A Minnesota United team that too often lost late-game leads or draws last year closed out its season-opening 2-1 victory at Austin FC with fresh, young legs.
Minnesota United youth movement makes Allianz debut at Saturday’s home opener
The Loons return to Allianz Field to play defending MLS champion Columbus after getting some key late-game production from four up-and-comers last Saturday at Austin FC.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 1, 2024 at 5:43PM
Interim coach Cameron Knowles used all five substitutes allowed to him last Saturday in the 68th minute or later, all but one of them 23 years old or younger.
Medina’s Caden Clark and Lakeville’s Loïc Mesanvi both are 20, loaned Costa Rican midfielder Alejandro Bran is 22 and former first-round pick Tani Oluwaseyi is 23.
Whether the Loons call on the same young subs in Saturday’s home opener vs. MLS Cup champion Columbus with a team missing Emanuel Reynoso, Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Robin Lod and Franco Fragapane, Knowles couldn’t say.
“It depends on the opponent, depends on the players we have available,” Knowles said. “We assess each game on its own merit. We’ll see how it goes.”
Both Mesani — signed from the Loons’ second team to a short-term contract before the Austin game — and Bran made their MLS debuts. Clark made his Minnesota debut in his return to MLS.
Bran’s 91st-minute goal provided a two-goal cushion the Loons needed when Austin scored its only goal in the 95th minute, just before the final whistle.
The Loons return to Allianz Field on Saturday with their new 4-3-3 formation but awaiting new head coach Eric Ramsay’s arrival.
They were the only team on opening weekend to win on the road with a performance Clark said should have surprised no one.
“No, of course not,” Clark said. “We all have the ability. It’s about getting the chances and showing no matter the age, we can do the job.”
All four — plus wily veteran Zarek Valentin as the fifth sub — provided the steam and speed new sporting director Khaled El-Ahmad and Ramsay expect from a team they want to see press the opponent further up field.
“I do want to play younger,” El-Ahmad said. “But sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t.”
Knowles will continue to lead the team until Ramsay arrives from England.
“Listen, we want to play with energy, and it’s going to take the ability to make five changes that will help us keep the energy level high,” Knowles said. “We put them in the squad, and we’re going to trust them to play.”
Those substitutes produced the extra goal in second-half stoppage the Loons needed when Clark made a 70-yard run on the counter down the right side against a desperate Austin team. He played a beautiful ball between defenders on the run ahead to Oluwaseyi, who made the extra unselfish pass to Bran, who eluded a defender and scored at the right post.
“When I stopped the ball, the goal got smaller in the moment,” said Bran, acquired before the season on loan from his Costa Rican club. “But I was able to hit it in.”
Knowles calls it all about that T-word: trust.
“We’ve got to trust them,” Knowles said. “They earned a lot of trust the way they came in the game. It gave us a massive lift. All the young players did well. It’s not easy coming into the game, whether it’s your first time with this team or your first MLS appearance. It’s not easy, especially with a one-goal lead. They were brave.
“They are young, but fearless in the way they played. It’s really exciting. It bodes well for the future.”
The subs entered just when the Loons press defense started to drop a little deeper and Austin pressured. The Loons also had Victor Eriksson, 23, and Moses Nyeman, 20, on the bench.
“Their ability to raise the energy, get us forward a little and they scored the second goal as well,” Knowles said. “To see out the victory was incredible.”
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.
