Minnesota United distributed glowing wristbands to its record crowd of 19,939 inside Allianz Field for the club’s first MLS Cup playoff game Sunday. The accessory contributed to an enchanting halftime show set to the theme music for “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”
“Come with me
And you’ll be
In a world of pure imagination.”
But in the main event, the lights remained out on the Loons’ attack. Supporters have had to envision what a goal would truly be from an attacker for more than a month now.
United attackers failed to score a goal for a fifth straight game, and in an uncharacteristic turn, their defense conceded twice to be bounced in the first round with a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy.
It was only Minnesota’s second loss in 18 MLS games in the new St. Paul stadium this season, and the Galaxy were the first of six road teams to win in the playoffs this year. They will advance to play top seed Los Angeles FC on Thursday.
For a group of Loons players who advanced to the U.S. Open Cup final in August and sat in the second spot in the Western Conference until the regular season finale two weeks ago, the exit was premature. Twenty five minutes after the final whistle, many key players hadn’t moved from their locker room stalls. Ike Opara hadn’t removed his ankle tape, and Ethan Finlay wore the same thousand-yard stare he had after falling to Atlanta United in the Open Cup in August.
“When you look where we’ve come from, I think this season is a massive step forward,” said Loons defender Michael Boxall, who joined the club in July 2017 and endured two seasons without a sniff of the playoffs. “But then to have our season done (Sunday) with what I know this group is capable of, another day we beat that team. We’ve shown we can beat LAFC at their place. I wouldn’t have put it past us to go all the way to the Cup final. That’s where I see the pieces that we’ve got and how good we are. It just sucks that we have to wait another 12 months to earn that chance again.”
The fifth-seeded Galaxy netted a gut-punch goal against the run of play when Sebastian Lletget beat Loons goalkeeper Vito Mannone in the 71st minute. Jonathan dos Santos doubled the lead four minutes later with a shot from distance. It was only the third time in 18 home games they conceded more than one goal and the first time since June 2.
Fourth-seeded Minnesota pulled a goal back when central midfielder Jan Gregus scored from 19 yards out in the 87th minute. It was too little, too late.
The Loons had the upper hand for the opening 70 minutes with the majority of possession and 12 total shots. But in the first half they had only one shot on goal, a header from Boxall.
The Loons’ attackers extended their scoring drought to 457 minutes dating back to Finlay’s late goal against Real Salt Lake on Sept. 15.
Angelo Rodriguez had a great chance to score on a header in the 56th minute, but he couldn’t put it on frame. When he was subbed out in the 67th minute, it solidified 12 straight games he has played without a goal.
Loons high-priced winger Robin Lod continued to scuffle in his first few months in Minnesota. He had three errant shots, including one from eight yards out in the 23rd minute. It would have split the uprights if they remained after the St. Thomas-St. John’s college football game in the stadium Saturday.
The drought continued when Finlay rushed an open shot inside the box in the 53rd minute.
“They had that killer instinct in front of the goal when they needed it,” Gregus said. “We had two or three really good opportunities in the second half when it was still 0-0.”
One saving grace was Galaxy star Zlatan Ibrahimovic was just as off. When he had a bad touch out of bounds in the first half, Loons supporters gave him a sarcastic exaggerated cheer. When he whiffed on a shot in the second, they let him hear it again.
The Loons’ pivotal attacking midfielder, Darwin Quintero, was out of the starting XI due to an illness he came down with Thursday. It kept him out of training Friday and on the Loons’ bench until the 60th minute. The absence of Quintero in a big game harkened to the Open Cup final when, due to inconsistent play, he also came off the bench.
The Loons were tied for the 11th-most goals in MLS this season, 1.5 per game, but that fell to 0.8 in the past five games, with all from defenders or a central midfielder.
Heath said it was a successful season “from where we were. But I think you know me better than that. I don’t take a lot of satisfaction from playing in one playoff game. I know that (on Monday it) won’t be any different for me.”
