Minnesota United hasn’t had trouble competing with the best in MLS this season. The Loons’ problem seems to be more with picking up points against the worst.
The Houston Dynamo haven’t been good this season, residing in 14th place coming into Wednesday night’s game, but they were good enough to beat a heavily rotated Minnesota lineup 2-0 in Houston.
After a game last Saturday and ahead of a game next Saturday, the Loons decided to try to steal some points in Houston with their second string. The backups weren’t able to create much in the way of offense, though, and Houston scored twice off set pieces to beat the Loons at their own game.
The Loons did try to make subs after an hour of the match, in hopes of pulling off the heist without exhausting some of their top players, but a half-hour from the starters wasn’t enough to make a difference for the visitors.
“We weren’t good enough,” Loons manager Eric Ramsay told reporters in Houston. “We didn’t have a strong enough grip of what we did with the ball, and we lacked a real threat.”
How it happened
Minnesota is proud of its set-piece prowess and happy to count second balls and other recycled chances that follow set pieces — which means the Loons will be extra unhappy about Houston’s goals.
First, the Loons managed to clear a Dynamo corner, but Amine Bassi pulled down the rebound and let a long shot fly. It deflected into the air and bounced to Houston center back Pablo Ortiz, who headed the ball over leaping DJ Taylor and into the net, moments before halftime.
The second Houston goal was almost a carbon copy — a corner, only partially cleared, swung back into the area. This time, it fell to right back Felipe Andrade, who needed two shot attempts to find the back of the net in the 77th minute.