Match Preview: Minnesota United vs. New England Revolution

It’s a battle of last place clubs as Minnesota United (0-2-1), currently sitting last in the Western Conference, take on the New England Revolution (0-2-0) who sit at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference.

The biggest concern for United after three matches in Major League Soccer is obviously their back line. Tactical breakdowns, mismatched assignments and two matches against offensive powerhouses have left the Loons with 13 goals conceded in just three games.

This week, the defensive four will be under added pressure as two of the team’s more important contributors in that department will be out of the match as Francisco Calvo heads home to Costa Rica for international duty and Justin Davis serves a one-match ban for a red card he received last week against Colorado.

The Davis red card, in particular, stands out as a harsh and unnecessary judgment from referee Nima Saghafi. Though it was only his fifth match as an MLS head referee, Saghafi is a seasoned fourth official with plenty of experience to make a call in a tight situation.

“I was disappointed on the day and having seen it three or four times, I’ve not changed my mind. I thought it was a harsh decision.”

Davis had control of the ball prior to contesting for it with Rapids midfielder Marlon Hairston. When the two met, Davis’s studs connected with Hairston’s thigh, though it did not appear to be malicious in nature or even intentional. Even if the challenge was rough, it looked like it would be a yellow card at worse. To many people’s surprise, the referee instead reached for his back pocket and handed Davis a straight red.

“You try and speak to one or two people who have some influence, shall we say, and it came back to us that we’d probably better not appeal it, so that’s fine,” said Heath. “I still disagree. I thought Justin went to play the ball and I thought the kid — obviously, he caught him because you could see. But I don’t think it was malicious, I don’t think there was intent, which is the rules of the game. I was disappointed on the day and having seen it three or four times, I’ve not changed my mind. I thought it was a harsh decision.”

On the other side of the ball, Minnesota United head coach Adrian Heath’s “attack-minded” mentality will have to make due with an irregular forward corps as Johan Venegas and Kevin Molino are also both away on international duty. Venegas has been a powerful creative force up top while Molino, a high-dollar signing that came to Minnesota from Orlando during the offseason, is always a goal threat.

The crux of this match will ultimately come down to depth. How well can Minnesota function as a unit without so many regulars? New England may well be one of the most winnable matches of the season as the beleaguered Revs sit last in their conference with zero points and only one solitary goal scored so far.

“Obviously a bit of a depleted squad, but the mood is a lot better than it was the previous two weeks as you would expect,” said Heath. “It’s never easy coming in and starting the work on the back of two heavy defeats. So obviously they took a lot of satisfaction out of the hard work that they put in and they got something back, got a reward for what they put in at the weekend.”

With a full and healthy squad, this could have been more than just a winnable game, it could have been an opportunity to put up multiple goals for United and start to dig out of the -9 goal differential they got themselves into after giving up 11 goals over the first two matches of the year. Multiple goals are certainly still a possibility with striker Christian Ramirez ready to go, but don’t be surprised if United walk away with a low-scoring draw or possibly a 1-0 victory.

Key Players

Minnesota

Ibson proved to be the spark the team needed last weekend when he entered the Colorado match at halftime. There was a visible uptick in the team’s energy and attack when the Brazilian entered. Though he is on the older side of the team at 33, look for Ibson to appear in the starting XI this week for the missing Rasmus Schuller, who is playing internationally with Finland.

I thought [Ibson] showed a real discipline to his game, especially when we went down to ten men,” said Coach Heath. “It was a side of Ibson that I’ve not seen. He played like a No. 6. He stayed in the hole and got other people in around him nice and compact. He had a great day on Saturday and obviously he will play this weekend and it’s up to him now.”

Further back, Brent Kallman will be vital to a stout back line. Aside from an outside performance last week against the Rapids that likely earned him a consistent starting spot going forward, Kallman will be a key player in Calvo’s absence. The defense will need leadership that knows both how to support Heath’s fast-break attacks on the wings and how to protect their own third against counter attacks that gashed the Loons deeply for way too many goals just a few weeks ago.

New England

Kei Kamara is a lightning rod for much of the Rev’s attack. While they haven’t lit the world on fire with goals scored this year, Kamara has had a team-leading seven shots with three on target. If the Revolution intend to score on Saturday, look for it to happen from No. 23.

Another force in the New England midfield is 24-year-old Juan Agudelo. Entering his third season with the club, Agudelo made 7 goals last year and carries a respectible 2.2 shots per game, not bad for an attacking midfielder. If Kamara isn’t directly scoring a goal himself, expect Agudelo to be involved. The attacking midfield has the potential to give a depleted Minnesota defense a run for its money.

Rosters

Minnesota
  • Goalkeepers: Bobby Shuttleworth, Bill Heavner
  • Defense: Vadim Demidov, Brent Kallman, Jermaine Taylor, Jerome Thiesson, Kevin Venegas
  • Midfielders: Ibson, Josh Gatt, Miguel Ibarra, Ismaila Jome, Bashkim Kadrii, Collin Martin, Mohammed Saeid, Collen Warner
  • Forwards: Abu Dunladi, Christian Ramirez
New England
  • Goalkeepers: Cody Cropper, Matt Turner
  • Defense: Benjamin Angoua, Antonio Mlinar Delamea, Andrew Farrell, Joshua Smith, Chris Tierney, Je-Vaughn Watson, London Woodberry
  • Midfielders: Scott Caldwell, Diego Fagundez, Zachary Herivaux (questionable), Daigo Kobayashi, Xavier Kouassi, Lee Nguyen, Kelyn Rowe, Donnie Smith,
  • Forwards: Jaun Agudelo, Teal Bunbury, Femi Hollinger-Janzen, Kei Kamara, Brian Wright

Tune in

Minnesota vs. New England kicks off Saturday, March 25 at 1 p.m. CT. Catch the full 90′ locally on United’s official broadcast partner My29 or nationally on MLS Live.

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