When MNUFC traveled to Houston to face the Dynamo earlier in the season, they found a measure of success on the road against a notoriously difficult team at home. That 2-2 draw followed closely on the Loons’ first win against Real Salt Lake and marked a turning point for the team in their first MLS season. Now on the hunt for points at home, MNUFC had to settle tonight for just one as the squad played the Dynamo to a scoreless draw after a so-so first half erupted into an entertaining battle in the second.
Houston came out as the aggressor early on, drawing its first corner kick in the match’s second minute. In the seventh minute, MNUFC lost the ball in its own half and couldn’t close down an attack down the wing. The ball was centered and the shot narrowly missed. Three minutes later, Memo Rodriguez nearly finished off another centered pass with a header but it bounced just wide left. The Dynamo’s incisive attack was matched by a midfield that effectively gummed up the center of the field, keeping the Loons pinned in their own half in the opening minutes.
“I thought we allowed their shape to affect the way that we normally try and play,” said Head Coach Adrian Heath. “Sam [Cronin], Ibson, too deep getting the ball with no real pressure on them, but playing square. Playing a lot of square balls. I thought our two center backs could have used the ball a bit quicker and pushed them to further up the field to play in their half.”
Houston’s intense defensive pressure didn’t come without a price, though: they were rung up for six fouls in the first 15 minutes and ended the half with nine. Those fouls gave MNUFC opportunities to shift the field, but they were unable to find the seams that would allow them to put the Dynamo on its heels, whether on the ground or through the air.
In the 24th minute, Houston’s third corner kick ricocheted off several heads in the box before being cleared, but when the dust cleared, defender Joe Greenspan was prone in front of the mouth of goal. Replays showed him colliding head to head with defender Jerome Thiesson and when he finally sat up after receiving medical attention, it was with a seriously bloody nose. Heath was forced to go to his bench and put in midfielder Ismaila Jome, who took over at left back with defender Justin Davis sliding into left center back.
MNUFC weathered the rest of the half well without one of its starting center back and managed to keep 62% of the possession. The return of defender Brent Kallman from injury ended up being key and Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth turned away three shots on goal, including a doozy of an opportunity in the 31st minute. And though Houston racked up 14 total shots to Minnesota United’s one, they couldn’t make the final ball count. As a result, the Loons could count themselves fortunate to head into the locker room with the score level at 0-0.
Out of the break, Houston continued its attacking ways with midfielder Alex cutting through four or five Minnesota defenders on the way to the box before losing the ball, allowing Shuttleworth to swallow it up. Gradually, though, MNUFC seemed to be building up some of the creativity they lacked in the first half, perhaps partly owed to a jolt of energy injected by Collin Martin, who came in for Bashkim Kadrii.
“I said to Bash [Kadrii] at halftime, he was the unfortunate one, but we had to do something to change it around,” said Heath. “And I thought Collin Martin gave us some energy when he got on the pitch — he showed some good stuff. And we changed the shape to a 4-3-3 in the second half and he helped us. We got a bit more control of the ball, we got a little more composure in their half of the field. Territorially we were in a better position. I thought second half, the way that we changed the shape actually affected them a little bit.”
The best chance of the match for either team so far came in the 62nd minute for MNUFC. Midfielder Kevin Molino got ahead of his man and drove hard toward the middle of the field. As he tried to dish it off to his left, the ball bounced off a defender and he re-settled it on the right side of the box. He drilled it across the six-yard box and toward a streaking Miguel Ibarra, but defender A.J. DeLaGarza got there first and cleared the ball off the goalline.
“I thought he did well tonight with the chance that he had,” said Heath of Molino. “And [A.J.] DeLaGarza did brilliantly to clear it off the line. Kev is like a few of the others at the moment. Not a lot is happening for him. He’s not getting much of a break, but we certainly need him if we’re going to pick points up in this home-stand. We need him at his best.”
Seven minutes later, Molino hit a ball ahead from right to left for Christian Ramirez, but Ramirez couldn’t corral it and the ball dribbled harmlessly to goalkeeper Tyler Deric. As the match wound down, the chances started coming fast and furious for both sides. Vicente Sanchez and Mauro Manotas nearly finished quality chances for Houston, and in the match’s final minute, a dramatic collision in front of Houston’s goal extended the match.
Collin Martin put a ball over the top for Ramirez that he met in the air just as he also met Deric in the air, resulting in both players on the ground and the ball cleared harmlessly over the sideline. The knee-to-knee collision left Deric the worse for wear, but once he walked it off a bit, he finished the match out, keeping the clean sheet, as did Shuttleworth, in a 0-0 draw.
“From that point of view, they’ll be disappointed,” said Heath of Houston. “They had two great chances first half. Very much gave it two halves. I thought second half we were the better team. Bobby [Shuttleworth] hadn’t anything to do. Second half, we had a couple of — one off the line — a couple of good chances. So first half was poor, second half was better. Probably a fair result in the end, but they’ll probably be disappointed with their chances that they created that they didn’t at least score.”
It’s right back to work for MNUFC as they prepare to welcome New York Red Bulls on Saturday, July 22 at TCF Bank Stadium, presented by SeatGeek. The match kicks off at 3:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN and on MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN, with pre-match coverage on the radio beginning at 2:30 p.m.
Lineups
Minnesota United FC Starting XI: GK Bobby Shuttleworth; D Jerome Thiesson, Brent Kallman, Joe Greenspan (Ismaila Jome 28’), Justin Davis; M Sam Cronin, Ibson, Miguel Ibarra, Kevin Molino, Bashkim Kadrii (Collin Martin 46’); F Christian Ramirez
MIN Unused Subs: GK Patrick McLain; M Collen Warner; F Brandon Allen
Houston Dynamo Starting XI: GK Tyler Deric; D A.J. DeLaGarza, Adolfo Machado, Leonardo, DaMarcus Beasley; M Juan Cabezas, Ricardo Clark, Memo Rodriguez (Jose Escalante 78’), Alex (Joseph Holland 85’), Andrew Wenger (Vincente Sanchez 76’); F Mauro Manotas
HOU Unused Subs: GK Joe Willis; D Jalil Anibaba, Dylan Remick; M Charlie Ward
Match Events
Goals
NONE
Discipline
28’ – Jome (YC) – MIN
45’ – Clark (YC) – HOU
63’ – Machado (YC) – HOU
90+’ – Kallman (YC) – MIN
90+’ – Martin (YC) – MIN
Attendance: 19,456
