You know him, you love him, and he’s back on the Team of the Matchday lineup for the fourth time this season. Kelvin Yeboah’s brace in St. Louis on Saturday racked his goal tally up to nine, tying him with Tani Oluwaseyi as the club’s leading scorer of the season.
Down in the Gateway to the West, the Loons trailed 1-0 at the half after a touch-and-go first 45 that saw Eduard Löwen score a 35th-minute penalty. Yeboah evidently decided that penalty kicks were going to be the theme of the night, and proceeded to level the field by cleverly drawing a DOGSO penalty from defender Chris Durkin, who earned a red and left the pitch to put the opposition a man down. When his moment arrived, Yeboah pulled his favorite mind game move, curbing his momentum before a smooth kick that sent the ball into the bottom right for the equalizer in the 75th.
Of course, he wouldn’t settle for just one. An after-the-fact handball call on Jaziel Orozco gave Minnesota another chance to convert from the spot, and Yeboah pulled the same move, breaking the tie in the 90th minute to put the Loons up 1-2 for three points on the road.
It wasn’t just the brace that makes this TOTM honor so well-deserved. Yeboah was creating all night, putting relentless pressure on the defense and finding ways to create from very little. He won free kicks around the clock, blocked a late shot from CITY’s Marcel Hartel, and effectively mobilized Minnesota’s attack to stress St. Louis out for the full second half.
Yeboah has scored on all three of the penalty kicks he’s taken this season, and his PK prowess on Saturday helped keep the Loons at third in the West ahead of a break in regular-season play for Leagues Cup Phase One. Minnesota hosts Querétaro F.C. on July 30 at 7:30 p.m. CT. Will there be even more Yeboah PKs? We can only hope.
F: Mikael Uhre (PHI), Alonso Martínez (NYC), Ramiro Enrique (ORL), Kelvin Yeboah (MIN)M: Martín Ojeda (ORL), Owen Wolff (ATX), J.C. Ngando (VAN)D: Jack Elliott (CHI), Manu Duah (SD), Mathías Laborda (VAN)GK: Pedro Gallese (ORL)Coach: Oscar Pareja (ORL)Bench: Pablo Sisniega (SD), Benjamin Cremaschi (MIA), Cristhian Paredes (POR), Braian Ojeda (RSL), Maxi Moralez (NYC), Alexey Miranchuk (ATL), Osman Bukari (ATX), Iván Angulo (ORL), Logan Farrington (DAL)
