) – MIN
53’ – Dzemaili (YC) – MTL
62’ – Piette (YC) – MTL
90+’ – Cabrera – MTL
