November 24, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News ReleaseCARSON, Calif. – Minnesota United fell to the LA Galaxy, 6-2, in the Western Conference Semifinals at Dignity Health Sports Park. Forward Kelvin Yeboah scored his first MLS Cup Playoffs brace in tonight’s game, while eight MNUFC players made their MLS playoff debut throughout the Loons’ 2024 postseason run.1′ – LA Galaxy quickly scored the opening goal after finding a transition moment after Riqui Puig sent a ball in behind finding teammate Gabriel Pec for a one-versus-one with Dayne St. Clair where he was able to find the back of the net.3′ – The Loons created a scoring opportunity after Kelvin Yeboah took space up the left side of the pitch for a shot on the left flank but was deflected out into play where the ball bounced around both teams before John McCarthy gained possession.6′ – Minnesota United leveled the score after intercepting the ball in the middle of the pitch for a quick counter-attack after Jefferson Diaz passed the ball off to Kelvin Yeboah for a left-footed shot where he found the far right corner of the goal.15′ – The home side was awarded a direct free kick about 25 yards out from goal. Dejan Joveljić provided the service into the six-yard box, where Maya Yoshida was unmarked and just barely onside when he connected with the ball for a tap-in shot towards goal. That tap-in attempt just missed wide, resulting in a Loons goal kick.18′ – The Galaxy regained their lead after being granted another free kick inside Minnesota’s defensive third where midfielder Marco Rues stepped up taking the set piece for the home team. Rues curved the ball into the 18-yard box, finding Dejan Joveljić on top of the six-yard box for a header into the net.37′ – The Galaxy added to their lead after a long ball over the top found Miki Yamane on the right side where he was able to take a one-touch cross, across the front of Minnesota’s goal. On the opposite side Joseph Paintsil was able to take one touch and slide the ball into goal for a 3-1 lead over the Loons.45′ + 2′ – Minnesota was granted a penalty kick after Carlos Harvey was fouled inside the box by Joveljić. Yeboah stepped up to take the penalty kick for the visiting side but McCarthy was able to save the shot. But, after VAR review it was decided that McCarthy was off his line, giving MNUFC another chance to take the penalty shot.45′ + 4′ – Upon the retake of the penalty kick, Yeboah slotted his shot into the far lower corner of the net to bring the Loons back within one goal during added second-half stoppage time.50′ – Five minutes into the second half, Galaxy scored yet another goal after Pec dribbled from midfield into Minnesota’s 18-yard box, where he was able to get a shot off from the right side of the box, finding the far corner of the goal.78′ – Dayne St. Clair made a crucial save after Minnesota conceded a penalty kick. Pec stepped up and took the penalty shot for the Galaxy but St. Clair dove to the left to save the shot, keeping the score 4-2.82′ – Jefferson Diaz was shown his second yellow of the night, resulting in an ejection for the Colombian, leaving MNUFC to play a man down for the rest of the match.86′ – Paintsil scored the fifth goal for LA Galaxy, after running onto a long ball and taking open space into Minnesota’s 18-yard box where he took an unattested shot, slotting the ball into the far corner.89′ – Yet again, LA found the back of the net after Dejan Joveljić scored from the center of the 18-yard box.GOAL SUMMARY0-1 LA – Gabriel Pec (Riqui Puig) – 0:271-1 MIN – Kelvin Yeboah (Jefferson Diaz) – 6’1-2 LA – Dejan Joveljić (Marco Reus) – 18’1-3 LA – Joseph Paintsil (Miki Yamane) – 37’2-3 MIN – Kelvin Yeboah (penalty kick) – 45’+4’2-4 LA – Gabriel Pec (Emiro Garces) – 50’2-5 LA – Joseph Paintsil (John Nelson) – 86’2-6 LA – Dejan Joveljić (Joseph Paintsil) – 89’DISCIPLINARY SUMMARYLA – Joseph Paintsil (caution) – 45’MIN – Bongokuhle Hlongwane (caution) – 53’LA – Riqui Puig (caution) – 58’MIN – Hassani Dotson (caution) – 62’MIN – Jefferson Diaz (caution) – 68’MIN – Jefferson Diaz (ejection) – 82’LA – Mark Delgado (caution) – 90′ + 4’NOTABLE STATS3 – Forward Kelvin Yeboah’s two first-half goals marked the third-ever brace recorded in MNUFC’s MLS Cup Playoffs history. Former Loon, Kevin Molino, scored back-to-back braces in 2020 (vs. Colorado Rapids; at Sporting Kansas City).1 – Jefferson Diaz recorded his first MLS assist during the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs.5 – Minnesota United has converted its last five penalties in MLS, last failing to score on July 4, 2024 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC.BELL BANK MAN OF THE MATCH: Kelvin YeboahLINEUPS:Minnesota United XI: GK Dayne St. Clair; D Joseph Rosales, Jefferson Diaz, Michael Boxall ©, Carlos Harvey, Bongokuhle Hlongwane; M Joaquín Pereyra, Wil Trapp, Hassani Dotson, Robin Lod; F Kelvin YeboahBench: GK Alec Smir; D Miguel Tapias, Anthony Markanich, Devin Padelford; M Tani Oluwaseyi, DJ Taylor; F, Loïc Mesanvi, Sang Bin Jeong, Teemu PukkiLA Galaxy XI: GK John McCarthy; D John Nelson, Maya Yoshida©, Carlos Garces, Miki Yamane; M Riqui Puig, Edwin Cerrillo, Marco Reus; F Gabriel Pec, Dejan Joveljić, Joseph PaintsilBench: GK Novak Micovic; D Eriq Zavaleta, Jalen Neal, Julián Aude, Mauricio Cuevas; M Gastón Brugman, Mark Delgado; F Diego Fagúndez, Miguel BerryMINNESOTA UNITED POST GAME QUOTE SHEETHEAD COACH ERIC RAMSAYOn summarizing the game… »It’s really disappointing because that’s obviously not in any way how anyone imagined the game going. We, of course, knew the level of threat that the [LA Galaxy] forwards posed but had every intention of this not being a game that was played in big open spaces, and with the goal being scored so early that sort of set the tone for a very chaotic feel to the game. Which is absolutely the opposite of how we envisioned that game being played if it was going to be one that we were going to win because they’re a team that really thrives off chaos, open space to attack. And after that really quick start from them and then our response, it was almost very difficult to claw back a sense of evenness in the game. Once that path was set, it was very difficult to find ourselves with a sense of evenness against them, which is what we wanted. We wanted the game to be much more still, much more balanced and certainly we didn’t want to find ourselves giving away such big space in the transition. So, as I say, the opposite of what we wanted, but I was really keen to stress to the players in there that it’s not one for me that sours what has been an incredibly good year and certainly a couple of months that I’m really proud of and the team is really proud of. So, not as we wanted nor expected, but something that we won’t let sour the season as a whole for sure. »On what he felt went wrong… »We really looked like a team that hadn’t played for three weeks and really lacked that cohesion, that structure behind the ball when we attacked. We knew it would be a game of cat and mouse and obviously we’ve had lot of success over the course of the last three months or so by committing extra bodies to the attack, being more dynamic, creating three versus twos and twos versus ones in wide areas through the outside backs or one of the sixes, particularly Hassani [Dotson]. We didn’t want to lose that element from our game but we did want to be more conservative than we would be normally and I just felt like we didn’t strike that balance well, where we needed to be really detailed behind the ball as we attacked, we were lacking in detail which is obviously everything when you’ve got players that only need the extra yard afforded to them in order to really hurt you. So, there are obviously a couple of examples when the game was even, numbers wise, where we weren’t detailed enough and then obviously once we lose a man, they’re an incredibly difficult team to play against with ten men at home. I won’t sort of dwell too much on the sort of tactical organization side when we were down in that situation because that was incredibly difficult for the players that were left on the pitch. »On the LA Galaxy possessing most of the game… »I think that’s probably tipped hugely by the end stages of the game. I feel like it certainly in the first half it of course wasn’t even in terms of pure possession volume, but in general playing in the first half we restricted them relatively well. We had a couple of moments where we really switched off, a really poor goal to conceive on a set play, the goal that they scored on the cut back was one we’ve probably talked about a 100 times over the course of three games against them. So that’s really disappointing to concede. But the general balance in the game of the first half was okay. It obviously gets away from you hugely when we lost a player and then I’m sure that tips into one of those extremes. But, up until that point, I wasn’t viewing it as a disaster in any way, the balance of play in general, I always felt like we were going to be in good value for chances on the counterattack, always good value for the quick attacks if we were able to switch the ball well, and then good value for chances on set plays. It’s more the nature of the couple of the goals that were really disappointing, I suppose. »On if Minnesota United was a mismatched opponent against the LA Galaxy… »Of course, in the back of our minds as coaches there’s always a prospect of the game not being a mismatch, but the balance being very much in their favor because of the nature of their front players. I think if any team in this league, I’d say that for all the 28 other teams, any team that gets that team on the wrong day with their front players and isn’t able to execute to a really high level, the really important things in terms of restricting certain spaces, being really detailed in how you manage the space on the transition. Most teams are going to find that really tough. I think today, it’s almost that perfect storm of and I can’t use the having not played in three weeks thing as an excuse because they’re in that same position. But I feel like we of course suffered for that from a cohesion rhythm organization perspective and then when you add to that, the way in which we started the game, the atmosphere which we felt like we didn’t deal with in any way, nearly well enough over the course of the first five, six minutes of the game, we made life difficult for ourselves. I do feel like we are of course capable of playing a far better, far tighter game over a far longer period of time there. And had we done that, we are capable of winning that game for sure. So, I don’t feel particularly differently in general about this group, about this project, the momentum, the strides we have taken, but of course, it’s a sour way to finish because of the nature of the sport. »On what he needs to see from Joaquín Pereyra to play 90 minutes… »We are very conscious on that side that we just lacked the transition threat as the game materialized, we felt like it could be really important on that side. So Tani [Oluwaseyi] and Joaquín [Pereyra] are at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of what they bring from an offensive perspective. Joaquín is much more a player that wants to combine and link to the left hand side and Tani’s someone who’s going to take space if he’s given it. So, we felt like we were at a goal down with that being probably our best chance of getting back into the game and we wanted to be really proactive in making that change. So again, it wasn’t a huge reflection of Joaquín’s performance. It wasn’t that his performance was significantly worse than anyone else’s performance, it was just the nature of us wanting to attack that side with real intent, pace, and power and obviously Tani being very comfortable on that side. And also Tani being very strong from a defensive perspective, certainly very willing, very aggressive and a very good presser. They [LA Galaxy] attack of course very well on that side, so that’s why we opted to make that change, but it’s not a real reflection of Joaquín’s performance. But of course, moving into next year, we want everyone to progress, we want everyone to take more strides, Joaquín’s influence in front of goal, assists, chance creation on top of the stability on the ball. »On if he will take time before looking back at the season or will immediately start working on plans for 2025… »No, I’ll take some time and we, I know full well that as a staff and as a club, we’ll look back at this year really satisfied. Whenever we would have gone out of this competition, we would have been left with a sour taste in our mouth. That’s just the nature of the way this season finishes. It’s a cup competition that you feel like you can win. Of course, when you go out, you’re going to be really disappointed, but I feel like once we have some time to breathe and we look back over the work that was done, the strides that everyone’s taken, the strides that the club has taken as a whole, it’s a really good season. It’s a really impressive season. I’ve said to the player just then that I’ve loved it from the perspective of the work day to day, the environment that’s created my development as a coach, the group’s development. And I’ve loved it and I look back with a lot of satisfaction from day one to now and everything that went in between and all the difficulty. But I particularly enjoyed these last three months when we’ve been able to get this group to such a good place so quickly. So I know when the dust settles and everyone will look back with a real sense of satisfaction. And of course, we prepared, everyone prepared, I’m sure, mentally for this scenario arising, maybe not to this extreme, but irrespective of what would have happened today, we would have been on a balance really happy with how this year’s gone. »On how the result of the game will propel the players in 2025… »Well, they’re really disappointed. It’s a changing room in there that obviously reflects the score line, reflects going out of the competition, reflects the frustration of the game, I suppose, reflects the feeling that you leave the pitch when you finish with 10 players and you haven’t seen the ball for a long time. That’s a really unhappy group, but it is a group, and everyone has seen it over the course of three months, that for near enough every period of every game over a long time against teams that are fighting for their lives or in situations where we have to win to keep our season going. In a lot of senses that group has always been competitive and productive, so I don’t feel like there are huge question marks hanging over their head in that sense. We’ve obviously played a team that is incredibly difficult to play against here and their record speaks for themselves. And certainly when some of the things that happened tonight – giving early goals away, going down to 10 men – that leaves the group feeling like that is a really, really difficult game. So I’m sure once some time passes, we will take the season on balance as a whole and we’ll feel very good about it. »DEFENDER MICHAEL BOXALLOn what went wrong in the game… »We were out beaten. It’s frustrating, because all the things we prepared for and spoke about, about where their [LA Galaxy] dangers were, that’s where we didn’t manage those moments well enough. When you concede as early as you do, you really start on the back foot. Things [that] were emphasized throughout the season, we didn’t do well enough on. As I said, the things we were watching all week for happened how we planned, but we just didn’t execute as well as we should have. »On playing against Riqui Puig and trying to take away his quality in the midfield… »He just keeps moving. [He] finds spaces well, even was getting balls off the back four. The way he can put the balls into areas that we should have had covered. He’s a good player, but we spoke about how we can take away what he’s good at and I don’t think we did quite as well as we should have tonight. »On the progress the club made this season and if there’s still a ways to go… »Yes and no. The score line [tonight] is just a real blow out. When we were two goals down we were just trying to chase it a little bit without running the risk, but at that point in time you have to give it a go. Maybe there’s a bit of a reality check. Leading into this, we were confident we could get the job done, but if we’re going to do the things we plan to do at 70 or 80 percent, then coming into a place like this against a team who have decent attacking weapons, you have to play not almost a perfect game, but you have to do a whole lot better than we were tonight. »On the reaction of the locker room following the loss… »It’s disappointing in the way, as I mentioned a few times, nothing that they [LA Galaxy] did surprised us, it’s that we weren’t ready to match what happened in those moments. A lot of disappointment where I feel like we sold ourselves short. We fought hard in the first half to get ourselves back in the game, especially when we brought so many traveling fans to this game as well. It does feel like we let them down. Bit of frustration, a lot of disappointment after that game tonight. »On looking back at the season overall… »It feels like this season had at least three different stages. The first part with Cam [Assistant Coach Cameron Knowles] was promising and a lot of energy. That momentum carried over when Eric [Ramsay] took over. Then we had injuries and suspensions and a lot of people gone on national team duty, it was obviously a brutal summer for us. Then, the technical staff and front office did a lot to bring in who they brought in in that window and the last two, three months we worked really hard to get everything back on track. The last two, three months is probably a better reflection of who we are as a team and I think everyone that’s coming back next year needs to make sure that everyone improves individually, to come back and keep things pushing along. We’re not in a worse place, but I think tonight showed that we need to level up a bit. »
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