Loons “Hold On” To Grab Three Points in San Jose

September 3, 2024
|In MLS, MNUFC, MNUFC Match Recaps
|By Matthew Johnson
Minnesota United midfielder Joseph Rosales (8) and San Jose Earthquakes forward Cristian Espinoza (10) collide at the MNUFC vs San Jose Earthquakes MLS match on Saturday, July 20, 2024 at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Michael Lake / Lake Photography)

On July 24, Minnesota United FC beat the San Jose Earthquakes at Allianz Field, which broke Minnesota’s nine-match winless streak (7 L, 2 D). This past Saturday, August 31, San Jose played host to Minnesota. While the Loons were coming off one loss in recent play, rather than a losing streak, the club felt urgency to get back into the win column with only eight regular season matches to play.

MNUFC head coach Eric Ramsay, in the week prior to the match, said, “We’ve got to go there [San Jose] with a healthy sense of pressure and expectation, and the players have to deal with that because that is ultimately where we want to be. We want to be a team that feels pressure to win every game and that there’s an expectation that we can do so. So, we want to start building that on Saturday.”

The MLS history between these two clubs is mixed. Headed into this match, MNUFC had a better goal differential (GD +7) against San Jose than any other MLS club, except for their 3-win, 1-loss record against FC Cincinnati (GD +8). However, MNUFC’s overall record (W-L-D) against the Earthquakes stood at 6-4-5.

This is MLS; anything can happen on match day. Yet, at the end of the evening, the Loons flew away with three points off two goals from Bongokuhle Hlongwane.

“Deja Vu” — Little To No Changes For Either Team

Eric Ramsay made only one personnel change from the Seattle Match. Bongokuhle Hlongwane started up top next to Kelvin Yeboah instead of Teemu Pukki. This was Bongi’s first start since the Leagues Cup match against Necaxa, in which he only played 28 minutes, subbing out minutes after Hugo Bacharach got a red card.

Ramsay also made some minor adjustments to his formation. He moved midfielder Robin Lod to the right and Hassani Dotson to the left. Also, the wingbacks Joseph Rosales and Sang Bin Jeong dropped back to be part of a five-player backline rather than a five-player midfield.

Western Conference bottom-dwellers San Jose were coming off a huge win in Sandy, UT, where they beat third-place Real Salt Lake 2-0 off goals by Cristian Espinoza and Amahl Pellegrino. Interim manager Ian Russell kept the exact same starting line up that got the impressive win at Real Salt Lake.

Striker Ousseni Bouda was loaned to Monterey Bay FC (USL Championship) in late June. After playing in 3 matches for Monterey Bay and scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, San Jose recalled him in late July. He subbed late into the match at Allianz Field and only played nine minutes in two Leagues Cup matches. However, at PayPal Park on Saturday Bouda earned his second consecutive start.

Ian Russell explained, “Well, Bouda played two [full] games with Monterey Bay, and in both games he did really well, scored a goal, and was just a handful. He’s a tough player to play against. He’s strong, physical, wants to run, looks to running behind. So we just said, ‘Hey, we liked what we saw, and we’re going to look to get you some minutes here.’ And he’s taking that and done really well.”

“Whatta Man”

The Loons got on the attack early. In the 8th minute, Hassani Dotson stepped up to challenge defensive midfielder Carlos Gruezo for the ball. The two players collided. Before falling down, Dotson slipped the ball through to Robin Lod. Lod perfectly passed to Bongokuhle Hlongwane on a diagonal run and the striker scored. Like Salt N Peppa, the Loons added some spice to start the match. By the 8:02 mark, the Loons led 1-0.

In the 11th minute, the Loons had another dangerous scoring opportunity. Rosales took a corner kick; Lod at the near post headed the ball centrally. Bongi outsoled the ball over the the far post. Michael Boxall tried to get a foot on it but was thwarted by Bloomington, MN native and Earthquakes captain Jackson Yueill.

Then in the 22nd minute, Rosales passed long to Kelvin Yeboah who was coming off his two-goal debut. Yeboah hit a hard shot but San Jose goalkeeper Daniel got his mitts up to make the save.

“Give It Up, Turn It Loose”

Later in the first half, the Loons gave the ball up and the Earthquakes let loose. Rodrigues tried to play a ball in the air to Pellegrino. Although Jefferson Díaz got his head on it, the ball fell toward Pellegrino anyhow. Pellegrino headed the ball behind him and towards the net. A rushing Ousseni Bouda ran on to the ball and tied the match with his first MLS goal.

Coach Russell remarked, “It’s good for Bouda to get that goal. You know, Buddha’s been a really bright spot these last two games. I thought he played well in Salt Lake and played well tonight.”

Ramsay was disappointed in the defense: “Naturally you’re going to have messy periods, and in those messy periods you have to be really tight. You have to make sure the distances between players in the back line are as they should be. And at the point in which they scored, they weren’t. And that’s happened too often for us.”

Toward the end of the first half, San Jose would have the better attacking chances. The Earthquakes shook MNUFC’s defensive structures, but both teams went into halftime with just a goal apiece.

Free Your Bongi, And The Rest Will Follow

In the 63rd minute, Tani Oluwaseyi subbed into the match for Sang Bin Jeong. This was his first MNUFC appearance since July 30 when he left the Leagues Cup match against Necaxa with a hamstring injury.

Immediately after the substitution, Joseph Rosales took a throw-in deep in San Jose’s defensive territory. Benji Kikanović attempted to head the ball out, but it glanced off his head to Bongi, figuratively foaming at the goalmouth, hungry for another. Bongi’s one-touch shot went off Daniel and up off the crossbar back to Bongi. Bongi took his own rebound, his second touch a right footer to the far right side, where Vitor Costa blocked the shot with his knee. However, the ball again bounced back to Bongi. Third time’s the goal: Bongi’s left leg put the ball between Daniel Munie’s feet. Munie looked down to see that he was standing well behind the goal line.

Bongi’s brace moved him past Tani Oluwaseyi’s squad-leading eight goals. The South African now leads the Loons with nine goals on the season.

Ramsay explained why he started Bongi next to Yeboah: “He was able to play close to Kelvin, who was obviously a really good reference point for him, and we were able to get Hassani and Robin close to him. And we played some nice combinations. We got Bongi free on the counterattack on a number of occasions. So, he’s earned his spot.”


Minnesota United forward Bongokuhle Hlongwane (21) with the ball at the MNUFC vs San Jose Earthquakes MLS match on Saturday, July 20, 2024 at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Michael Lake / Lake Photography)

“Right Direction”

Ramsay spoke of players transferring training lessons to matchday:

“For the period where we struggled over a couple of months, we were very reliant on counterattacks, and we didn’t have the continuity on the ball that we really want. And that’s been a big focus over the course of the last couple of weeks. We really executed that well in the first 20-25 minutes. We looked [like] a team that was full of personality, full of composure, players who really wanted to get on the ball, keep the rhythm of the game.” He later added, “We’ve seen it in both the Seattle [Sounders] game and the game today [San Jose Earthquakes] that it’s a very obvious step forward. It’s a very obvious part of the evolution for us.”

For a brief period, MNUFC played in a 4-3-3. The color commentator for Apple TV, Jamie Watson, pointed out that Ramsay held up four fingers, wanting to use the 4-3-3 to generate more offense. However, once they scored the go-ahead goal, Watson pointed out there was a call for more substitutions and a return to a five-back formation.

In the 71st minute, MNUFC subbed on DJ Taylor for Rosales and Devin Padelford for Hlongwane. The back line left-to-right was then Padelford, Tapias, Boxall, Díaz, and Taylor.

“We want to be flexible. We want to be adaptable. I do now feel like we’re back to that point where what we can think about the team looking a number of different ways, and at that point in the game, in order to keep Bongi on the pitch, is obviously far more natural for him to be playing slightly higher up. And we’re going to play with that front two of Kelvin and Tani. Jefferson, with his athleticism, is very capable of defending the outside of the pitch. So it’s nice for us to be able to use that in order to adapt.” — Eric Ramsay

Minnesota United Head Coach Eric Ramsay answers questions from the press following the MNUFC vs San Jose Earthquakes MLS match on Saturday, July 20, 2024 at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Michael Lake / Lake Photography)

Earthquake Equalizer? No, You’re Never Gonna Get It

San Jose responded by making three substitutions of their own in the 72nd minute and two more in the 77th and 78th minutes. All the substitutions were like-for-like. When 24-year-old centerback Daniel Munie had to leave the field for an injury, San Jose were out of substitutions. They decided to move Munie to a center forward position. In a stoppage time counter attack, Munie almost scored.

Russell elaborated, “He hurt his hamstring, so he pulled it. And rather than play a man down because we’d already made our five subs, we had to put him somewhere, or we could play down a man, but he actually almost scored at the end.” He further explained Munie would have been a liability on the back line: “he couldn’t run.”

The Loons survived a close match and won 2-1 at PayPal Park. But how close was it really?

Ramsay claimed, “It was far more comfortable than it felt at the end.” He later added that after “an inevitable, messy period” in the first half, “we smoothed out a little bit in the second half. And I think largely up until the point at which they had the chance right at the death, it was a performance that was full of control and dominance for far longer than we’ve been able to display over the course of the last couple of months. So, it was a pleasing night, and it obviously puts us right back in the mix.”

“Ooh Boy”

At the end of the 2005 season, MLS granted Anschutz Entertainment Group permission to move the San Jose Earthquakes if a local owner was not found within 30 days. AEG moved the San Jose Earthquakes to Houston, TX, where they became the Houston Dynamo.

In 2006 John Fisher helped rebirth the San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS with a new stadium. Fisher also owns the Oakland Athletics and plans to move the Athletics to Las Vegas by 2028 despite Oakland fans requesting he sell the team to local ownership group.

While the displeasure of the Oakland Athletics fans has received more media attention over the past few years, Earthquakes supporters aren’t happy with him either.

Speaking of Oakland and Houston, in 1988, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones made the final cut after thousands auditioned for a new R&B trio for an Oakland-based music production. The trio became a quartet when the production heard Terry Ellis , whose plane was late from Houston. They may have hit their peak on the Billboard charts in the 1990s, but for this writer their harmonies are still En Vogue.

Internationals — Runaway Loons

Eight senior MNUFC players have been called up to their national sides.

  • Dayne St. Clair – Canada, friendlies against the United States and Mexico
  • Tani Oluwaseyi – Canada, friendlies against the United States and Mexico
  • Robin Lod – Finland, UEFA Nations League
  • Teemu Pukki – Finland, UEFA Nations League
  • Joseph Rosales – Honduras, CONCACAF Nations League
  • Michael Boxall – New Zealand, friendlies against the United States and Mexico
  • Alejandro Bran – Costa Rica, CONCACAF Nations League
  • Zarek Valentin – Puerto Rico, CONCACAF Nations League

Additionally, Academy U18 defender Tamer Ibsais will represent Palestine at the 2025 AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Minnesota United have two weeks off before returning to March play on Saturday, September 14. The Loons will fly to CityPark to take on St. Louis City SC. Will new designated player Joaquin Pereyra be available to play? Which Loons will be back from international break? Will young Loïc Mesanvi be back from his shoulder injury? Stay with Northland Soccer Journal and find out with us.

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Bongokuhle Hlongwane Eric Ramsay Ian Russell MNUFC San Jose Earthquakes