If the darkest hour really is just before the dawn, then Minnesota United is about to finally see the light.
Minnesota United’s roster still thin entering Saturday’s game at Portland
Four players still away on international duty, plus Hassani Dotson’s red card and Kervin Arriaga’s recent transfer, makes for a young Minnesota United bench with the Timbers right below them in the standings.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
June 28, 2024 at 10:48PM
Playing without as many as nine players during this current FIFA international break, the Loons are now missing versatile midfielders Hassani Dotson and Kervin Arriaga in Saturday’s game at Portland.
Dotson received two yellow cards 40 seconds apart in last Saturday’s 1-0 home loss to Austin and is suspended for the automatic red card that ensues. Arriaga and Swedish defender Victor Eriksson both were transferred during the week to European teams. Arriaga went to FK Partizan in Serbia, while Eriksson returned home to Sweden to play for Hammarby in Stockholm.
“It’s not easy,” Loons coach Eric Ramsay said. “We’re down to really bare bones, I would say, when it comes to recognized first-team players. But we certainly are able to put out a team that we look at and feel is competitive. I don’t think anyone can say any different, other than we’re relying on second-team players to fill out the bench. I’m sure we’ll be relying on some of those guys to have minutes and get us through later stages of games.”
The Loons have signed MNUFC second-team players to short-term agreements in order to list enough players to fill the 18-man gameday roster, although they’re limited on how many times a MNUFC2 player is allowed to be activated and play.
They’re still waiting for goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair (Canada), striker Tani Oluwaseyi (Canada), midfielder Carlos Harvey (Panama) and midfielder Alejandro Bran (Costa Rica) to return from play for their national teams in the Copa America. Star striker Teemu Pukki, midfielder Franco Fragapane and center back Hugo Bacharach are working to return from injury as well.
Starting center-back Michael Boxall is expected to play his third consecutive game with a nagging ankle issue, out of need.
“He’s hopefully over the other side of what was a nasty ankle injury,” Ramsay said. “We’re really grateful he’s able to push himself where ordinarily he might not have done. But we needed him and hopefully he’s over the worst now.”
The Loons are fifth in the Western Conference, two points ahead of sixth-place Portland, which brings a two-game winning streak over San Jose and Vancouver to Providence Park on Saturday. The Loons, meanwhile, have lost three consecutive games and are 1-4-2 in their past seven games.
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.
