Sporting Kansas City entered Sunday’s game at TCF Bank Stadium as the envy of the MLS Western Conference. They led the league by three points, with an offense that had scored the most goals in the West and a plus-11 goal difference that was six goals better than the next closest team.
It was easy to expect doom and gloom for Minnesota United, especially after their 3-1 loss last Saturday to league doormats San Jose. United were underdogs here, and yet another early goal appeared to foreshadow an uninteresting defeat.
Ironically, Sporting’s goal came just after United put the ball in the back of the net, but the goal was called back for offsides. Kansas City did it right within two minutes.
The goal was about as simple as they come. Sporting won a corner, the ball was hit to the near post, and Khiry Shelton was the first to the ball to convert an easy goal.
Shelton was a matchup problem that Adrian Heath saw coming, and the punishment came early.
“He’s a terrific athlete, and it was a great header,” Heath said after the game. “Great ball in and a great header.”
“Could we have done something about it? You can always do something about it, but it was one of them, sometimes you just have to hold your hand up.”
While United had given up an early goal once again, there were plenty of signs that their counterattack was alive and well.
Miguel Ibarra and Alexi Gomez had space to run and pass, and while Gomez’s accuracy left something to be desired, Ibarra found the opening that Darwin Quintero finished in the 20th minute.
It too was simple enough in its creation — Ibarra got free down Sporting’s right side and sent in a perfect cross that Quintero headed straight at goalkeeper Tim Melia, who failed to catch the ball and carried it right onto Quintero’s foot.
Quintero finished the job, and the scoreline was even again.
The pattern that the early portion of the game established held true for much of the first half. Kansas City would hold the ball and probe for opportunities, and any turnover sent Minnesota off to the races on the counterattack.
Interestingly, a late first-half substitution from Sporting slowed United down. Jimmy Medranda came off and Seth Sinovic came on, and Sinovic was sent to take Miguel Ibarra out of the game. Ibarra’s threat going forward was never the same after that change, and halftime came with the game even.
Sporting had 57.1 percent possession in the first half, which was expected given Minnesota’s preference to counterattack and exacerbated when Sporting pressured the ball and Minnesota could barely hold possession at all.
The second half became more and more one-way traffic in Kansas City’s favor. Bobby Shuttleworth and the defense had plenty to do to keep constant Kansas City attacks at bay, and while Darwin’s threat up top was constant, his one-on-one speed was Minnesota’s only outlet.
Sporting pressed, shot and dug for openings, but the United defense held true. Sporting’s second-half possession was over 65%, and they finished the game with 24 shots to Minnesota’s six, including 15 in the second half.
United had just the hint of a chance every now and then, including a couple of near misses to steal all three points in stoppage time. Nothing came off for either team, and the 1-1 final was a very solid point for Minnesota, who earned their first draw of the year.
“It’s not the result we wanted,” Quintero said through translation after the game. “We wanted to get the win at home, but we faced a good opponent and at least we were able to get one point.”
Heath’s sentiments were similar.
“At halftime, I actually thought we had a chance in the game,” he said during his postgame press conference.
”I thought we weathered the first 10-15 and then I thought we had some really good moments in the counterattack.”
While United have concerns around their squad depth with injuries continuing to stretch, the development of their attack seems to hold the keys moving forward. The chemistry between Ramirez, Gomez, Quintero and Ibarra are at the heart of it all.
”They’re getting better and better,” Quintero said. “As the group consolidates, the results will get better. We’re on the right track.”
The point earned moves Minnesota back into the Western Conference conversation for the moment, above Real Salt Lake on goal difference. Saturday’s game against Montreal is the last of five home games in six, and marks a good evaluation point in the season.
“I said at the end of this homestand, we’ll have a probably better picture of where we are, I still believe that,” Heath said. “This time next week, after we play Montreal and look at the league table, that will probably give us an idea, a fair reflection of where we are.”
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