Minnesota United faces chance to avenge early season loss to Austin FC
Minnesota United is looking to continue their recent run of good results on Wednesday night at home against Austin FC, and they do so looking to avenge what might have been their low point of the season to date.
Six weeks ago, Austin FC got their second-ever win as a franchise at Minnesota United, a 1-0 loss for the Loons. Since then, the expansion club has registered three points from their last six games.
It was a poor game from Minnesota United, especially losing at home to an expansion side. For a club that last year was a game removed from MLS Cup, it was an unacceptable result.
Since then, though, things have improved. Minnesota United has eight points from their last four games, a solid run of results for a team that lost their first four games of the season.
“They look as if they’ve got a really good squad, I think they’ve brought good players so we know it’s going to be a difficult situation,” Minnesota United head coach Adrian Heath told reporters this week.
“But one where I know if we play like we can, approach the game with the confidence of being a good team, which we are, then I can’t see any reason why we can’t win the game.”
For Austin FC, their last three games have all been draws, including this past Saturday night’s scoreless result against the San Jose Earthquakes in the opener of Q2 Stadium. They are playing good, attractive soccer and defensively have been tough to break down.
All in all, it has been a good start to their MLS experience for Austin FC, earning head coach Josh Wolff and sporting director Claudio Reyna plenty of well-deserved credit for the squad they’ve built.
Austin FC is 2-4-3 (9 points) on the year. Minnesota United currently sits at 2-4-2 (8 points).
Minnesota United is coming of a 1-1 result at FC Dallas over the weekend. While they are undefeated in their last four games, they have scored just four times during that stretch.
It is a but of a concern for Heath, even as he is blending in several new attacking pieces that all bring promise to the club.
“Well, since time began, since football began, the most important thing is both boxes. You’ve got to score one end and keep it out on the other and we haven’t been very good of that this season so far.,” Heath said.
“Robin [Lod] has had a couple really good opportunities, we’ve had a couple of maybes, but we haven’t created enough in that final third and we’ve conceded and made big mistakes in [the other] end and they’ve cost us.”
Follow Kristian Dyer of ‘MLS Multiplex‘ on Twitter @KristianRDyer