Sports stats



MLS Minnesota United FC

Minnesota United Falls to LAFC on the Road

October 5, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


LOS ANGELES, Calif. - After capturing an early lead with a goal from Hassani Dotson in the fourth minute, Minnesota United fell to LAFC 1-5 at BMO Stadium on Wednesday night. Minnesota United returns to Allianz Field on Saturday for its final home match of the 2023 MLS regular season to face LA Galaxy.

4': Minnesota United struck first with a goal in the fourth minute. Emanuel Reynoso, with options on the counter-attack, found Teemu Pukki and played across the box to Bongokuhle Hlongwane. The South African passed around LAFC, finding Reynoso making an overlapping run. In an attempt to center his pass, Rey tried to cross into the box but his shot was deflected by goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau. Hassani Dotson was there for the rebound and put it away for the lead.

6' Denis Bouanga answered immediately to even the score. Cristian Olivera crossed the ball into the goal area, creating a scramble for possession. The Black and Gold ultimately gained control, allowing the home squad to produce multiple scoring chances. Bounaga caught a loose ball in front of the net and fired a shot on target to equalize.

9': Dayne St. Clair came up big for the Loons, making a save against forward Carlos Vela in a 1v1 scenario. St. Clair, outstretched in front of goal, was able to pull the ball away from the feet of Vela and prevent another goal for LAFC.

36': Bouanga secured his brace by putting away a ball-in from Diego Palacios. Unmarked at the back post, the midfielder had the space to put away a routine finish for The Black and Gold.

45'+1': The French native found his luck once again, scoring a hat trick just before the half. With pressure from DJ Taylor, Bouanga danced around the ball and slotted his shot, at a tough angle, through the gap between Dayne St. Clair and the post on the near side of the goal.

47': LAFC notched its fourth goal of the evening by forcing an own goal from Minnesota. Diego Palacios sent a lofted ball into the box where Cristian Olivera did a backheel flick, which deflected off Miguel Tapias and into the back of the net.

67': Filip Krastev scored Los Angeles' fifth and final goal of the evening, placing his shot in the far post past St. Clair, who came off his line to confront the attack.

With the loss, Minnesota United sits 12th in Western Conference regular-season standings with a 9-12-11 (W-L-D) record and 38 points.

GOAL SUMMARY

1-0 MIN - Hassani Dotson, unassisted (4')

1-1 LAFC - Denis Bouanga, assisted by Mateusz Bogusz, Carlos Vela (6')

1-2 LAFC - Denis Bouanga, assisted by Diego Palacios, Carlos Vela (36')

1-3 LAFC - Denis Bouanga, unassisted (45'+1')

1-4 LAFC - own goal (46')

1-5 LAFC - Filip Krastev, unassisted (67')

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY

Caution, MIN - Emanuel Reynoso (39')

ATTENDANCE: 22,041

LINEUPS:

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

Bench: GK Clint Irwin; D Bakaye Dibassy, Devin Padelford, Zarek Valentin; M Jan Gregus, Franco Fragapane; F Mender Garcia, Sang Bin Jeong, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi

LAFC XI: GK Maxime Crepeau; D Diego Palacios, Giorgio Chiellini, Jesus David Murillo, Sergi Palencia; M Mateusz Boguszl, Ilie Sanchez, Timothy Tillman, Denis Bouanga, Cristian Olivera; F Carlos Vela

Bench: GK John McCarthy; D Aaron Long, Erik Duenas, Ryan Hollingshead, Denil Maldonado; M Filip Krastev; F Stipe Biuk, Nathan Ordaz, Mario Gonzalez

UP NEXT:

MINNESOTA UNITED FC vs. LA GALAXY

Allianz Field | Saint Paul, Minnesota

10.07.2023 | MLS 2023 Regular Season | Matchday 37

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

NOTE TWIN CITIES MEDIA: Credential requests for MNUFC's final, regular-season home contest on Saturday, October 7 against the LA Galaxy are due by Thursday, October 5 at 7:30 p.m. CT.

MINNESOTA UNITED POST GAME QUOTE SHEET

HEAD COACH ADRIAN HEATH

On the result against LAFC...

"I said to you guys a few weeks ago that I looked back at the games that we've played, and we haven't gotten what we've deserved out of the games. Tonight, I can't say that. I'm incredibly disappointed with the performance, with individuals. The second best in every facet of the game: poor with the ball, even poorer without it. Five [goals] probably flattered us a little bit. A bad night. I take full responsibility for that performance. We'll go again."

On subbing out both fullbacks at the half...

"I think it was pretty clear if you had watched the game. They [DJ Taylor & Ethan Bristow] both were struggling with the people they were playing against [Denis Bouanga & Cristian Olivera]. I felt the experience of [Bakaye] Dibassy and Zarek [Valentin] would help us a little bit, and I thought we did better in the second half in terms of defending the wide guys."

On making substitutions due to individual mistakes...

"At the end of the day - I've always said to you guys - people don't mean to play badly. People want to do their best but sometimes there are moments in time. The pair of them [DJ Taylor & Ethan Bristow] [their strength] is their athleticism. Tonight, they both looked as though they made poor decisions with the ball, they made poor decisions in terms of marking, marking on the wrong side, but they weren't on their own. I know it'll look as though because we've taken them off at halftime, we're using them as the stick-to-beat them with it at the minute but it wasn't. We had to do something. We couldn't cope with [Denis] Bouanga. We couldn't cope with [Cristian] Olivera down both sides. Sometimes you make a decision because you think that's the right thing to do, and that's what you do."

On the click in the counter-attack early in the match...

"The one thing about LAFC, especially at home, [is] they're probably able to press and take more chances than any other team in the league. They're good at it. They've got their triggers when to press and where to press. But if you can break down that press, like we've proved a couple of times in the past year, you can get opportunities. Even after the equalizer and they went and got the second goal, we had a couple of opportunities on the break that, had we taken them, would've changed the game. I can't sit here and talk about a lot of positives. It was a good start, but after that we were second best in every facet of the game."

On coming back from the defeat ahead of LA Galaxy...

"We have to. We're playing again in three days. The [LA] Galaxy are probably going to [need to] win the game as well. If we were to win two of the games, it's still possible. But we'll certainly have to play a lot better than we've done tonight."

On addressing the fans before the last home game of the regular-season...

"The fans have been behind us all season. They've been incredible. We haven't given them enough back, certainly at home this year. There's been too many performances of not being good enough. Hopefully, we can finish the season off and give them something to sing about at the weekend. But as I said, we've got to dissect this first and try to come up with a lineup that we think can go and get a result on Saturday."

On what he's said to the players after the match...

"A lot of the things I've just said to you guys: not good enough with the ball, not good enough without it. I thought that they [LAFC] were hungrier than us, I thought that they wanted it more than us. That's never an easy thing to say to a group of players but at times, you have to tell the truth: you weren't good enough tonight and it wasn't good enough, not acceptable - the performance wasn't. And that's what I told the players."

On if the team has hit rock bottom...

"It feels like it at this moment in time but we will dust ourselves down tomorrow, get ourselves on, try and prepare in the morning and then try to get our minds cleared to get ourselves in a better mind to play."

On Kervin Arriaga's injury...

"I don't think it's really bad, but we'll have a better idea in the morning. With the adrenaline and everything going through your body, at times, you get through a game. We'll see how he is in the morning."

On missing the playoffs...

"You've heard me say it on numerous occasions this year that I think we're the only team that's done it [qualified for the playoffs] the last four years on the trot. That's something we should be proud of when you consider the quality of teams in the Western Conference. If we don't do it, it will be a huge disappointment, and I'll take full responsibility for that."

On Dayne St. Clair's performance...

"He did [make key saves] and it was a good job because otherwise - it was bad enough as it was but it could have gone even nastier. Made some big saves and big moments for us."

Check out the Minnesota United FC Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from October 5, 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