Ethan Finlay rewards Minnesota United coach Adrian Heath's confidence in him with converted penalty shot

With star Darwin Quintero suspended Sunday and Kevin Molino already substituted out of the game, Minnesota United midfielder Ethan Finlay stepped forth when his team was awarded after video review a penalty kick in second-half stoppage and scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory.

There was never any doubt. Well, not much anyway.

Afterward, Finlay simply said coach Adrian Heath and his teammates believed in him.

"I went over to get a drink of water and [Heath] said, 'You're taking it' and I said, 'Yeah.' " Finlay said. "Those little moments give a player confidence. It always feel good when you know the guys are confident in you."

Finlay shot to his right when he made a penalty kick in first-half stoppage time during a 3-2 victory at Montreal a month ago after scouting the goalie who liked to guess left. This time, he went left — just inside the post — against former Columbus teammate Steve Clark, Portland's goalkeeper who dove and got a hand on Finlay's shot but couldn't stop it.

"Just picking my spot, taking a deep breath," he said. "I felt good about the spot and I felt like I could get enough power on it and that's what I did. He did a good job getting a hand on it."

Heath it was no great mystery.

United goalkeeper Vito Mannone recorded his — and his team's — eighth shutout this season, matching the team's combined total for the first two seasons. He did so making two huge saves in succession in the 30th minute.

"I don't want to say that's what we pay him for, but that's what we pay for," Heath said. "That's his job. I expect him to come up with big saves in big moments. That's what good goalkeepers do. He's starting to prove that."

Newly signed midfielder Robin Lod made his MLS debut when he subbed into the game in the 65th minute for Miguel Ibarra.

"I thought his quality was there for people to see," Heath said. "Composure on the ball, right pass, went to keep it simple, ball possession, play forward. He's going to be good for us."

• ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman said during Sunday's broadcast United will have a decision after this season to make on star Quintero's contract option for next season.