MLS Minnesota United FC

Minnesota United Earns 2-0 Shutout Win in New York

Published on August 20, 2023 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


New York, NY -- In the first match back of the regular-season, Minnesota United came away with all three points at Citi Field, defeating New York City FC 2-0 on Sunday evening and earning MNUFC's sixth road win of the season.

18': In an attempt to put MNUFC up over New York, Teemu Pukki redirected a blocked shot from Bongokuhle Hlongwane in the box. Pukki passed into the feet of Hlongwane, who fired his shot over the top of the crossbar.

21': Forward Monsef Bakrar sprinted towards the Minnesota goal to confront Dayne St. Clair in a 1v1, but sent his shot high and away from the net.

28': Monsef Bakrar had another go at goal, connecting with a ball over the top from Matias Pellegrini. Bakrar took his shot off the volley but missed wide.

53': Minnesota United got on the board first with a goal from Jan Gregus, in his first appearance back with the Loons. Gregus, with time and space atop the 18-yard-box, launched a long-range shot over goalkeeper Luis Barraza for the lead.

84': Miguel Tapias conceded a foul in the penalty area and New York City FC was awarded a penalty kick. The play was reviewed and the call on the field was overturned.

90'+5': Ismael Tajouri-Shradi played a through ball to Mender Garcia, who was able to place his shot into the far post and out of reach from Barraza to secure Minnesota's victory in New York.

With the result, Minnesota United currently sit ninth in Western Conference regular-season action with a 8-8-7 (W-L-D) record and 31 points.

GOAL SUMMARY

1-0 MIN - Jan Gregus, unassisted (53')

2-0 MIN - Mender Garcia, assisted by Ismael Tajouri-Shradi (90'+5')

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY

Caution, NYC - James Sands (32')

Caution, NYC - Matias Pellegrini (39')

Caution, MIN - Wil Trapp (60')

Caution, MIN - Emanuel Reynoso (62')

NOTABLE STATS

1 - Ethan Bristow made his first MNUFC/MLS regular-season debut.

3 - In his first appearance after returning to Minnesota, Jan Gregus' goal was his third regular-season goal with MNUFC. Mender Garcia's last-minute goal was also his third of the 2023 campaign.

6 - With six wins on the road, Minnesota has the second-best away record (6-6-1) in the league behind Real Salt Lake (6-3-3).

ATTENDANCE: n/a

BELL BANK MAN OF THE MATCH: Jan Gregus

LINEUPS:

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

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

NYCFC XI: GK Luis Barraza; D Tavyon Gray, Thiago Martins, Birk Risa, Braian Cufre; M James Sands, Keaton Sands, Matias Pellegrini, Santiago Rodriguez, Maxi Morales; F Monsef Bakrar

Bench: GK Matt Freese; D Maxime Chanot, Mitija Ilenic; M Andres Perea, Richard Ledezma; F Julian Fernandez, Alonso Martinez, Talles Magno, Kevin O'Toole

UP NEXT:

MINNESOTA UNITED FC vs. SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Allianz Field | Saint Paul, Minnesota

08.27.2023 | MLS 2023 Regular Season | Matchday 28

3:30 p.m. CT (MLS Season Pass/1500 ESPN)

MINNESOTA UNITED POST GAME QUOTE SHEET

HEAD COACH ADRIAN HEATH

On his thoughts of the match and earning a spot in playoff contention...

"We spoke before the game and I said to the group "we're in the last third of the season, we've got 12 games left. We're probably going to need five or six wins to guarantee it [playoff spot]'. Tonight was a good opportunity for us. I knew we were going to have to defend well at times and I thought we did, but I always thought we would have opportunities. Some of our football was excellent in the first half on the break. I said to them 'if we don't beat ourselves, we will get opportunities on the counter-attack,' and that was what happened in the end. The back four stuck together, defended very diligently. The guys up front worked really hard. But as I always say, it starts from the front two. Without Rey [Emanuel Reynoso], without Teemu [Pukki] putting a really good shift in and giving us a starting base to work from, then it affects everybody else. It's been a good team effort. Six wins now [on the road] joint-most in the league and that's something we can be proud of so it gives us a good chance."

On restarting the MLS regular-season with a win...

"I did say to the guys [that] apart from the last thirty minutes of Nashville [SC] when we were down to 10 men - when I don't think we did ourselves any favors - I thought it was a success for us and I said we have to build on that. We have to take some momentum from the Leagues Cup... it was disappointing but we were down to the last eight out of 47 [teams]. I'm sure the other 39 would've liked to have been in Nashville last Friday. But it looks like we've taken a bit of that momentum into the game tonight."

On Bongokuhle Hlongwane's injury concern...

"He said he felt his knee. Everything will be inflamed so we'll have a better idea when we get back and we have a look at him tomorrow. Hopefully, it's nothing too serious. We took Rey [Emanuel Reynoso] off. He has not trained, he's had a bad ankle most of the week. With the booking, I didn't want to get him to do anything silly and getting a red card. The next couple of weeks are really important for us being at home. So we took Rey off with precaution. Obviously, I was delighted with the contribution of the guys that were put on. The ball, the timing of the pass from [Ismael] Tajouri-[Shradi] to Mender [Garcia], great run from Mender and a really good finish. I'm really pleased for the kid. He's been fighting himself and has desire to want to help and score goals. He's training really well and he got his reward today because it's not been great for him the last few weeks. But he's come in every day and trained really, really well and you get your rewards like he has tonight."

On Jan Gregus' performance...

"Good. I thought he was excellent. From the first second he had gone on, he won a couple of tackles, broke a couple of dangerous plays up and always looked to be progressive with his passing. [He] always likes to play forward and had a deflection for his goal but he'll be pleased and we're pleased. We said when we got Jan [Gregus] in that the biggest thing for us was that he knows the way we play, he knows this group, or most of them, so it was a no-brainer. I think he'll be invaluable for us between now and the end of the season."

On the confidence of attacking players to score during the rest of the season...

"I thought Teemu [Pukki] started the game really well with some really good link-up play. I think Rey [Emanuel Reynoso] got himself in really good spots. I've got no doubts that Teemu is going to be huge for us and these next 11 games. But [for] Mender [Garcia], there's nothing like scoring a goal to start to give you confidence to start to give you that belief that you can score goals like you've done in the past. I've just said to him that all of the players are delighted for him. He's a really popular guy in the group. He comes in every day with a smile on his face and works really, really hard. Invariably, you get out of life and football what you put in it. He had a little bit of a reward with that tonight."

On Emanuel Reynoso's injury status...

"It's quite swollen. He said he doesn't have a lot of pain but if anything is not perfect and he's not planting [his foot] perfectly, anytime he stretches it, either internally or externally, he gets quite a lot of pain. We've got four or five days now to get some real treatment into him: get some rest, get some ice on it, hopefully get the swelling down and get him ready for next weekend because it's a big game against Seattle [Sounders FC]."

On Dayne St. Clair's performance...

"I thought there were a couple of really big saves. The one that he saved on the line was excellent because he didn't give up on the play when it went across him. He's come up big tonight. He's made the saves that we expect him to make. He's a good goalkeeper. In a couple of big moments, the unflashy saves were some of the most important because he had about three or four that bounced right in front of him with bodies around him and if he spills that, it probably ends up in the back of the net. But his handling was very good tonight, his kicking was good. So same with Dayne [St. Clair]: there's nothing like a clean sheet for goalkeepers to start to give them a bit more belief in themselves."

On bringing Jan Gregus back for goal-scoring...

"It's funny, we used to speak to him all the time because he's got two great feet. Technically, he's as good as anybody. It's one of those things we used to speak to him about of 28, 20-30 yards out... get it at your feet and getting the shot off. He got a little bit of a deflection tonight but I'm pleased for him."

On the anticipated threat of Monsef Bakrar...

"Yeah. Sometimes we forget that this is a really expensively assembled group [NYCFC]. They spent $6.5 million this week on another forward. [Talles] Magno was $10 million. We're dealing with a lot of really good forward players on the field - Santiago Rodriguez- these are high numbered players and we dealt with them really, really well. He had one effort that he probably would like back in the first half from the cross from [Matias] Pellegrini. But overall, I thought Micky [Miguel Tapias] and Boxy [Michael Boxall] handled their forwards well."

On Kervin Arriaga's injury and recovery...

"It wasn't as bad as first feared. It wasn't as bad as Robin's [Lod]. It may be six to eight weeks, we're hoping. We're hoping that he will get back on the field. Hopefully, we'll make the playoffs and he will be available for then, but we won't rush him. The fact that it's not as bad as first feared is a bonus and positive for everybody."

On seeing a play called in favor of Minnesota...

"To be fair to Nima [Saghafi] the referee, he did say he didn't have the greatest view of it and that's what VAR is there for. I had a really good view because I was down that side. I didn't think it was a penalty. The good thing is that common sense prevailed, that's what the VAR is there for: to go and get the proper view if you didn't see it properly and get a chance to have another look at it. As I say, common sense prevailed because it wasn't a penalty."

On an added degree of difficulty playing on a baseball-specific field...

"Yeah, it's much different. You're used to everything being symmetrical like the lines, the stadium, the stands and then suddenly [the players] are going off of angles. Sometimes, it's difficult to get your bearings, the depth of the situation at times. But this is a better environment than Yankee Stadium. The atmosphere was pretty good here tonight. The stadium they're building, they need that. It's a big club. They've spent a lot of money on the players and now they get a stadium to go along with that so hopefully it won't be too long that they're playing in their soccer-specific stadium, and we'll look forward to that."

MIDFIELDER JAN GREGUS

On scoring on your debut tonight...

"It was a slight deflection and very glad that it went behind the goalkeeper. It was good"

On your comfortability as a goalscorer and the idea of getting more involved on the scoresheet...

"It depends on what position on the field you are in. I have the ability to shoot from long distance. When you play the six or number eight, especially when you want to build up the play from the back and you want to connect those passes to build up from the backline, so sometimes it's difficult to get in those [goalscoring] positions right away. Definitely I have the ability and I would like to contribute more [goals]."

On Adrian Heath saying you have the ability to score...

"I wasn't always in those [goalscoring] spots that often. When you try to be the connector of passes between defenders and midfielders, so now this game there was an opportunity when we found Rey [Emanuel Reynoso] and they tried to close in on him, so I saw the opening and took a shot."

On having some time between games...

"I felt very comfortable, I worked hard to be in good shape and I felt comfortable. In training during the Leagues Cup game was frustrating. To not be able to play for both the teams [Minnesota United and Nashville SC]. But I felt good."

On your familiarity with the system...

"I know my role in this team. I am in a position to help other players. We have a very talented group with some new faces and so I hope we can build on this and keep getting better after this nice win."

On watching Nashville play in the Leagues Cup final...

"It was hard to be honest with you. To be with that group from the start of the year and to be hours away from it [the final]. That's just life. I got the message that I was being traded and that I needed to switch and that I [then] needed to watch the final. To Nashville I wish them all the best, they have very good players and good friends and I wish them all the best. I spoke with them after the final and I was proud of what I saw. It was one of the craziest finals and it was an amazing game and I wish them the best."

Check out the Minnesota United FC Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from August 20, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central