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MLS Minnesota United FC

Minnesota United and Seattle Sounders Split Points in 1-1 Draw

August 27, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota United battled to a 1-1 draw against Seattle Sounders FC at Allianz Field on Sunday afternoon, outshooting their opponents 16-3 and improving its home record against the Washington side to 1-3-2 (W-L-D).

17': Seattle went up first as midfielder Nico Lodeiro crossed into the center of the box, his pass finding defender Yeimar Gomez Andrade. Andrade redirected the pass into the cheek of the goal to put the Sounders up a goal early.

37': After earning a corner kick, Emanuel Reynoso placed his pass, reaching Michael Boxall who connected with his head, but his shot just barely missed and floated over the crossbar.

56': Minnesota United equalized in the 56th minute following a set-piece opportunity. In an attempt to clear Reynoso's ball over top, Yeimar Gomez's defensive header deflected into the net to concede an own goal.

86': Ismael Tajouri-Shradi controlled a loose ball off the back of a blocked shot by DJ Taylor. Tajouri-Shradi hit a strong strike outside the 18-yard-box, forcing goalkeeper Stefan Frei to make a diving save and punch away the shot.

90': In a last-minute effort to take all three points from the match, Mender Garcia looked to put away a ball-in from Hassani Dotson with a header, but his effort was saved by Frei in the top-right corner.

With the result, Minnesota United currently sit 10th in the Western Conference regular-season standings with an 8-8-8 (W-L-D) record and 32 points.

GOAL SUMMARY

0-1 SEA - Yemar Gomez Andrade, assisted by Nico Lodeiro (17')

1-1 MIN - Own goal, Yeimar Gomez Andrade (56')

NOTABLE STATS

16 - Minnesota United outshot Seattle Sounders FC 16-3, with four shots on goal compared to Seattle's two.

ATTENDANCE: 19,812

BELL BANK MAN OF THE MATCH: Hassani Dotson

LINEUPS:

Minnesota United XI: GK Dayne St. Clair; D Ethan Bristow, Miguel Tapias, Michael Boxall, DJ Taylor; M Wil Trapp ©, Jan Gregus, Joseph Rosales, Emanuel Reynoso, Hassani Dotson; F Teemu Pukki

Bench: GK Eric Dick, Clint Irwin; D Bakaye Dibassy, Zarek Valentin, Brent Kallman; M Franco Fragapane, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi; F Sang Bin Jeong, Mender García

Seattle Sounders FC XI: GK Stefan Frei ©; D Nouhou, Jackson Ragen, Yeimar, Alex Roldan; M João Paulo, Obed Vargas, Jordan Morris, Nicolás Lodeiro, Albert Rusnák; Raúl Ruidíaz

Bench: GK Stefan Cleveland; D Xavier Arreaga, Cody Baker; M Leo Chu, Paul Rothrock, Sota Kitahara, Josh Atencio; F Fredy Montero, Heber

UP NEXT:

MINNESOTA UNITED FC vs. COLORADO RAPIDS

Allianz Field | Saint Paul, Minnesota

08.30.2023 | MLS 2023 Regular Season | Matchday 29

7:30 p.m. CT (MLS Season Pass/1500 ESPN)

MINNESOTA UNITED POST GAME QUOTE SHEET

HEAD COACH ADRIAN HEATH

On the result...

"I thought we deserved more than what we got out of the game. I thought [there were] some really good performances. Obviously we fell asleep a little bit for their goal, but after that we created numerous opportunities and I think we were just about shaded most of the game I thought."

On having Joseph Rosales and Hassani Dotson playing as wingers...

"Joe's [Joseph Rosales] been excellent, I thought he was excellent again today and Hassani [Dotson] was outstanding again. You know he [Hassani Dotson] played three positions tonight and he was probably as good as anybody on the field in all three positions. No, I just think that those guys have worked really really hard. Obviously Izzy [Ismail Tajouri- Shradi] just coming back from injury and Sang Bin [Jeong] has had a few knocks so maybe on Wednesday we'll have a look at maybe rotating a little bit, but you know I couldn't leave Hassani and Joe out after their work last week. Four weeks ago; we've been to Houston [Houston Dynamo] and won, we beat them in New York City [NYCFC], we drew against LA [LAFC], and we've played Seattle now. I would have probably settled for two wins and two draws with the four teams that we played four games ago. So we've got to keep that momentum going now. Big game for us on Wednesday and if we were to go and get three points on Wednesday I think it would set us up nicely."

On what makes Seattle so difficult to play against...

"Well they've got good players. At the end of the day sometimes it's not just their defensive unit, it's the fact that they keep the ball really, really well. I thought in the first half they had that extra body in there and they made it work and it made it a bit difficult for us. But as soon as we got Joe [Joseph Rosales] in a little bit narrower in and around [Albert] Rusnak and let the ball go wider to [Alex] Roldan in the wide areas I felt we pretty much controlled it after that."

On what went wrong on the Seattle goal...

"Well there were a couple of occasions where we could've cleared it, and we didn't and they recycled it. You don't expect people to be getting a free header in the middle of the goal. Which he [Nouhou] was. Especially a big center back. So we'll have a look at that and see where we could have avoided the goal, but there were a couple of occasions before where we could have cleared it I felt."

On Emanuel Reynoso's fitness level...

"Well you know he's had an ankle issue and it's one of those situations where, it seems like everytime he breaks tackles he gets kicked on it and swells up after games and certain training sessions. He's just going to have to play through it as best as he can."

On getting Teemu Pukki's offense going...

"Well he's [Teemu Pukki] fighting himself a little bit at the moment. I said to him 'just go ahead and play football and just do everything that you've always done.' You know there was one occasion where he could've put DJ [Taylor] in and then ran in the box. He wants to do well so badly that he's probably overthinking it a little bit at the moment. But I've got no qualms with whether he'll deliver goals."

On Joseph Rosales playing on the wing...

"He plays in that little pocket infield, rather than as a left winger. Joe's [Joseph Rosales] is quicker than people think. He's got a good left foot, he can deliver the ball in the box. I thought he and Ethan [Bristow] did quite well down that left hand side after about the first 15 minutes, but Joe's been excellent the last few weeks. He really has."

On Ismael Tajouri-Shradi's performance...

"It was funny, someone said on the bench his [Ismael Tajouri-Shradi] finishing this week in training has been unbelievable and then he does one of them. But I like the fact that he gets in them little pockets of space, he's really comfortable on the ball. I think when he comes in that little hole, then he made things difficult and we started to get DJ [Taylor] going again down the right hand side. There's been a lot of positives today. I wish we would have won the game, like everyone else, but there was some good stuff to come out of the 90 minutes today."

On the unpredictability of scoring in soccer...

"You know this time last year I think we were playing Philly [Philadelphia Union] and we had 24 efforts at goal and ended up getting beaten one to nil and then a few weeks later we had one chance and we won the game. If we keep playing like we've done, we'll be okay between now and the end of the season."

On Bongokuhle Hlongwane's recovery...

"Day to day. Maybe Wednesday, if not Wednesday then the weekend I would hope."

MIDFIELDER HASSANI DOTSON

On if he's ever played three positions in a single game before...

"I think I did that last week against New York [City]. Maybe against, who was it? A game in the Leagues Cup. Right-mid, left-mid is kind of the same thing, back center mid. So, it wasn't too difficult."

On how important it will be to get points in the upcoming home matches. ...

"We know it's towards the end of the season. The pressure is on and we know we need to start getting the wins, but I think we have to take the positive from today's [match] how well we played, and then look forward to how we can capitalize on great play. So, try to get three points against Colorado [Rapids]."

On if he feels like they deserve more points than one after today's match...

"Definitely, definitely. I'm not happy with what we conceded, but there's a lot of good takeaways that we can take away from today."

On what makes Seattle so difficult to break down...

"I think they are an experienced roster and they've got a really good team and they have been winning for a long time for a reason. I think today with how we played, we should be happy, but we need to be a little bit more clinical in the final third."

On if he was happy with his goal scoring opportunities...

"No, I think the one where [Stefan] Frei took it out for a corner: I think my touch was a little more inside. I could have taken a cleaner strike towards the goal. That comes down to sharpness. If I'm playing in those areas I am going to try to be more sharp and clinical in the box.

On how he looks at the goal conceded...

"It's a tough one. It's a tough one to give up, but that's one I want to watch back to see where the breakdown happened and then if there's anything that I could have done better. Because, it's easy to look at one area like the incident that they [Seattle Sounders] gave up, but it's more complex than that. So, it's something I want to look back on before I give a comment."

On both goals being scored by the same player...

"Yeah, yeah. It was a great ball from Rey [Emanuel Reynoso] and he put the ball in a dangerous area. Stuff like that can happen."

DEFENDER MICHAEL BOXALL

On taking one point from the match...

"Again, disappointing. Not the goal that I am happy with conceding. Aside from that, you look at what they [Seattle Sounders FC] had and it wasn't a lot. We managed to fight our way back into the game and we were pushing and kept pushing. But they defended with numbers behind the ball and we couldn't quite break it down, which has kind of been the issue most of the season at home."

On earning a point against a historically difficult opponent...

"Yeah. We were looking at this game [like] we were expecting to get the three points. As you said, in years past, that's not been the case against other stronger Seattle teams. We weren't able to capitalize. [Stefan] Frei made some big saves. I thought when Ismael [Tajouri-Shradi] came on, he was lively for us [in] how we were able to control the ball in the final third and link up with Rey [Emanuel Reynoso]. I thought he was class when he came on. We just need to keep pushing and keep fighting away because for this group, there's no way we're missing the playoffs. We need to keep pushing and to find a way."

On his header attempt at goal that barely missed...

"I royally [expletive] that one up. It's Rey [Emanuel Reynoso] being Rey, the perfect ball in. I think I just leapt early and your eyes just light up. It feels like you have so much time. I just messed it up completely."

On how the goal was conceded...

"In the 10-15 minutes before that, we were struggling to get pressure on the ball. They [Seattle Sounders FC] were finding players, they had plays open everywhere you looked so you're weary of when [Nico] Lodeiro and [Raul] Ruidiaz make those runs between myself and DJ [Taylor]. Not a bad ball in, I haven't looked back at it, but I think maybe the gaps between myself and Micky [Tapias] - and I've kind of come under the ball a bit - we just need to get closer to them. And defending balls within the posts is where you've got to be in those situations. I need to be better on that one."

On defending well in fine margins and conceding a goal in one moment...

"I think so. You don't get judged on playing well for the 88 minutes, 89 minutes, it's moments like that [the conceded goal] that you get judged on. We go again Wednesday and we [have] another one at home. We need to pick up three points. I feel like I've repeated this a lot but for this group, it's something we need to do."

On the irony of Yeimar Gomez Andrade scoring both goals of the match...

"I feel like there's not a lot he can do on the own goal. When Rey [Emanuel Reynoso] delivers those balls into dangerous areas, it's difficult. He [Yeimar Gomez Andrade] finished off his chance in the first half pretty well. It's just one of those things."

On staying at home for two matches...

"Down this last stretch of games, we've got most of the games at home so that's something we need to turn our form around at home, because it hasn't been good enough to-date, results-wise especially. I think performances have been good, but we need that extra spark with scoring first in the first 10-15 minutes. We've got to find a way and be better."

On Emanuel Reynoso fighting his ankle injury...

"You can see he's not moving as well. He's not 100% but he's still so dangerous. He can still do so much even though he's fairly limited with that ankle. Day-by-day, that's going to come better and better. We need players around him to help take the pressure off him and do a bit more offensively."

On missing Bongokuhle Hlongwane on the counter-attack...

"Yeah. He's been in great form this year and obviously scored a ton of goals already for us, so anytime you take a player of that caliber out, you do miss that. That's a threat that other teams are grateful they don't see his name on the team sheet."

On the versatility of Hassani Dotson...

"You can put him across the back four, across the midfield. He's an intelligent player. He understands football well and he's been doing that ever since he came in, straight out of college. He's grown into that role and [is] definitely a vocal player on the team as well, no matter where he is on the field, you know he's going to demand more of everyone."

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