Robin Lod's stoppage-time goal lifts Minnesota United to second consecutive victory
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Minnesota United pressed — and pressured — FC Dallas increasingly all evening Saturday night at Allianz Field — and finally, fairly were rewarded a 1-0 victory on Robin Lod's rebound goal late in stoppage time.
Lod scored at the end of a Emanuel Reynoso corner kick that was headed out of a scrum toward the goal line, but was blocked by a Dallas defender.
Lod was there very near that goal line and slammed the ball deep into the goal before FC Dallas' goalkeeper and defenders could react. It came after six minutes of stoppage time was added.
It came on a night when they struck shot after shot all night, but couldn't often put them on target until Lod drove a shot so close he couldn't miss.
The Loons now have won consecutive games after they started the season with four consecutive losses that they never could have imagined.
The game was played on a perfect Minnesota spring night that was clear, breezy and 72 degree at opening kick.
It also was played again before 4,100 admitted fans, a limited number that will be the last time before a near capacity crowd is allowed at 19,000-plus seat Allianz Field when the Loons next play there.
That's not until June 23 against Austin FC.
The Loons dominated first-half scoring chances, but still went to halftime scoreless after they outshot FC Dallas 8-2 but made goalkeeper Phelipe make just a single save because Minnesota United got just one of those eight shots on goal.
The Loons did so against a FC Dallas team that they played three times last season in a shortened schedule regionalized because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They were 2-1 in those three games, including a 3-0 victory in the regular-season finale "Decision Day."
With his team playing its third game in a week, Loons coach Adrian Heath modified his starting 11 some. He changed the formation from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1.
The change moved Lod back up top and moved star midfielder back to the middle from the left side where he played Wednesday against Vancouver. This time, Reynoso had Hassani Dotson on his left and veteran Ethan Finlay back in the starting 11 on his right.
Meanwhile, Heath put Wil Trapp and Jan Gregus together in a two-man defensive midfield while he designated veteran Ozzie Alonso a sub after the 35-year-old played all 180 minutes in two games played in four days against Colorado and Vancouver.
Lod had at least two of those chances, striking a shot from distance with his off right foot that rose over an open goal in the 17th minute.
In the 29th minute, Reynoso with another off right-footed shot drove a shot that Phelipe dove and seemed to deflect just wide of the far right post.
Finlay also had a scoring chance blocked by traffic and defender Romain Metanire had a sliding shot at a bounding ball go wide right not long before halftime.
Reynoso went down on the grass holding his knee after he couldn't quite connect on a scoring chance in the 52nd minute, just after halftime. A Loons athletic trainer attended to Reynoso, who got up, walked around the perimeter of the field about a quarter turn before he walked back onto the field and continued on.
New striker Ramon Abila came on in the 62nd minute and replaced starter Finlay. He was a second-half sub as well when he entered and scored the game's only goal in the 74th minute against Vancouver. He looked dangerous immediately and miss on a drive that was just wide left of the goal.
Reynoso launched another left-footed strike in the 74th minute that was low and just outside the right post in the 74th minute. That was just about the time the Loons pleaded for a handball call against a Dallas defender in the penalty box.
A video review denied them the penalty kick.
Phelipe blocked Metanire's boot on a ball on a full run in the 82nd minute that kept the game scoreless.