Sports stats



MLS Minnesota United FC

MNUFC Take Three Points at Portland in First Road Win of 2021

June 27, 2021 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


Portland, Oregon. - Minnesota United came into Saturday night's game against Portland Timbers with the goal of climbing up the table, but an understanding that it wouldn't be easy at Providence Park on an evening where the temperature hit 106°F and forced the game to start an hour later than originally planned. The Loons had up to this point not managed a win on the road, but with a goal in the second minute from Adrien Hunou, Minnesota hung in long enough in enemy territory to pull off the 1-0 clean sheet to capture all three points. MNUFC are now on a six-game unbeaten streak and have climbed to fifth in the Western Conference.

The game had barely begun when the visitors broke the game open. In the second minute, midfielder Emanuel Reynoso threaded an inch-perfect pass through the defense to find a streaking Franco Fragapane on the left side. The Argentine then slotted the ball centrally to forward Adrien Hunou, who finished it cleanly to put the Loons on top 1-0. It was the fastest goal in Minnesota's MLS history, beating out goals from Christian Ramirez and Darwin Quintero in the fifth minute from 2018 and 2019.

Early goals are often the product of major missteps by the defense, but as the game wore on, it was clear that Portland had just come out flat. Blame it on the heat or playing their second game of the week after heading to Houston on Wednesday, but the Timbers were unmistakably a step slow. They had come out in a 5-3-2 formation that was clearly designed to sit back and then strike on the counterattack, but after conceding early, it made it hard to get numbers forward. More often than not, midfielder Diego Valeri - playing as a false 9 to begin the game - found himself all alone up the field as he waited for reinforcements that seldom arrived. Just prior to the break, Portland had their best opportunity of the first half as Valeri lashed in a shot that went just barely wide right and into the side netting.

Coming out of the break, the Timbers took the pitch with a new sense of urgency and the opening minutes found the teams on much more even footing. But the Loons withstood the early push and Minnesota continued to generate quality chances - from Hunou, from Niko Hansen, from Fragapane - but the home side stayed in it largely thanks to the work of goalkeeper Steve Clark. The veteran netminder stopped at least two shots that on any other night would have been goals from Hunou and Hansen and it looked for a moment as if the dramatic saves could galvanize the Timbers and get something going the other way.

Niko Hansen - who had played a lot of minute in the last week - made way for Ethan Finlay in the 59th minute. Things got a bit chippy around the 65th minute as the referee had to pull aside captains from both teams to try and settle down a brewing conflict between Fragapane and Diego Chara. Once that was settled, Head Coach Giovanni Savarese brought in attacker Dairon Asprilla for midfielder Renzo Zambrano, giving the home side a bit more attacking edge. But it wasn't enough to create a goal.

In the 90th minute and with nine minutes of stoppage time coming, Heath brought in defender Brent Kallman and defensive midfielder Osvaldo Alonso for Franco Fragapane and Emanuel Reynoso, respectively, signaling a shift to a "defend at all costs" mentality. Through the extra time, the Loons did just that, turning away attack after attack to hang on in the heat and come away with all three points in their second shutout in a row.

BELL BANK MAN OF THE MATCH: Forward Adrien Hunou

LINEUPS:

Minnesota United: GK Tyler Miller; D Chase Gasper, Bakaye Dibassy, Michael Boxall (c), Romain Metanire; M Wil Trapp, Hassani Dotson, Emanuel Reynoso, Niko Hansen, Franco Fragapane; F Adrien Hunou

Portland Timbers: GK Steve Clark; D Josecarlos Van Rankin, Claudio Bravo, Dario Zuparic, Bill Yuiloma, Larrys Mabiala; M Diego Valeri, Eryk Williamson, Diego Chara, Renzo Zambrano; F Jeremy Ebobisse

UP NEXT

MINNESOTA UNITED FC vs. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Allianz Field | Saint Paul, Minnesota

7.3.2021 | MLS Week No. 11| MLS Game No. 11

7:00 p.m. CT (Bally Sports North, CW Twin Cities, MNUFC Radio on SKOR North)

MINNESOTA UNITED QUOTE SHEET

MINNESOTA UNITED HEAD COACH ADRIAN HEATH

On the fortitude shown by the team to keep the clean sheet...

"It's five or six games now, where, was it one goal we've conceded I think? The team effort to defend the goal has been enormous, massive. Then, when we've needed it, [Tyler Miller] has come up with a great save. He got his fingers on the one that got out to the post. The only disappointment for the night really, was we only scored one goal. When you consider some of our attacking play, our approach play has been beautiful to watch and only one goal is probably the only disappointment."

On Steve Clark's performance on the night...

"Big saves but I know Niko [Hansen], [Emanuel Reynoso] and Adrien [Hunou] were really disappointed because they haven't scored. And obviously he's come up with big saves because that's his job. But if we keep creating the type of chances that we've done in the last few games, we'll score goals."

On all the weird circumstances in the game...

"I think it's just the result and the will to defend the goal. [Providence Park] is a really difficult place to come, we know that. Last couple of games we've had here, we've done well. But I think over all Jerry, it's the attitude of the players, that's been the pleasing thing. We spoke about, after the four defeats at the beginning of the season, we gathered the players together and said we got to get back to being a really difficult team to beat and that's starts with defending at the front. This is not a back four issue, this is not a goalkeeping issue, this is us. This is the group. Since then, we've seen a lot of resolve and a lot of determination to try and keep clean sheets. Once you do that, with the attacking players that we have, we're always going to give ourselves a chance for sure."

On if Hunou's goal was the fastest goal in club history...

"Well I don't know about that. It seemed quite a bit longer to me, to be honest. Longer than two minutes and certainly a long 88 minutes after that Jerry, I gotta be honest."

On what stood out about the goal...

"Movement. Timing of the pass. It's easy for Franco [Fragapane] to go and have a shot from the angle he's at but he sees Adrien [Hunou] in a great spot. But as I said to you, one thing that we've managed to do in the last couple of weeks is start to get some work in and around the penalty area again and a little combination plays. They're still finding out what each other is capable of doing and that bodes well for the future. It was the movement, the timing of the passes and the weight of the passes, that was the pleasing part."

On the difficult conditions of the heat wave on Portland...

"It was warm. Really, really warm. As I said to the players, we can't use that as an excuse. They aren't used to 100 degree heat here either. I didn't want it to be one of them where we're talking about the weather after the game and that's what I said to the players before the game. There's a famous expression, 'heat makes cowards of us all,' and I said we're not going to use that guys."

On MNUFC now being fifth in the West after a 0-4 start to the season...

"I knew this team was capable of that but that is was going to be a tall order to go on the sort of run that we've gone on. But I did know that this group, and I've said it all along, this group is capable of winning games, home or away against anybody. We've got too much quality not to be in games. We've got a big game now at home. We've got to make the most of the last couple away games on the road, we've done well, now we need to make sure that we finish the job off at home on Saturday because if we're to get another win there, it probably puts us up even further on the table. Through the hard work of the players, it's put us in a really good spot."

On Tyler Miller's performance tonight...

"He's been outstanding since he's come back in. We were talking about it before, I think [Eric] Durkee will tell me if I'm wrong, has he been on the losing team yet? He's not been on the losing team since he's been with us so long may that continue."

On Bakaye Dibassy's frustrations with the defense at the end of the game...

"It's human nature that you think when you get behind the ball, you're defending the goal but you're not. And sometimes you've got to clear the ball, get out of the penalty area, you've got to give yourself a little bit of an opportunity to get up the field. And everybody drops back and everybody thinks that because I'm behind the ball, which there's no good being behind the ball. You've got to close the ball down. Whoever the nearest man is, he has to get in people's faces, we have to stop the crosses coming in the box. If there's one criticism, and we briefly spoke about it, they had too many crosses at the end of the game."

On the Minnesota sunrise he'll see when he lands...

"That will be nice. It will be nice. As I said, the pleasing part for me Jerry is I don't think people realize what a big week it's been for us and the effort that the players have put in. It's been a monumental because, as much as emotionally and mentally with the big game, the crowd behind us at home on Wednesday, so to come here, one of the most difficult places in the league, to come and get a result it's put us in a great spot."

Check out the Minnesota United FC Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from June 27, 2021


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