MLS Minnesota United FC

Minnesota United's Leagues Cup Run Ends at Nashville SC

Published on August 11, 2023 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Minnesota United fell 5-0 to Nashville SC in the 2023 Leagues Cup quarterfinal at GEODIS Park on Friday night, earning a top-eight finish in the tournament.

34': While tracking a run by forward Jacob Shaffelburg towards goal, DJ Taylor was shown a red card for fouling Shaffelburg at the top of the box and was ejected from the match.

39': Nashville SC went up first with a goal from Shaq Moore. Shaffelburg centered the ball in front of the net, allowing Hany Mukhtar to get his heel on it and flick the ball behind him. Shaq Moore, making a back-post run, put away the pass for the 1-0 lead.

44': Nashville extended its lead following a hectic scramble for possession in the penalty area by both teams. Teal Bunbury got his foot on the loose ball, firing a shot at the net and converting to put the home side up 2-0 over the Loons.

50': The Boys in Gold racked up their third goal of the night five minutes into the half. Mukhtar, with space down the touchline, played a ball into the center of the box for Alex Muyl to redirect with a header.

53': Sam Surridge gave the Tennessee squad another lift over the Loons. With Dayne St. Clair pulled off his line, Shaffelburg passed into the goal area for Surridge to run onto at the far post.

59': After a quick sequence of combination passing, Hany Mukhtar found himself in front of the goal and was able to strike a shot into the high center of the net.

With the result, Minnesota United is eliminated from the tournament. The Loons will resume MLS regular-season action against NYCFC on Sunday, August 20 at Citi Field in Queens, New York.

GOAL SUMMARY

0-1 NSH - Shaq Moore, assisted by Hany Mukhtar (39')

0-2 NSH - Teal Bunbury, assisted by Hany Mukhtar (44')

0-3 NSH - Alex Muyl, assisted by Hany Mukhtar (50')

0-4 NSH - Sam Surridge, assisted by Jacob Shaffelburg (53')

0-5 NSH - Hany Mukhtar, assisted by Dax McCarty (59')

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY

Caution, MIN - Wil Trapp (27')

Ejection, MIN - DJ Taylor (34')

NOTABLE STATS

7 - Bongokuhle Hlongwane finished the tournament with seven goals through five matches, scoring a brace in both matches of the Group Stage and the Round of 32 and adding a tally in the Round of 16. He finishes the Leagues Cup run amongst the top scorers in the Golden Boot race.

1 - Ethan Bristow made his first MNUFC start.

ATTENDANCE: 19,915

LINEUPS:

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

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

Opposing Team XI: GK Elliot Panicco; D Daniel Lovitz, Lukas MacNaughton, Walker Zimmerman ©, Shaq Moore; M Dax McCarty, Brian Anunga, Alex Muyl, Hany Mukhtar; F Teal Bunbury, Jacob Shaffelburg

Bench: GK Ben Martino; D Taylor Washington, Josh Bauer, Jack Maher; M Sean Davis, Laurence Wyke, Anibal Godoy, Luke Haakenson, Fafa Picault; F Ethan Zubak, Sam Surridge

UP NEXT:

MINNESOTA UNITED FC @ NYCFC

Citi Field | Queens, New York

08.20.2023 | MLS 2023 Regular Season | Matchday 27

6:30 p.m. CT (MLS Season Pass/1500 ESPN)

MINNESOTA UNITED POST GAME QUOTE SHEET

HEAD COACH ADRIAN HEATH

On DJ Taylor's red card...

"I've not seen it back. I've been told it looked a little bit soft. So I'll have to have a look at it. I haven't seen it all, so it's a bit early for me to give an opinion. What I will say is the sending off did not affect the way that we defended at times. Our defending was so poor at times. I don't think they [Nashville SC] had to work hard enough for their goals and that wasn't down to 10 men. That was just poor defending, poor marking, poor desire to stop the ball going in the back of the net. As I've just said to the players, I can't excuse that. We've defended really well of late. Obviously it [the ejection] does affect the way you play with 10 men: You get strung out, suddenly the game gets shifted side-to-side with the way that they play and they do pull. They do work the penalty area really well. They put good crosses in the box. They've got good people in good spots in the box, and they attack those spaces really, really well. But that doesn't excuse the way we defended."

On how the sending off of DJ Taylor impacted the momentum...

"There wasn't an awful lot in the game until the second half. In general play, I thought we looked dangerous on the counter-attack and we took away our attacking threat and ran out of options. But when they've [Nashville SC] still got two in the back, or three in the back, that doesn't affect how many we put in the box. It was just poor in the box. We've had one or two individuals tonight who I don't think have done themselves justice."

On having the energy to compete in the semifinals after conceding three goals in nine minutes...

"I knew that it was going to be difficult tonight with the amount of games that we've had and the travel to get here. You might say it's the same for them [Nashville SC] because they played the same night but it's not the same. You're not traveling, you're not sleeping in your own bed, etc. But I'm not taking that away from them. I think Gary's [Smith] done a great job, I think they've got a really good group of players, very well-organized and really committed. I don't want to take anything away from them but what I will say and I'll repeat it again: Going down to 10 men is not an excuse to concede the type of goals that we conceded."

On the positive takeaways that Minnesota United can take away from the tournament...

"I've got a lot of optimism for them in the next 14 games of the year. When we put our best team on the field, I think we can be more than a match for anybody. We've proved we can play. We've got game changers. So there have been a lot of bright spots. You look at the goals that Bongi [Bongokuhle Hlongwane] scored, you look at some of the individual plays that Rey's [Emanuel Reynoso] had. I think Joseph Rosales has done himself a lot of good over the last two or three weeks. And I'm sure there will be one or two things that I'll take a little bit of pleasure or a bit of optimism from, it's just a little bit difficult to think about at this time."

On being in a 'must-win' environment and using the experience for the regular season...

"I think so. As I said, there's a lot of optimism with our front players. There wasn't an awful lot in the game tonight until the sending off. Anybody who has been here will think that, or in the stadium, you felt that. There have been some bright spots over the last three or four games. We'll go home, dust ourselves down, take positives, have a look at the negatives because there have been plenty tonight, and then go from there."

On the depth of the fullback position for the remainder of the regular-season...

"I don't think - whether we make the playoffs or not - it's not going to be down to our depth at fullback, I don't believe. I think that we have got enough depth at fullback. We changed the shape a little bit to see if we could keep it tight and maybe get a little break somewhere. But then you concede two really soft goals in the beginning of the second half. Then you look at it and you think we might have gone off lightly with five [goals]. As I said, it's been a difficult evening for us, and then we'll go home and analyze, see where we need to get better, see where we might need to improve, and we'll try and do that."

On the team's next main goal/objective during the rest of this campaign...

"Well, we need to make the playoffs. We've done it the last four years; I believe we're the only team that's made it in the last four years in the Western Conference. So, it'll be nice to keep that going and make it five. I know that with this group, if we're to make the playoffs, then we have opportunities to win games. We've shown that all year with our away performances. Tonight was a bad night at the office in terms of our defensive unit. But when I look back at what we've had and now we've started to get most of the guys fit again, I have a little more optimism for the rest of the season."

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Major League Soccer Stories from August 11, 2023


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