Wednesday night’s win over Vancouver may have come as a relief to fans and players alike, but Saturday came quick with another chance to prove the Loons’ four-game skid to start the season was not a symptom of an underlying issue, but more a rough start and nothing more. Facing a physically imposing FC Dallas side with its eye set on packing the box with defenders and hitting long passes to two forwards up top, MNUFC had to stay organized and execute their high press with energy. As the clock ticked over into second-half stoppage, the teams remained scoreless but in the game’s dying minutes, a heroic goal by Robin Lod off a corner kick gave the home side just enough to eke a 1-0 and sing “Wonderwall” for the second time this week.

From the very start, Minnesota United’s gameplay was evident: make FC Dallas uncomfortable. It was an element of the team that Head Coach Adrian Heath brought up earlier in the week during his media availability: Last year, teams didn’t like playing against the Loons. They played physical, harassing defense so that every time an opposing player got the ball, they expected to turn around and see a grey jersey in front of them. That had not been the case in the four losses the team opened the season with, but tonight against Dallas, they rarely let the visitors have time on the ball. The counter-press was swift and ruthless.

In just the third minute, Robin Lod — playing as a false 9 once again — applied enough pressure to Dallas goalkeeper Phelipe Megiolaro to force him into a long kick down the right side that sailed out of bounds. Minutes later, midfielder Emanuel Reynoso worked the ball through the midfield and sent it out wide towards Lod. Phelipe had to chase it down outside the box and send it out for a throw-in.

Playing with a three-man backline flanked by wingbacks Ryan Hollingshead and Eddie Munjoma, FC Dallas were well set up to absorb the Loons’ offensive energy. They channeled it back the other direction with direct long balls in the hopes of catching the MNUFC defense flatfooted or overcommitted. Their timing was off all evening, though, with the visitors getting called offside 10 times in total.

Through the first half hour, the home side had little trouble finding gaps to exploit to get into that final third, but once there, they were often stymied by the sheer number of Dallas bodies in the box. Several shots were knocked down and crosses from the wings by the fullbacks were rebuffed repeatedly. Reynoso was perpetually in the center of the action and got the game’s first decent look in the 31st minute on a shot from the left wing that he curled just out of Phelipe’s reach but also just wide of the far post. The teams headed into the tunnel deadlocked and scoreless.

Early in the second half, the Loons escaped by the skin of their teeth as goalkeeper Tyler Miller came out to challenge a long ball and got beaten to it by a Dallas attacker, but his cross over to an onrushing Jader Obrian was just out of the forward’s reach. From there, the momentum shifted definitively in Minnesota’s direction. Sensing that they perhaps just needed a bit more finishing on the field, Heath went to his bench and brought in Ramon Abila — who scored the game-winning goal against Vancouver earlier in the week — for Ethan Finlay in the 64th minute.

Once Abila was on the field, it was all downhill for Dallas. It felt for all the world like a Minnesota goal was inevitable, but as the minutes ticked away, it became clear that the visitors were more than content to play for the draw and the point on the road, and no doubt Minnesota fans began to wonder if maybe the breakthrough was not going to come.

But then, in stoppage time, the Loons earned a corner kick — their fifth of the game — from the left corner. Reynoso curled it in to the middle of the six-yard box and defender Brent Kallman nodded it on goal, only to be stopped by the defender on the near post. But as the ball bounced free, Lod was there to pounced on it and bury it in the back of the net. With less than a minute left, the Loons were able to whittle away the clock and come out with their second 1-0 victory of the week and all three points. For the time being, Minnesota United have now moved from 13th up to 10th in the Western Conference.

BELL BANK MAN OF THE MATCH

GOAL BREAKDOWN

• 94' | Off the corner kick, Brent Kallman heads the ball into the defender on the post and Lod is there to finish it off. 1-0

LINEUPS

UP NEXT

REAL SALT LAKE vs. MINNESOTA UNITED FC
Rio Tinto Stadium | Sandy, Utah
05.29.2021 | MLS Week No. 7 | MLS Game No. 7
8:30 p.m. CT (The CW Twin Cities, Bally Sports North, MNUFC Radio on SKOR North)