Sports stats



MLS Minnesota United FC

Minnesota United Falls to Sporting Kansas City on Decision Day

October 21, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Minnesota United was eliminated from playoff contention after a 3-1 loss against Sporting Kansas City at Children's Mercy Park on Saturday night.

13': Midfielder Emanuel Reynoso had Minnesota's first chance on net with a shot on frame, forcing Kansas' Tim Melia to dive and punch away the save.

15': Erik Thommy combined with Daniel Salloi to enter into open space in Minnesota's goal area. Thommy tried to put his shot past Dayne St. Clair but Michael Boxall got a touch on the ball, which deflected, rolling over the goal line and out of play.

28': Sporting Kansas City took the lead with an opportunity in the 28th minute. The home side switched the field over to Johnny Russell. Russell decided to take midfielder Jan Gregus in a 1v1 and bent his ball around the Slovakian, burying the ball into the far post.

31': Sporting doubled its lead with a goal from Remi Walter. Salloi centered a cross into the Minnesota box for Walter to put away with a one-touch finish.

57': Dayne St. Clair made two crucial saves for the Loons by coming off his line to punch away a lofted ball into the box, immediately making a second save following a rebounded strike from Andreu Fontas.

78': Johnny Russell secured his second goal of the night and the victory for the home side. In an attempt to clear the ball from the MNUFC penalty area, Michael Boxall was stifled by Russell, who was able to block his clearance and take a shot for the third and final goal of the match.

82': The Loons prevented a shutout when Boxall responded to the Sporting goal with one of his own, connected with the ball-in from Emanuel Reynoso and scored Minnesota's only goal of the night following a set piece.

With the loss, Minnesota United is eliminated from playoff contention after finishing 11th in the 2023 regular-season standings with a 10-13-11 (W-L-D) record and 41 points.

GOAL SUMMARY

0-1 SKC - Johnny Russell, assisted by Daniel Salloi (28')

0-2 SKC - Remi Walter, assisted by Daniel Salloi (31')

0-3 SKC - Johnny Russell (78')

1-3 MIN - Michael Boxall, assisted by Emanuel Reynoso (82')

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY

Caution, MIN - Wil Trapp (53')

Caution, MIN - DJ Taylor (67')

Caution, MIN - Michael Boxall (68')

Caution, SKC - Jake Davis (86')

NOTEABLE STATS

100 - Emanuel Reynoso made his 100th MNUFC appearance across all competitions tonight against Sporting.

ATTENDANCE: 20,479

LINEUPS:

Minnesota United XI: GK Dayne St. Clair; D Bakaye Dibassy, Miguel Tapias, Michael Boxall, Zarek Valentin; M Wil Trapp ©, Jan Gregus, Hassani Dotson, Emanuel Reynoso, Franco Fragapane; F Teemu Pukki

Bench: GK Clint Irwin; D DJ Taylor, Devin Padelford, Ethan Bristow; M Jan Gregus, Kervin Arriaga, Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Joseph Rosales; F Mender Garcia, Sang Bin Jeong, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi

Sporting Kansas City XI: GK Tim Melia; D Logan Ndenbe, Andreu Fontas, Dany Rosero, Jake Davis; M Erik Thommy, Nemanja Radoja, Remi Walter, Daniel Salloi, Johnny Russell ©; F Alan Pulido

Bench: GK John Pulskamp; D Robert Voloder, Graham Zusi, Robert Castellanos; M Felipe Gutierrez, Roger Espinoza, Gadi Kinda; F Willy Agada, Khiry Shelton

MINNESOTA UNITED POST GAME QUOTE SHEET

INTERIM HEAD COACH SEAN MCAULEY

On the plans for the team heading into the match that were not executed...

"We've come here in the past and played with a normal 4-2-3-1 situation with our wide players being forced back where you end up pulling six defenders. We made a decision to play more of a 4-3-3 [formation] with three midfield players, so we were defending with seven, really. We had three forward players in Franco Fragapane, [Emanuel] Reynoso and [Teemu] Pukki and [we wanted] to play them more centrally because we knew it was a one-off, win-all game. We didn't really get a hold of the ball as well as what I thought [we would]. To be fair to them [Sporting Kansas City], they got down the outside of us and were dangerous when they switched the play."

On failing to reach the playoffs for the fifth season in a row...

"Disappointed, really disappointed. All of the players are really disappointed and I feel for them. We had a high of the last game, and we went into this one feeling as if we could [do] what would be an upset because we've never won here before. We thought we would have a good chance at going for it. There were spells in the game where we kept possession and we got through the middle of them [Sporting Kansas City] but then the final pass wasn't there. In the second half, I was pleased with the players because they didn't give up and they kept going, kept trying to get a goal. The third goal obviously was a little bit of a mishap, a fluke type-goal, but they still kept going after that. I was not disappointed with the effort they gave. I just thought that we probably needed to do a little bit more to win the game."

On the first two goals conceded...

"We spoke about Johnny Russell and when he's on that right-hand side, he wants to cut in. We said all the time to keep him outside and take him to his right foot. He skilled up Jan [Gregus] and brought the ball inside, then it's really difficult because the goal looks a lot bigger when he brings it inside because he's on his strong left foot. The second one we probably should've tracked the runners a little bit more. Boxy [Michael Boxall] got dragged out because he went tight and wanted to keep that pressure on them [Sporting Kansas City], so Boxy went and provided the pressure, Micky [Miguel Tapias] had to come across and cover. They ran into the huge gap that got left where I would've expected that runner to be tracked."

On subbing in Kervin Arriaga and DJ Taylor before Bongokuhle Hlongwane...

"I wanted to get the fullbacks higher up the pitch which I thought they did with Bakaye [Dibassy] on one side and DJ [Taylor] on the other. I wanted to play more attacking from the fullback areas and get them further up the pitch. I was thinking, maybe, about Joe [Joseph Rosales] as well, but I thought Bakaye did a great job in terms of his attacking threat; he got crosses in. Kervin [Arriaga] came back from injury, and we knew we would get something out of him because he's always a threat to the opposition. I just thought we needed a change. You can't keep doing the same thing. We wanted to change the personnel. I was always planning on bringing Bongi [Bongokuhle Hlongwane] on but he had a tough travel schedule, so I was always planning for that to happen. I was hoping to bring him on in a better position. But again, he came on and there were a couple of moments where it provided a threat, and he had a couple of counter-attack moments where you think he had a chance to get us back into the game. But maybe his legs weren't there. In the end, we got the last goal but we ran out of time."

On the choice to sub in Bongokuhle Hlongwane...

"I think it was how he felt. I spoke with him, and he had a tough schedule traveling from Africa and then he was into Paris and then back into Minneapolis, whereas the other two [Michael Boxall & Teemu Pukki] had come straight from Europe. I worked with [Franco] Fragapane and Rey [Emanuel Reynoso] in training. I thought since they've got that relationship and having a talent like Bongi [Bongokuhle Hlongwane] to bring off the bench would be good for us. Like I said, the score line tonight didn't help bringing Bongi on in that environment because I would've preferred it to have been even or [goals] up so he could come on and pose more of a threat. It was more of his travel schedule and that I thought he could provide us with something from the bench."

On considering playing more forwards at the end of the match...

"Yeah. In the end, we were playing with three forwards. I told Hassani Dotson to push forward. I wanted Kervin [Arriaga] to play higher and the two fullbacks to play as high as they could. The difficulty sometimes, when you play with too many center forwards on, they get in each other's space and it's difficult for them to make runs. I think we could've taken a midfield player off and put another striker on, but then we don't have anybody to get the ball to him. It was basically trying to get as many goal-scoring threats on as we could. The only other thing I, maybe, could've done is take off a defender and put an extra striker and play more directly. But we hadn't been working on that, we had been working on trying to play through the middle and in the second half, pushing our fullbacks forward to try and get crosses in."

On his conversation with Peter Vermes after the match...

"He just said 'come and have a drink with us after the game,' and I said 'yeah, no problem.' I'll go and see him and wish his team all the best. I do think that - now they've [Sporting Kansas City] got all of their players back and healthy - they are going to be a threat to anybody. They've got a chance of winning the whole thing. That's sometimes what happens, momentum takes you into situations where you do have a chance. I thought we might have had that momentum if we'd have won tonight. I felt that could've been us and we could've had a run at it. But they've got a good squad, and they've got everyone back healthy so I'll be saying to him [Peter Vermes] 'all the best and make a run for it.'"

On his assessment of the season...

"We've not done well enough at home. That's the overall assessment. In the MLS, you need to win more home games, and we've not done that. That's on us. That's on the team, the staff, everybody that's involved. We've probably given up too many winning positions to drop points. Next season, we need to be a lot stronger in those areas: we need to be stronger at home, we need to be stronger when we're winning to see games out."

On his role in the upcoming season...

"That's not for me to decide. I'd like to see myself in any position, that's the nature of this business: you don't know from one day to the next. A really, really successful manager that I know said to me 'plan for 10 years and don't be surprised if it ends in 10 minutes.'"

On if the loss feels like the end of an era for the club...

"I would say it's more of a start of a new one. The club has got to move on, and that's just the nature of the beast. It's going to be quite exciting for the club to get the situation sorted out with what they want to do and what they want to achieve. That's the same for the players. Some of the players will leave and take other clubs. The ones that come back will put the shirt on and play for the shirt, and make sure that they don't sit at the end of the season and say 'I can't believe those other teams got in and we didn't.'"

MIDFIELDER WIL TRAPP

On the mood in the locker room following the loss..

"Any season is never easy. We're disappointed, that's reality. At the same time, there was no quitting from the group at the end and you can always take some positives from that. But disappointment just in the way the game went. The first 30 minutes we felt good about it; conceding the back-to-back goals in two minutes was certainly a more difficult way to go about the game. But no one quit, which I'm super proud of the boys for that."

On the different formation affecting the game...

"The idea that we worked on was trying to overload the middle of the field with Fraga [Franco Fragapane] and Rey [Emanuel Reynoso] sitting in around their No. 6., Hassani [Dotson] and Jan [Gregus], or in this case Kervin [Arriaga] as well in the second half, just trying to create some space in the center to overload and at times it worked. We were a little negligent at times with possession and just easy giveaways that hurt us in transition. But for the most part, you want to get your best players on the ball, guys like Rey, guys like Fraga, in those pockets and I thought for the better half of the first half, we did a decent job of it. But the concession of the two goals really made it more challenging now to have to open up, given our fullbacks who weren't the most attacking in the first half. Zarek [Valentin] and Bakaye [Dibassy] are great possession players, but when it comes to attacking it's not necessarily them flying up and down, so that made more sense in the second half to push a little bit more with D.J. [Taylor]."

On goals for the offseason and expectations for next season...

"It's a really interesting time for the club. An inflection point for what will be a new coach, a new general manager coming in and who knows what those plans look like. For me, professional sports are always everchanging and just trying to prepare for whatever is next. The offseason goals are obviously to rest for a little bit, but then get back to training and get fit for whatever opportunity comes."

On if it's the end of an era at Minnesota United...

"Naturally yes. Adrian [Heath] and Mark [Watson] were here [at Minnesota United] for a long time. Adrian the entire time in MLS, so that era has ended. Whatever comes next is the next iteration. It's a wonderful opportunity for the club to take the next step and see what they can do and what we can achieve."

On what the team needs in the next coach...

"I don't know to be honest. What I can speak on is what these boys really mean to Sean [McAuley] in these last two games. He did an amazing job coming into a difficult situation and to rally the troops and get guys doing what they are best at. That was a really impressive thing for me to see in a manager coming into an interim role. So I can't speak about what's next, but what I can say is I commend the club and Sean, in particular, and the staff for taking this opportunity very seriously and trying their best to prepare the guys for what were two finals - in the case of the LA Galaxy game and this game.

On if he expects to be back next season...

"I would love to."

On what the last two weeks meant to the players...

"The things that we can take away from the past two weeks are when we're a group culminating and working towards a common goal, there's a lightness, an energy and a quality to the group that I truly love. Whoever comes next, a big step for them will be just tapping into that. There's plenty of quality here. It's just how can we hold the group together to be firing off cylinders as many times as possible throughout a 34-game season? These last two or three weeks, we started to see different pictures in training, different pictures in the game, and as a footballer soccer player, you want to be challenged and that was a really good measuring stick and fun thing to see as a player and as a teammate. Guys having to sort through new problems and having to learn, having to grow, even in a short amount of time, so that was a huge positive for me of what the potential and the capacity of our group is and what's possible."

On if going down two goals is daunting when you know what's at stake...

"No, because they can't tie the game either and that was our message coming out at halftime - try to stay in the game as long as possible. We've been on the other side, when you're up 2-0 and then the team scores and then it's 2-1 and then maybe 2-2 and anything can happen in the last minute. The third goal certainly hurt us, but 2-0...the biggest thing we were reiterating to ourselves was to stay disciplined, keep the plan and just stay in the game, and keep working on what we had trained. That's a calming thing for guys. It's a very consumable message to feel on the field because it's really easy to get ahead of yourself as the game unravels at 2-0, or it can unravel at 2-0. So giving guys anchors to keep the status quo... you're not going to win the game in the 52nd minute so I appreciated that from Sean [McAuley] and the staff for really pushing that message."

On how he wants the fans to remember him...

"For me, I want to be looked at as someone who tried to make their teammate better. Who tried to contribute to this club and this community as much as possible. Whether that means here or not, I'm not going to speak too much on that. I always try to lead by example and be a guy that works hard, that sacrifices for the team and tries to serve others. Ultimately, that's all we can leave as a legacy whether we're in the same place or we go somewhere else."

Check out the Minnesota United FC Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from October 21, 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