It took until 9:40 p.m. Central time on Saturday night for Minnesota United’s game against FC Dallas to kick off due to a heavy storm crossing the area around Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Tex.
A later kickoff than any game on the West Coast for viewers at home proved to be a soporific experience as the Loons slipped to a toothless 2-0 defeat to the Western Conference leaders.
The casual fan may have seen the lineup information and decided to take the night away from this game, as Minnesota was missing its most important player. Darwin Quintero was not featured in the squad for this game with a reported injury, and Adrian Heath could arguably be forgiven for trying to get his talisman a little time off.
The reality is not as easy to stomach. Minnesota’s rivals for the sixth and final playoff position in the West continue to pick up points, and while Dallas was no pushover, the Loons travel next to Kansas City, a land of nightmares in their time in MLS. The 11 Heath selected needed to find a result without Quintero, Francisco Calvo (red card suspension) and Collen Warner (yellow card accumulation suspension).
The opportunities were given to Frantz Pangop, who made his first MLS start, and Collin Martin, who were the most notable moving pieces in Heath’s 4-3-3 formation, deprived of the parts to play the team’s preferred 3-5-2. Ángelo Rodríguez would have to be the focal point of the attack, a completely different look than an attack focused around Quintero’s guile.
The late start and wet weather contributed to a slow opening for both Dallas and Minnesota, with the teams having a very short warmup before the game and a long time of patience beforehand with the 160-minute delay. Dallas took the larger share of possession, and Minnesota were limited to the occasional breakout from Rodríguez with little support.
There were few opportunities for either side, but Dallas began to find its footing and the evening’s star for the Loons was Bobby Shuttleworth, not for the first time. Shuttleworth made increasingly difficult saves as Dallas found their footing, and arguably his best of the evening came directly before he was finally beaten.
The Dallas goal was not given to begin with, as it appeared that Maynor Figueroa had been caught well offside at the time of the header that Shuttleworth miraculously saved before Figueroa finished the rebound. However, there was an extended discussion between the referees and the play eventually went to video review.
Upon looking at several replays, the header that Shuttleworth had saved appeared to come off the head of Michael Boxall rather than a Dallas player, and while there were no truly conclusive angles shown on the television broadcast, the evidence was clear enough for the goal to be given.
The Professional Referee Organization gave a statement on the ruling’s accuracy during halftime.
The review took enough time that the first half had over six minutes of stoppage time for a play that occurred as stoppage began. Dallas led 1-0, and had all of the game’s best chances. Pangop had nibbled at the game’s fringes and attempted to escape from his watch, but his passing was suspect and his mark was often the opening that Dallas found.
It took just 12 minutes of the second half for the Dallas lead to double, and the goal was a no-doubter. Michael Barrios was given entirely too much space by Pangop and Tyrone Mears, and took a perfect curling shot that beat everyone to the far post. Minnesota had failed to connect several simple passes in midfield, and Dallas were comfortably coasting to a home win.
Pangop departed in the 61st minute in favor of Romario Ibarra, and was just not enough to help Rodríguez get in there. Often, Rodríguez could get a ball in a good position, but just had no support from anyone behind him to create an opportunity. Romario entered, Mason Toye followed, and the Loons remained toothless regardless.
Everything about the events before the game’s kick made the game’s result match the expectation, from the matchup to the lineups to the delay. Minnesota failed to alter the expectation that without Quintero, they would fold and fade away from both this game and their rivals in the playoff race.
Minnesota came away from this game with nothing. Both Real Salt Lake and Seattle recorded wins on Saturday. This leaves the Loons eight points behind the playoffs as they travel to Kansas City, where they lost 4-1 in May, with Sporting coming off a 3-0 stomp of Portland.
“Another reminder of how far we have to go,” Adrian Heath said after the game. Heath was asked about the missing players and noted the absence
The hope is that Quintero will return for that occasion and Minnesota can find a miracle. They did not find one without them as Dallas took care of their business and condemned Minnesota to a quiet, fruitless night in the rain.
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