After a frustrating few weeks that saw MNUFC take to the road and suffer two tough losses to Sporting KC and one heartbreaker to Real Salt Lake, the team returned to the comforting confines of TCF Bank Stadium with their hearts set on revenge. In their first ever MLS match, the Loons lost 5-1 to the Portland Timbers at Providence Park. But on the longest day of the year, it was Minnesota’s turn to make it a long night for Portland, handing them a 3-2 defeat in a wide open, back-and-forth thriller.
“Sometimes I think that we’re at our best when we are fired up,” said Head Coach Adrian Heath. “Coming with that is that incidents and decisions go against you sometimes. I would rather have it than not have it. And too many times, we’ve not had it. They’re starting to believe a little bit.”
MNUFC was clearly the more energetic team in the early going, pushing the ball into Portland’s half once they wrestled possession away following the kickoff. A strong shot by defender Francisco Calvo was deflected out, and Abu Danladi put a quality header on net off the ensuing corner kick. Goalkeeper Jeff Attinella was forced to punch it over the bar, but in the very next minute, the Loons opened the scoring.
Holding possession down in the right wing, midfielder Kevin Molino knocked the ball ahead to midfielder Sam Cronin, who was scrambling to get back onside. Once he gathered the ball, he fired a strong shot that found the leg of a diving Amobi Okugo, the defender knocking it into his own goal and giving the Loons a 1-0 lead just seven minutes into the match.
“There’s never a bad time to score a goal,” said Heath. “I’ll take it every week, after five minutes. Thank you!”
MNUFC showed no intention of letting up, putting the Timbers on their heels as Portland struggled to generate much energy or momentum. In the 14th minute, left back Jerome Thiesson — switching fields from his customary right back position with the absence of Marc Burch to adductor surgery — completely wrongfooted his defender and cut the ball into the box, taking a strong shot that Attinella smothered. In all, MNUFC took three shots on goal in the first 15 minutes.
In the final 15 minutes of the first half, the Timbers seemed to rally and begin to connect through the midfield better, but their final ball was consistently lacking. Still, they managed to pin Minnesota in their own half a couple of times and when the Loons tried to push out on the counterattack, they seemed to rush it.
With momentum swinging in Portland’s direction, MNUFC took a tough penalty in the 36th minute. As a long pass reached midfielder Diego Valeri on the edge of the box, goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth came all the way out to challenge, going over Valeri’s back and knocking him down. The referee pointed to the spot and Valeri calmly struck the ball into the left side of the net to level the match at 1-1.
As the closing minutes counted down, both teams got feistier, with Minnesota holding the ball in the final third in several dangerous positions. Nothing would come of it though, and the teams went into the half level.
Much as in the first half, the second half opened with scoring almost immediately. Molino delivered a beauty of a through ball to forward Christian Ramirez, who dinked it up into the air and then finished with a karate kick from the outside of his boot up and over Attinella. The Loons’ 2-1 lead was short-lived though, as a clearance by Calvo on the other end went awry and into the back of the net, leaving the teams once again deadlocked and forcing the Loons to once again dig deep to come back.
“It showed a lot of character,” said Heath. “And I don’t know why — I said to the staff — I fancied us tonight. I thought the lads in the dressing room, the mood in the dressing room before the game, you can sense it when you’ve been in it a long time. I thought the lads were up for the battle tonight. And as I say, it’s against a really good team.”
The action on the pitch began to open up, with the teams rocketing back and forth in attack upon counterattack. In the 55th minute, Attinella made a clutch save on one end, followed by a breakout to the other end that ended in a dramatic Shuttleworth save only moments later. MNUFC seemed to focus its efforts down the left wing, relying on midfielders Ibson and Cronin to set up Kevin Molino and Jerome Thiesson on the overlap.
This plan of attack paid dividends in the 64th minute. Thiesson served it into the box from the left side and Attinella came out to punch it away. He couldn’t connect fully with it though, and his weak clearance landed at the feet of midfielder Abu Danladi, who nonchalantly drilled it into the goal for his second MLS goal and a 3-2 MNUFC lead.
Drama followed shortly after when Danladi got tangled up with midfielder Sebastian Blanco as he tried to poke the ball away from him. Both players went down and kicked each other as they tried to extricate themselves, earning them each a red card and turning the match into a 10-on-10 affair.
“They both looked like they kicked each other, so if that’s the case, I’ll have to see it again,” said Heath. “I know Abu [Danladi] retaliated, and [Sebastian] Blanco did. In my day, might have been a tell-enough. Things have changed a little bit.”
Portland did its best to take advantage of the extra space on the field, but the Timbers were foiled time and again, both by Shuttleworth and the excellent play of Cronin and Ibson, who locked up the midfield. Heath was forced to pull off both Ramirez in the 89th minute and Ibson in stoppage time from sheer exhaustion, but nothing was going to keep an energized MNUFC team from locking up a much-needed win.
“I think the back four did really, really well tonight,” said Heath. “I also think that the four in front, whether it be Molino, whether it be Viva [Kevin Venegas] late on, and Ibson and Miguel Ibarra and Sam Cronin. Their protection of the back four was excellent. It had to be. Against a team that’s been together for years, and that’s cost a lot of money together. We can be really proud of our night’s work.”
There’s no rest for the weary, though, as MNUFC will face Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m. Get there early to check out Lucha Libre wrestling on the West Plaza at 6:00 p.m. and you can get a ticket plus Luchador mask starting at $26 by clicking here.
Lineups
Minnesota United FC Stating XI: GK Bobby Shuttleworth; D Kevin Venegas, Brent Kallman, Francisco Calvo, Jerome Thiesson; M Sam Cronin, Ibson (Collen Warner 90+’), Miguel Ibarra, Abu Danladi, Kevin Molino; F Christian Ramirez (Jermaine Taylor 89’)
MIN Unused Subs: GK Patrick McLain; D Justin Davis; M Rasmus Schuller, Collin Martin, Bashkim Kadrii
Portland Timbers Starting XI: GK Jeff Attinella; D Alvas Powell, Amobi Okugo, Roy Miller, Marco Farfan (Vytas Andriuskevicius 46’); M Diego Chara (Darren Mattocks 82’), David Guzman, Sebastian Blanco, Diego Valeri (Darion Asprilla 76’), Darlington Nagbe; F Fanendo Adi
POR Unused Subs: GK Jake Gleeson; D Zarek Valentin; M Ben Zemanski, Lawrence Olum
Match Events
Goals
7’ – Okugo (OG) – MIN
37’ – Valeri (PK) – POR
47’ – Ramirez (Molino) – MIN
50’ – Calvo (OG) – POR
64’ – Danladi – MIN
Discipline
70’ – Danladi (RC) – MIN
70’ – Blanco (RC) – POR
85’ – Miller (YC) – POR
