Soccer Recap 11: The Road Warriors Do It Again, A Look Around MLS, and Columbus Makes History
Minnesota Soccer Spot
Tuesday, May 7th
The Road Warriors Do It AGAIN, A Look Around MLS, and Columbus Makes History
*Disclaimer: My takes are not thoughtful, and they are NOT based in knowledge.*
MNUFC: The True Road Warriors
Minnesota does it AGAIN! For the fourth time this season, the Loons left an away match with all three points. In a 2-1 victory over Atlanta United this past Saturday, the Loons saw goals from midfielder Kervin Arriaga and youngster Tani Oluwaseyi. While Atlanta was able to pull one back, Minnesota held firm in their defensive structure (at times. Luck was definitely on their side), preserving the win. With twenty points, Minnesota currently sits in second place in the Western Conference with one less game played than many of the other teams in the West. It's the best start the club has ever had, making it very fun to me a Minnesota United fan at the moment.
As it is every week, my lineup predictions were wrong. I assumed Eric Ramsay would go back to the lineup structure he used against Charlotte, but he opted to go with a two-striker system. Sang Bin Jeong, who had been away on international duty, returns to the starting eleven working alongside Tani Oluwaseyi. Rosales takes on a different role, filling the vacated spot of Hassani Dotson with Lod and Trapp joining him in the midfield trio. Ramsay goes with the five-back defensive system with Boxall as the heartbeat. Kervin is once again playing more of a center back role with Tapias opposite of him. Padelford and Taylor maintain their starting positions. For Atlanta United, my lineup predictions were SO close. I, not knowing anything, accidentally had Mosquera and Lobjanidze switched. (I also spelled Lobjanidze's name wrong. Nice going by me). The only player difference was Cobb starting over Morales in the center back role.
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| Atlanta Lineup |
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| MNUFC Lineup |
The first half was tame from both sides. Both teams had a couple of chances, but neither team was clearly dominating the play. In the ninth minute, a shot from Lod outside of the box forces Guzan into a smart save. In the thirty-fifth minute, a miscommunication between Guzan in his defender results in a dangerous collision, and Oluwaseyi is unable to capitalize on the mistake. He just doesn't get enough power on the strike. Immediately following the opportunity for the Loons, Atlanta comes back the other way. A perfect ball from Almada falls in front of Giakoumakis. He heads the ball into the ground, and it bounces up, forcing Dayne into an incredible save. At that point, it had been the best chance of the match for either side.
The second half was a different story. Fans of both teams had moments of excitement and stress. The excitement started in the fifty-fourth minute for the Loons. Joseph Rosales serves a great out-swinging ball into the box off of a corner kick, meeting the head of Arriaga, who puts it away. It's a Honduran-to-Honduran play (My friend Alejandro is very happy, I'm sure), and the Loons are up 1-0. To be fair, the defending there is poor from Atlanta. You would think that someone, or even two people, would be marking the guy who's eight feet tall on set pieces. But Minnesota makes no mistake.
The Loons kept the momentum going. Just a few minutes later, Carlos Harvey, who had been introduced to the match in the second half, makes a good step on the ball off a pass from an Atlanta player. He finds the feet of Oluwaseyi who, as history would tell you, finds the back of the net. Minnesota United is up 2-0 on the road, and once again, Atlanta finds themselves in a hole at home.
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| Hello? |
It wouldn't be a comfortable win for the Loons, though. Atlanta would have the better play for the rest of the match. Giakoumakis' shot in the seventy-seven minute goes just wide, and Dayne breathes a sigh of relief. Atlanta would strike back in the eighty-second minute: a header finds the feet of Rios, who squares it to Lobjanidze. There's nothing St. Clair can do, and Atlanta is back in it. Minnesota is then forced to deal with offensive pressure from the home team. In the ninety-first minute, the ball pings around the Loons' box. A header from Giakoumakis hits the crossbar, and the ball is scrambled away. It was a lucky moment for Minnesota, as that would be the last legitimate opportunity for Atlanta. The Loons escape by the skin of their teeth with their third straight win.
The Loons will take on L.A. Galaxy a week from Wednesday. Since that isn't for another week and a half, I'll discuss that along with Portland next week. (Gotta love those double-game weeks).
A Look Around MLS
Columbus Makes History!
This past Wednesday, the Columbus Crew made CONCACAF history. The Crew traveled to Mexico, defeating Monterrey at home with a 3-1 scoreline. In the dominant performance, Columbus showed MLS is a force to be reckoned with: This was the first time an MLS team advanced in this tournament against two Liga MX teams while winning on the road. It was a massive win for Columbus and all MLS fans watching this tournament. As much as Liga MX fans don't like or want to acknowledge it, MLS is catching up.
Columbus had gone into this match with the lead on aggregate. The previous week, they had defeated Monterrey at home in a 2-1 match. Going into the second leg, Columbus needed a tie to get through to the final. They started the match strong, maintaining possession and pressure against the Mexican side. Unfortunately, in the eleventh minute, luck would not be on their side. A ball is served over the Columbus defense by Rodriguez. The ball finds the feet of Meza, who chips Cheberko. The ball hits the crossbar and deflects in off of Columbus' defender. It is an unlucky moment for Cheberko, and Monterrey finds themselves up 1-0 with the away goal advantage on aggregate.
At this point, Monterrey began to grow into the match: Throughout the rest of the first half, they had the better play, but none of their chances troubled Schulte and Columbus too terribly. Aidan Morris stood out in this half, providing solid defensive recoveries and solid midfield space, keeping Columbus in the match.
Luck would meet the Columbus Crew again, though, in the forty-ninth minute. A horrible throw from Monterrey's goalkeeper finds the feet of Aidan Morris, who from a tight angle, finishes. It was great pressure from Morris, but an even worse mistake from Andrada.
From there on out, it was all Columbus. Immediately out of the locker room in the second half, Alex Matan is subbed on, providing an attacking spark for the Crew. He provides a perfect split ball to Diego Rossi who finds the back of the net. With the 2-1 lead for the Crew, not only are they ahead on aggregate, but Columbus also has the away goal tie-breaker. That would mean Monterrey would need to score three unanswered to advance. While Monterrey did have a couple of legitimate chances in the second half, Columbus stood tall defensively. They would cap off the night with a third goal from Russell-Rowe in the eighty-ninth minute. Columbus would leave Mexico with a victory and a spot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup Final.
That's all for this week!
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