MLS Minnesota United FC

Minnesota United Fall to Chicago Fire 2-1

Published on April 8, 2023 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


CHICAGO, Ill. -- High pressure throughout the match and a brace by Kei Kamara was more than Minnesota United could handle on Saturday night as the Loons fell to the Chicago Fire by a 2-1 score at Soldier Field.

The two teams faced each other at Soldier Field for the first time in the all-time series between the clubs, and the Chicago side took the front foot early and throughout the majority of the first half. In the 24th minute, Chicago's Kei Kamara scored the first goal of the game, dribbling past the Loons defense and tucking the ball inside the bottom near-post. The goal was originally ruled offside, but a VAR check overturned the call, awarding the goal. Kamara struck again in the 36th minute when he connected a header off an Arnaud Souquet cross, doubling the Fire's lead to 2-0 before halftime.

Minnesota's closest scoring chances in the first half came from Robin Lod's back-heel attempt in the 31st minute and Wil Trapp's strike atop the 18-yard box in the 32nd minute, but both chances were saved.

After a pressure-filled start to the second half, in the 56th minute, the Loons were awarded a free kick from long distance. Kervin Arriaga took the set piece, shooting a powerful strike that Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady mishandled while making an attempt to save, and the ball bounced into the net, cutting the lead to 2-1. The goal is notably Arriaga's second-ever goal scored with MNUFC, his first was against Chicago on April 23, 2022.

Minnesota United's newly-acquired attacker, Sang Bin Jeong, made his club and MLS debut Saturday night against the Fire when he entered the match as a substitute in the 61st minute, replacing Luis Amarilla. This appearance notably makes Jeong just the sixth-ever South Korean born player to make a game appearance in MLS action.

In the 86th minute, MNUFC's Kemar Lawrence sent a ball into Chicago's box, where MNUFC then fired off two close-range shots that forced Brady to make a double save, marking late scoring opportunities for the Loons to try and equalize. But, time ran out and the match ended 2-1 in favor of the home team.

With the loss, Minnesota United holds a 3-1-2 (W-L-D) record and 11 points in 2023 regular-season action.

BELL BANK MAN OF THE MATCH: Kervin Arriaga

LINEUPS:

Minnesota United XI: GK Dayne St. Clair; D Kemar Lawrence, Miguel Tapias, Michael Boxall, DJ Taylor; M Wil Trapp (c), Kervin Arriaga, Franco Fragapane, Robin Lod, Bongokuhle Hlongwane; F Luis Amarilla

Bench: GK Clint Irwin; D Zarek Valentin, Brent Kallman, Mikael Marques; M Hassan Dotson, Joseph Rosales, Cameron Dunbar, Sang Bin Jeong; F Mender Garcia

Chicago Fire XI: GK Chris Brady; D Arnaud Souquet, Carlos Teran, Rafael Czichos (c), Miguel Navaroo; M Maren Haile-Selassie, Chris Mueller, Brian Gutierrez, Fabian Herbers, Gaston Gimenez; Kei Kamara

Bench: GK Spencer Richey; D Daniel Aceves, Wyatt Omsberg, Mauricio Pineda, Jonathan Dean; M Javier Cosas; F Kacper Przybylkop, Georgios Koutsias, Missael Rodriguez

UP NEXT:

MINNESOTA UNITED FC vs. ORLANDO CITY

Allianz Field | Saint Paul, Minnesota

04.15.2023 | MLS 2023 Regular Season | Matchday 8

7:30 pm CT (MLS Season Pass/1500 ESPN)

MINNESOTA UNITED POST GAME QUOTE SHEET

MINNESOTA UNITED HEAD COACH ADRIAN HEATH

On the game tonight...

"The first half performance was the worst we played all season. I thought we were second best in every department. Individually they [Chicago Fire FC] bossed us all over the field and collectively they looked like they wanted it more than we did. Second half we played a bit more like ourselves, we got into the game and played with a bit more intensity and purpose in our play; started to have some possession in their half of the field and we gave ourselves a chance. As I said to the guys at halftime, the game is either finished or you give yourself an opportunity to make something out of it, and that's what we did. But, the overriding feeling now is that we gave the game away in the first half."

On Kervin Arriaga's health...

"It was late on and we wanted to get another forward on, give Mender [Garcia] a little bit of time. You don't like to change it when you are in the ascendancy, which is what we were at the time, controlling the game for the last twenty-five minutes of the match. We wanted to put another forward on and with Kervin going down I wasn't quite sure how he would react so we decided to do it straight away."

On turning the tide in the second half and the adjustments made and whether it was tactical or mentality...

"Yeah. It was mindset and mentality. We played with some purpose, some aggression. I spoke to the guys, everything that we have done up to this point on the road is because of the level of commitment and organization and we didn't have that in the first half. I didn't think we were at our aces at all, which is disappointing considering how we have done so far, but we tweaked it a bit when we made the changes, we put Robin [Lod] deeper and I thought he gave us a bit more control. It was nice to get Sang Bin Jeong on and give him some time."

On the breakdowns in the first half...

"We were second best to everything. Second best to the first ball, second best to the second ball. Balls in our park, they nearly always got to the ball first. You can't do that. You have to be on the front foot and dominate the guy you are playing with and if you have enough people in your team who dominate the individual [matchup] chances are you are going to win the game. We didn't compete in the first half. That's not what we are about. We spoke about it at halftime and we had a few choice words and we were better in the second half. We got a response from the [players]."

On Sang Bin Jeong's debut and him bringing energy into the game...

"He did [bring energy]. It was good timing, we got the goal and we started to put them under some pressure. He showed some nice touches and I thought he put two or three great free kicks into the box. He will be better just for getting thirty minutes and getting on the field and settling down. We have a really good player and now we have to integrate him into the group."

On whether Sang Bin will be the second behind Franco Fragapane for set pieces...

"Yes."

On Kervin Arriaga's injury and if there is a concern...

"No. When he went down he didn't move, that sort of made my mind up that we will put another forward on and have a little bit more pressure on the top end of the pitch. But he is fine."

On the narrative of the team changing this week...

"We will treat the next game like we do every game. We will prepare properly and work the players hard this week and try and get them in a good frame of mind to try and get the first victory at home. It's important we have the first W at home."

On Kei Kamara's performance...

"He had a great year last year in Montreal. Probably as good as he has had in a long time. He's really confident at this period in time. He has always had good movement. It was good movement for his second goal. I thought he was a bit fortunate for his first one, it had gone through a couple of players' legs, but the second one is good movement and he has gotten across Boxy [Michael Boxall] and it was a good ball in. When you have somebody of his stature, when the ball comes in the box, invariably if it's a good ball he's going to cause trouble and that's what he did tonight."

On how the offense performed in the game...

"The first half, we didn't do anything. We didn't have enough ball in their half of the field, we didn't have enough possession in their half of the field. We didn't work the penalty area nearly enough. The second half when we started to get some control in the game and get people around the ball and started to play and get some combination play going, then we looked like we might have an opportunity. We caused some dangerous moments in the second half, but you aren't going to trouble the goalkeeper too much if you keep giving the ball away in your own half, which is what we did in the first half."

On whether Adrian Heath has kept in touch with Kei Kamara...

"No, but it's good to meet up with him again today. I've always had a good relationship with Kei [Kamara] and he's having a bit of an 'Indian summer' isn't he at this stage of his career. He looks after himself and he looked really sharp tonight."

On Luis Amarilla's performance and his positioning...

"To be fair to Luis [Amarilla] he didn't get an awful lot of service. At the end of the day you can play up front with one or two, but if you don't get them the ball enough and don't get them quality to get ahold of the ball in good spots and make your life dangerous for the opposition and that's what we were in the first half. We decided to freshen it up and it got a little better as the game wore on. Certainly in the first half I wouldn't put any criticism towards our front players because basically we didn't have enough of the ball."

On Sang Bin Jeong's performance...

"He hadn't played for a long time, so he will be better for getting some minutes. The fact that he is now getting integrated with the group, he will be better than all of that. There were some nice touches, he got in some nice spots, put some good balls in the box from set pieces. There is a lot to work with and we are looking forward to getting him fully integrated with the group and figuring out which is the best way to get the best out of him."

On handling the pressure off the opening kickoff...

"Well it's the first defeat we have had, so we handled the pressure. Today we didn't compete. It has nothing to do with the shape we had it had nothing to do with the first, it was more to do with ourselves and we let ourselves down in the first half. As I said to the guys, going on the road you can't give the opposition a two-goal head start and then start playing the way we can."

MIDFIELDER WIL TRAPP

On the match tonight and the difference between the other five matches...

"It started in the first half with duels and winning our individual battles, I'm sure Adrian [Heath] spoke on that. They [Chicago Fire FC] were first at everything in many regards in the first half, and we weren't able to clear our lines particularly well and when you give teams with poachers in the box opportunity after opportunity, it can end in goals. Credit to them for re-pressing the ball, but we have to be better in our individual one-on-ones."

On the message from Adrian Heath at halftime...

"He didn't mince words. Like I just touched on, I think it was a situation in which we got away from what's made us successful so far this season which is battling, is winning duels, is winning first and second balls, it's competing. I don't think Chicago [Fire FC] felt us at all in the first half, so halftime was that wakeup call. I think in the second half, we were a little bit more on the front foot. We had the goal so it was a little bit of a fortunate play for us but after that, they changed their formation and then we started putting more and more pressure in a couple of chances there to tie the game. Overall, it's a disappointing result for us in the sense of the performance and on top of it, going to a place in a game we felt like we could win, and performing how we did is disappointing."

On the lack of unity within the group tonight...

"You have to look at the opponent and how they were playing. They're really trying to isolate our two forwards with how they're building up with three players and then from that they're stretching the midfield. They have a target striker who's good at linking players into the game. Inevitably, I think we just got too stretched trying to affect the play in front of us and pick up second balls from behind us. Through that lack of unity and connection, they were able to find space and find joy."

On the technical abilities of Kei Kamara...

"I think it's a huge credit to his ability to maintain a high level physically and mentally, and tonight I thought he was great."

On the pressure of the team heading into this weekend and how it feels after the first loss...

"To be fair, I don't know if our group was sitting there and putting pressure on ourselves. It had just been a mentality to go on the road and be effective and try to win games, and we did that, other than tonight of course. I don't think it changes much other than in the sense of it's a long season and you can't bank on winning every single game or tying every single game. To do what we did up to this point is good, but we have to continue to get better. We have to continue to learn. We have to continue to grow as a group, and this is a good gut-check for us to understand that and to see the humility of where we're at."

On the postgame message and mood of the team...

"Guys are disappointed. Disappointed in the sense of the performance, disappointed in the sense of not getting something out of the game - which is normal. We should use this, we should look at the game and see what didn't work for us and things that were good from us, and learn to move forward. That's all you can do. Again, it's a long season, there's a lot of games, and this is a situation in which we have to learn from it."

On Sang Bin Jeong...

"He's been great in training and this was a big step forward from him to get his debut with the club. Albeit not an easy game to come into, especially when they had moved to a back-five and he's the lone striker up there. He brought in some great service on set pieces and was trying to make things happen, which I think in your debut at a new club is important."

On the offensive effort tonight...

"So much of that stems from when we get in those attacking areas, how are we trying to provide chances? Something we touched on before the game is, when we get high into their end, put the ball in the box and I think, at times, we pulled back. We hesitated and we waited, and you lose momentum. In the game plan for this one, I think we've got away from the situations in which could have made us successful to have more of those statistics. But again, it's never just the attack. It's the whole group and how we're getting the ball into those areas. I think Luis [Amarilla] really worked hard to try to create things, albeit sometimes in a vacuum on his own and that's a credit to Chicago [Fire FC] on how they were stretching us out and spreading us out."

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