ST. PAUL, Minn — Minnesota United FC has begun 2020 as it did 2019 by winning a pair of road games to open its season.
As in 2019, neither of the teams the Loons faced made the playoffs the previous year. But that fact doesn’t significantly detract from the first two steps the Loons have taken into 2020, with road wins always at a premium in Major League Soccer.
Now, the Loons return to Minnesota for a four-game homestand, bringing momentum and expectation with them.
“The expectations were that we had a really good year last year. We got to the cup, the final, we made the playoffs. We feel as though the squad’s upgraded, the team’s upgraded, and now we have to keep holding each other accountable,” MNUFC head coach Adrian Heath said.
“The one thing I said before, just to the guys there, ‘It’s a start.’ And I told you this, it’s a long year, lots of travel, you know. But we gave ourselves a good platform, we’ve got four home games now, you know,” Heath said. “But, it doesn’t count for anything if you don’t perform at home. If we can perform like we can at home, and take these kind of performances on the road, then we should be in good shape.”
Here are three takeaways from a game that saw MNUFC score four first-half goals for the first time since the Loons routed FC Cincinnati at Allianz Field on June 29, 2019.
Amarilla starting strong
Having scored in each of his first two MLS games, Luis Amarilla has kept pace on the very young season with his promised target of 25 goals in 2020.
With 32 regular season games to play, Amarilla still has his work cut out, but these earliest of returns still offer something worthy of noting. Amarilla has scored both of his goals with his head.
“He’s a good age, 24, can link up with people, can play into midfield, but most importantly, he gets all types of goals. Off the goalkeeper, five yards out, overhead kicks, headers, benders, you name it,” Heath said in January, following Amarilla’s acquisition.
In 2017, Christian Ramirez headed in four goals for the Loons in MLS play. In 2018, Ramirez and Ángelo Rodríguez combined for three. And in 2019, Rodríguez managed only a pair.
Over the last three seasons, Loons strikers have combined to score a grand total of seven headers. Amarilla, in his first two games, already has a pair.
In both instances, Amarilla made use of clever movement off the ball to lose his mark inside the opposition’s 18-yard-box before redirecting sharply swung crosses from teammates. It’s provided an added dimension to a Loons attack that has commonly featured a trio of attacking midfielders — of various combinations of players — all under six feet tall.
Amarilla’s ability to score with his head may prove to have greater importance to the Loons when playing at home against teams that could be content to sit deep in an attempt to blunt Minnesota’s attack.
Loons effective in possession
Through two games, MNUFC has managed only 40.15 percent possession. Over that same period, it has scored eight goals while allowing three, and has conceded once from open play.
In its five-goal outburst against San Jose, Minnesota held 37.8 percent possession, but did more than enough damage on the counterattack to earn maximum points.
The Loons were so efficient on the counter on Saturday they won by a comfortable three-goal margin in spite producing an expected goals mark of 2.19 to the Quakes’ 2.26, per figures released by the league.
Asked what impressed him from the victory, Heath highlighted the Loons’ defensive shape and their ability to counterattack quickly.
“We did really well with it last week at Portland, really dangerous on the transition moments, and I thought we were again today,” Heath said. “It’s not an easy place to come here, everybody knows they play a little different than most teams and they make it tough for you.”
“But I did say that if we could stand that pressure, there are moments to counter,” Heath continued. “And if our first ball out of defense into the front man is good, then we can get a hold of the first one, there’s plenty of room for runners to run into. And that was very much the case. You know, if you look at the score line, you can see we put up two or three others as well. You know, so, I thought we were worthy winners.”
Of the Loons’ eight goals this season, five have come on the counter, with an additional three against San Jose from set pieces. The latter is comprised of a brace from Ike Opara heading home Ján Greguš corners, plus a penalty won by Opara that led to Robin Lod poaching the rebound from Amarailla’s saved penalty kick.
Molino on the mend
Through 123 minutes, Kevin Molino has tallied a pair of goals and an assist. It is, in part, the product of an offseason spent working with a personal trainer, with the aim of showing when fully healthy, Molino is still capable of the kind of production he delivered from 2016-17, when he recorded 18 goals and 17 assists across his final season in Orlando and first in Minnesota.
In the 32nd minute against San Jose, Molino slipped into a pocket of space to receive the ball before picking out Amarilla with a pinpoint cross that doubled the Loons lead. Ten minutes later, Molino was seated at midfield during the run of play, holding his hamstring. He walked off the field under his own power and was replaced by Hassani Doston.
Heath described Molino’s injury as a slight hamstring strain.
“[Molino] could just feel it,” said Heath. “And you know, we did say to the guys, ‘Anybody feels anything, give us a shout.’ Hopefully we’ve caught it early enough and he’ll be available for next weekend, but we’ll probably get a better idea in the next 48 hours.”
The rejuvenated pair of Ethan Finlay and Molino, who are both looking fully recovered from 2018 knee injuries, have been instrumental in the Loons early attacking success. This is after the Loons made no secret of their pursuit of another attacking midfielder in Boca Juniors’ Emanual “Bebelo” Reynoso.
With the negotiations for Reynoso still ongoing, and no guarantee that the Argentine joins the Loons any time soon, if ever, Molino’s early play had temporarily rendered the question moot.
Should injury woes keep Molino off the field for an extended amount of time, the Loons will look to one of Thomás Chacón, Marlon Hairston or Raheem Edwards to step up, or else outside help could be required to maintain Minnesota’s attack.