MLS Minnesota United FC

MNUFC Falls 3-0 in Houston

Published on September 3, 2020 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


HOUSTON, Texas - It was yet another blazing hot game in Texas as Minnesota United returned to the Lone Star State to face the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Stadium. After shaking up the lineup at halftime against FC Dallas last week and facing the prospect of another game this Sunday back home at Allianz Field, Head Coach Adrian Heath opted to rotate the squad again. New additions to the starting XI included James Musa on the backline, Marlon Hairston as part of the midifield three and Raheem Edwards and Mason Toye up top in the 4-3-3 formation MNUFC has been going to more often. While the Loons began aggressively, pressing the ball and getting more of the ball in the first half, defensive breakdowns and Houston's blistering attack would not be denied and Minnesota found itself on the wrong side of a 3-0 result, making four losses in a row for the Loons.

Although the big news this week for Minnesota United was the signing of new Designated Player Emanuel "Bebelo" Reynoso, the Argentine midfielder began the game on the bench after having no game action for five months. Facing a motivated pair of attackers eager to get their licks in on their former club in Christian Ramirez and Darwin Quintero, Minnesota did their best to step hard to the ball when Houston had possession early in the game. The Dynamo, though, were ready for it, fighting back and getting a good opportunity very early in the fourth minute that was fortuitously knocked down by a Minnesota defender.

From there, Houston kept knocking on the door consistently. In the 15th minute, the Dynamo drew a free kick in a dangerous position just outside of the box and straight on to goal that Quintero drove just over the bar. Quintero threatened again in the 25th minute off a tasty backheel in the box and less than a minute later, Ramirez found space in the box and drilled a shot that goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh was fortunate to save with a timely reaction stop.

In the 28th minute, Quintero at last got his measure of revenge as midfielder Memo Rodriguez held off the defense before cutting his way into the box and dishing it off to the Colombian, who drilled a right-footed shot to put Houston on top 1-0.

Minnesota United's attempts to gain control of the game from there were consistency short-circuited by an inability to keep possession and avoid sloppy turnovers in the midfield. Whether it was unfamiliarity without their stalwart captain Osvaldo Alonso or fatigue from last weekend's game or something else altogether, the Loons struggled all night to get the ball through the middle of the field with confidence.

Shortly after the start of the second half, Ramirez and Niko Hansen made way for forward Ariel Lassiter and winger Alberth Elis in the 55th minute. Quickly, the two set to work ripping up the turf and putting the screws to Minnesota United. In the 65th minute, a long ball ahead found Elis on the right wing and he centered smoothly along the ground to an onrushing Lassiter, who finished it smoothly. And then in the 70th minute, Lassiter put the game away after a nifty bit of interplay with Elis through the middle of the park to push it to 3-0.

In the 71st minute, Loons fans got their first glimpse of Reynoso as he came on for Jan Gregus to get his first minutes for MNUFC. In the remaining 20 minutes or so, Reynoso showed off strong chops as far as ball possession and distribution, providing a tantalizing glimpse of his skills and sparking hope that the team's considerable investment in the 24-year-old will pay off with success in the near future.

But ultimately, MNUFC could not muster enough consistency or coherence to mount a serious threat to the Dynamo, who outshot the visitors 21-13, including 14 shots in just the first half. By the end of the game, the home side had wrestled away the bulk of possession and looked the fully deserving winners of a 3-0 game the Loons will try to put behind them as they look ahead to Real Salt Lake on Sunday at Allianz Field.

Minnesota United Lineup: GK Greg Ranjitsingh; D Romain Metanire, James Musa, Michael Boxall, Chase Gasper; M Jan Gregus, Hassani Dotson, Marlon Hairston, Raheem Edwards, Robin Lod, F Mason Toye

Houston Dynamo Lineup: GK Marko Maric; D Zarek Valentin, Aljaz Struna, Maynor Figueroa, Adam Lundkvist; M Matías Vera, Memo Rodríguez, Darwin Cerén, Darwin Quintero, Niko Hansen; F Christian Ramirez

MNUFC QUOTE SHEET

MINNESOTA UNITED HEAD COACH ADRIAN HEATH

On how he would summarize tonight's performance against Houston ...

I thought they were better than us in both boxes. I don't think there was a lot in the general game. 1-nil at halftime. I felt if we could keep it tight, there would be something in the game for us. But, you know, as I said after, we've conceded eight goals in the last three games, and, I'm trying to think of one goal where you hold your hand up and you go, that's great play, you know, we shouldn't do anything about that. I'll have to see the goals again, obviously, because I haven't had a chance to see them. But, they certainly haven't worked hard enough, when people are putting the ball in, at 7, 8-yards out, and we've not got one defender in the picture, and there's obviously something wrong. I'm dissapointed in the result. And, we have to get back to the drawing board. Because, if we concede eight goals, we're not going to win too many games. So, that was the disappointment.

On allowing so much space for Houston inside the 18-yard box and his thoughts on it ...

As I said, I don't think we defended well. We weren't good in both boxes. I'm trying to think of their keeper making a big save. I can't really think of that. And, our keeper has had to make too many saves, and, been under too much pressure at times. And, that's not a good combination, and I'm aware of that, and we have to sort it out. But, we haven't got a lot of time in-between games at this moment in time. Six games in 24 days. One game at home in eight, which, is not ideal. But, we have to get back to winning ways, because, the Disney tournament seems an often long while away.

On how much of the defense in the goals starts in midfield with turnovers ...

Well, cheap turnovers in your own half always invariably cost you. But, having been a striker, I know that if I can keep getting it in the box and there is nobody around me, that's not a good situation. Trust me. I'll have to have a look at it, guys, you know, it's like when you watch a game. You can't really assess where everybody was. But, we'll have a little look. But, certainly from first viewing - during and watching the game - our marking didn't look particularly good.

On if he had more to say tonight to the team after the game in the locker room before the press conference ...

No. I basically have gone over what I just said to you guys. We concede eight goals every three games, we aren't winning many. Trust me. You've been following football long enough and I've been in it a long time, trust me, you concede eight goals in three games, you ain't winning too any of them.

On the reason behind shaking up the attacking three in his lineup tonight and if it was carried over from the FC Dallas game ...

A little bit. I always knew that the next two games for us were going to be big and I wanted to try and keep us as fresh as possible for that. So, we'll see. We'll see how we are on Sunday.

On what he saw from Emanuel Reynoso tonight in his 20-minute shift ...

I thought there was some excellent play. We know we've got a good player. We've got to make sure that we understand what he's good at. And, we know, even from the little glimpses tonight, he's looking for that little, killer pass in between people. In between the lines and in between defenders. So, we'll have to work on that. But, considering he hasn't played since March, I thought he was excellent.

On Greg Ranjitsingh's performance tonight and the last two games that he's started ...

It's always difficult for a keeper, even when you're conceding goals. You know, maybe there's a couple out of the eight, maybe Greg [Ranjitsingh] would have thought he could do better with. But, trust me, when people are having free shots from 7, 8-yards out, invariably, you can't keep blaming the goalkeeper.

On how much of the lineup changes tonight were based on the upcoming schedule ...

A little bit of a few things. Obviously, you know I wasn't very happy with the way we played in Dallas in the first half. I thought the second half performance was a lot better, we were certainly in the game. I thought them guys deserved another opportunity to show us what they can do. And, I thought there wasn't anything in the game, up until the 70th minute when they got the second goal, or whatever it was. I actually thought, at that stage, that we were starting to get enrolled into the game and we were looking for a little bit of quality. But, as I said, when you concede three goals, it's an uphill task to shoot.

On the quick turnaround to Sunday's game against Real Salt Lake and how he can motivate the team to end this streak ...

Well, we have to because that's our job. Our job is to get the players prepared. And, obviously, at this minute, it doesn't look like we are preparing properly enough. So, we'll have to do something different and we'll see what we can do. I'm always optimistic at home, that we can get after teams and make it difficult for teams. And, that's what we're going to have to try and do in the next couple of games.

On the team looking a little disjointed in the last 10 minutes of play ...

Well, I didn't realize we were after your opinion. I thought it was asking me what mine was. Yeah, you know, when you're chasing the game and you're 3-nil down, it's never easy.

On the uncertainty of the rest of the season's games and how much more each individual game means ...

We had a decent start, didn't we, and now, we're in a little bad patch. If you look around the league, there's a few teams, who, at this moment in time, are not playing like they are. And, I'm trying to put my finger on why we have gone from where we were in the Disney tournament, which, I thought we were excellent, and, really dissapointed that we didn't even go on and win it. Because, I thought we were playing well enough to do. So, to now be back in the regular season, you know, and one game at home and we turned that over by not playing particularly well, and the two away, defeats, have not been good enough. So, we've got to roll our sleeves up and get sorted, have a look at what's going wrong, and hopefully put it right.

MINNESOTA UNITED MIDFIELDER MARLON HAIRSTON

On the current run of form for the team and any particular areas of improvement...

It's tough right now in the locker room. It's tough once you have a couple losses back to back and you start to lose belief that we had at the beginning of the season. The games [we won] before the season, the games in the bubble, we were doing well in the group and going as far as we did. We just need to get back to the things we were doing well before and that's the only way we can get out of this funk that we are in right now.

On allowing eight goals in the past three games...

A lot of the goals we have given up have been individual mistakes that have led to the opponent's goals. Teams haven't necessarily broken us down by great play, its been our mistakes that have led to their goals and ultimately to us losing games. Right now, we are in the same situation as a lot of teams; the schedule, where we are playing so many games back to back. That's a good thing though, we have another game in a few days and we will just try to get ready for the next game and try to right our wrongs.

On leaders on the team in the locker room...

That's the good thing, this team has a lot of leaders. Everybody is speaking up and that's what it is going to take. I have been on teams that have had tough stretches like this before and you really have to dig deep, and it builds character. Right now it's going to take all of us in that locker room to figure this thing out together. We have another game on Sunday against Real Salt Lake

and so we've got to go home and get our bodies recovered and go again. This is a big game for us at home.

On getting your first start for MNUFC...

It felt really good to come here and play against a team that I played with last season. I would've liked to be leaving here with a win under our belt, but unfortunately it didn't go that way for me and the group. It was good to get some minutes under my belt again and it felt good to be out there with the guys. This is a game I can build off of and hopefully I can continue to contribute to the group.

On the shortened season and importance of each individual game...

It means a lot. You are only as good as your last game and as of late we haven't been great. We have to figure this thing out. The only thing we can do is look forward to the next game. It's a big game Sunday. We have played RSL in the bubble and we know what they are about and we really need to dig deep and get three points at home.

On it meaning more to get the start against your former team...

It was a memorable game, being here in Houston playing against a team I am familiar with a lot of the players, but the result wasn't what we wanted. I am going to use this game as a building point for the next game. I am going to get better and my teammates are going to get better and continue to work hard and train and figure this out. One game at a time, every training session holding guys accountable and when we get home tonight, recover fast and get going again this weekend.

On Emmanuel Reynoso's debut...

You can tell what he is going to bring to the group. Today was our first time seeing him and being able to play with him. He is a different class and we need that right now. All of us have to raise our level. What he did in the second half, there were spurts where he lifted the group and brought energy into the game and helped create chances going forward. Hopefully we can get used to him and have a few training sessions together and he can figure out our strengths and weaknesses and he is a big addition to the group.

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