Read my gamer and notebook (once it's online) from Minnesota United's 1-0 result against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium. Then read my postgame blog because, well, you're already here.
First of all, I got some clarity as to why Brent Kallman wasn't on the bench, with Wyatt Omsberg in his place at center back. He endured a slight shoulder injury in the closed scrimmage on Wednesday. He was practicing with the team on Friday and looked fine, but I guess it was enough to keep him off the bench. He should be back "quickly," though, sources say ;).
Anyway, let's take a closer look at how United overcame the 50th minute red card to rookie forward Mason Toye. It seemed like in the immediate aftermath, wingers Alexi Gomez and Miguel Ibarra had the tough job of supporting Darwin Quintero in the attack while also tracking back to help defend.
"The hard part is when you have Darwin, who wants to play with the ball all of the time, and he doesn't have the outlet to go in behind, everything that you play is short, and you invite people to come and pressure more," coach Adrian Heath said. "I thought some of our play, and Miggy and Alexi Gómez had a great start. They put some great balls into the box and looked dangerous on the counterattack. They put in a great shift when we needed them when we were defending like we did."
Heath said because of the size difference between his relative short squad and Vancouver's giants, he changed the shape to a 5-3-1 with the additions of center back Wyatt Omsberg and midfielder Collin Martin for Ibarra and Gomez.
Heath said he hadn't seen a replay of Toye's red card foul. But if it was as clear of an elbow as it appeared to be, it wasn't a good decision.
"He's silly, a silly boy," Heath said. "I don't know if he is doing it or what he is doing, but if he has, he could have cost his teammates. He will learn his lesson. If two or three people are fit, maybe he doesn't play the next game, and he loses his spot. So, it's silly. If he elbowed him, he deserved to get the red card. And if he did, we will have a chat about that."
Toye, though, did a really impressive thing for a 19-year-old guy and confronted the media after the game, for which I give him major props.
"I was getting held and grabbed a little bit, but that's just a part of the game. I made a bad decision, I threw an elbow, and I got a red card for it," he said. "It's just a learning experience now for me, and I just have to say a big thank you to the whole team. I put them in a really tough spot, and they were able to pull a win out. So, that's what we should be talking about today. I made a silly decision, and we had to pay for it."
Check out my Facebook Live below or click here. Another iconic thumbnail from me tbh. Also disregard the part where I said Kallman wasn't injured because I was young and naive then. Also enjoy a video of Adrian Heath's postgame comments.
