For the second week in a row Minnesota United headed out to California and will return with three points from a 2–1 win. An early goal from San Diego ended up not hurting for long as the Loons scored less than 10 minutes later to tie the match and scored the match winner late in the first half. But the turning point really came early on in the second half when Christopher McVey was sent off following a second yellow card.
“It’s a pivotal moment in the game and it’s something we need to take advantage of," said manager Cameron Knowles. "It certainly gives life to the group and it gave us the opportunity to put the game away. We can do better with that, but certainly it was a boost for the guys.”
With a man advantage for an entire half, things looked up for the Loons. Minnesota ended up with 12 shots in the second half, but very few were a real chance at scoring and giving Minnesota an insurance goal. Most of the half saw San Diego playing slowly out of the back and MNUFC sitting back defending and frustrating the hosts at every turn. In the few moments that San Diego did get a good shot on target, goalkeeper Drake Callender was there to make the save and keep Minnesota ahead.
“When we look at it, there are moments we should have been more aggressive, both with the ball and without in the second half, [also] going up a man. We don't need to invite some of the pressure that we did, and we can be a lot cleaner with the ball, and enjoy larger stretches of possession where they have to chase a little bit, and so we were trying to get the group a little bit higher up the field. But again, we've talked about this a lot with this group. If there's anyone that can see out the last 10 minutes of a game deep, it's us. You know, the mentality that's in that group to grind out a result is just phenomenal.”
San Diego held 61% possession in the second half and by the numbers looked to be the team playing with the advantage, though that was not the case. Minnesota's offence has improved in the last few matches and is showing more consistent improvements, though Cameron Knowles knows there is more to do.
“We talked about it in the locker room, scoring that third goal is critical, puts the game away. We certainly had the opportunities to do it, and we need to be more clinical in those moments. I think when we look back and we watch the game, those are probably the things that we'll look long and hard at. There are a few breakaways where it's just a little bit sloppy in our decision-making. Even sometimes when we turn the ball over after winning it back, where we could just be a little bit cleaner, a little bit more patient, play around pressure versus trying to force it through it. But that's certainly an element that we'll look at, where we can find that goal that kills the game.”
