Minnesota United takes down NYCFC in visit to Yankee Stadium

It probably won’t surprise you to find out the Minnesota Twins have baseball’s worst record in the latest edition of Yankee Stadium.

Maybe they should think about hiring Eric Ramsay as manager?

After all, thanks to a 2-1 win Sunday afternoon at the famed baseball stadium, Minnesota United’s leader has a perfect record in the Bronx.

Everything went the Loons’ way in the first half. Tani Oluwaseyi scored in the first minute of the game and Wil Trapp scored from a set piece in the 29th. NYCFC’s Alonso Martínez even missed from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time, giving Minnesota a 2-0 lead at the interval.

The second half, though, wasn’t nearly so comfortable for the visitors. The home team rolled up 16 shots, though only four were on target, and Keaton Parks scored in the 88th minute to make it 2-1. It was an especially uncomfortable finish, given that the Loons had recently blown second-half leads to Sporting KC and the LA Galaxy.

“We would obviously have liked to have seen the game out with a little bit more authority — the authority that I think that the first half suggested that we might have in the second half,” Ramsay told reporters in New York. “It’s a huge three points on the road, and I would say that shouldn’t be underestimated.”

The Loons, who stretched their unbeaten run to six games, barely had time to gawk at Monument Park before they’d already scored. Kelvin Yeboah released Joaquín Pereyra down the left side with a pass from midfield, and Pereyra crossed for Oluwaseyi — who continued his hot streak, scoring for the fifth time in his past three MLS games, with only 59 seconds elapsed on the clock.

The first minute carried through the rest of a dominating first half — only interrupted by the late penalty kick, which Martínez cannoned off the crossbar.

It’ll go down as a miss on goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair’s best-in-MLS-history penalty record, and defender Michael Boxall — who gave away the penalty — could at least look at that silver lining. “He probably wants me to give up more penalties so he gets chances to save them,” Boxall said.

Faced with a free kick near the right-hand edge of the penalty area in the 29th minute, everyone expected Pereyra to swing in a cross for the Loons’ center backs to head home.

Instead, he passed across the top of the area to a wide-open Trapp, never known for his shooting prowess. The midfielder sent a low hopper through a forest of legs, one that took a deflection off an NYCFC defender, off goalkeeper Matt Freese’s foot and to the top of the net.

Trapp put three shots on target in the first half, including his goal — only his fifth goal in his 328th MLS game. Trapp had never before had three shots on target in a single game, never mind a half. In fact, he’s never had more than three shots on target in an entire MLS season.

SUMMARY: Minnesota United 2, NYCFC 1

MLS standings

Boxall, who scored for New Zealand in the last international break, knew what had gotten into the midfielder. “I think me and Wil Trapp are racing to 20 goals this year,” he said.

The Loons have another afternoon match next week, Saturday at Toronto FC. Through six weeks, Toronto was one of three remaining winless teams in MLS — and the signs aren’t any better for the future. Ramsay referred to games against the Eastern Conference as a “free hit,” but when the playoff race heats up, Minnesota’s going to want to have banked as many points against bad teams as possible, no matter which conference they play in.