Minnesota United earned a single point and lost its star player for the next game with three MLS regular-season games remaining after Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Los Angeles FC at Allianz Field.
Minnesota United earns draw with LAFC; star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso suspended for next match
The Loons broke a string of three matches without scoring to take the lead before LAFC rallied and a yellow card knocked Emanuel Reynoso out of Saturday's game against Sporting KC.
September 14, 2022 at 12:09PM
LAFC must play another day to clinch the Western Conference playoffs' top seed. The draw ended the Loons' three-game, shutout losing streak and put them in fifth place with 45 points. They're one point behind fourth-place Nashville and a home playoff game — and three points away from missing the playoffs altogether.
They'll play on Saturday at Sporting Kansas City without star playmaking midfielder Emanuel Reynoso, who returned from injury to start Tuesday but received a late-game yellow card that suspends him for the next match. After that, the Loons play at San Jose and face Vancouver at home in the finale.
"Not concerned, I know we've played well the last three games," Loons coach Adrian Heath said. "I know there are probably seven of eight teams below us who would rather be where we are. … It puts us a point closer to where we want to be. We know we'll have to go and probably win one of them on the road and see where the rest of the results go.
"If we keep performing like we have, I know it'll give us a really good chance."
As he did after a 3-0 loss to Dallas and 1-0 loss at Portland, Heath vowed his team played well enough to win.
"You never turn a point down, I've always said," Heath said. "But I thought we did more than enough to win the game."
In a rare Tuesday game, Heath watched the two teams swap goals when Loons veteran workman defender Brent Kallman's perfectly timed, flicked-on header opened the scoring in the 45th minute. LAFC superstar Carlos Vela, a world-class striker scored from distance to tie it 1-all in the 64th minute.
Kallman converted Reynoso's curling corner kick into his second goal this season.
"Those are big moments," Kallman said. "It's an area where I can really have an affect on the game if I can find the net. I'm really happy to be able to do that and give us a chance."
Heath and his players lamented their team's defensive shape became stretched before Vela — starting in the same 11 as newly acquired international star Gareth Bale — tied the game.
Then again, Heath acknowledged Vela skill and stature.
"It's a quality finish by a quality player," Heath said. "I'm sure we'll watch it and think we could have done better before it gets to Vela. From there, it produces that moment, doesn't it? That's why he has had the career he has, why he's played at the level he has. Those split moments make the difference with the top, top, top players. They have them moments. He's 25 yards out and still he puts it top corner."
In between and before and after the two goals, each team had its chances. Most memorable because it came last was LAFC's Kellyn Acosta saving the day defensively near an open goal late in stoppage time.
Heath criticized referee Tim Ford for not giving LAFC star Cristian Arango a second yellow card in the first half, this one for kicking the ball away and wasting time during a dead-ball situation in the 41st minute. Arango would have been ejected if Ford had.
"You saw what happened, write about it," Heath told reporters. "We know what the rules are: Time wasting, you get a yellow card. Apparently. Maybe not. … That's the first half. That's a game-changing decision. At this point in the season, you can't have decisions that maybe affect results. There's too many things at stake for everybody."
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.
