Before Saturday’s game against St. Louis City, Minnesota United already knew that it had clinched a playoff spot. With a 4-1 win in the regular season’s final match, the Loons also clinched a spot in the first round of the playoffs, avoiding the 8-vs-9 wild-card game that looked like Minnesota’s likely destination for most of the season.
The win gave Minnesota six victories in its final nine games, including four wins in an undefeated five-game stretch to close out the schedule. It’s a good time for the Loons to be playing their best soccer of the season — and now they get a chance to stay on a normal schedule for the opening round of the playoffs, which will take place over the next three weekends.
The Loons climbed over Colorado into sixth place and will play Real Salt Lake in a best-of-three series that will begin next weekend. RSL will host Game 1, Minnesota will host Game 2 — the team’s first playoff game in front of its home fans since 2019, excepting the strange empty-stadium game in 2020. If the series goes to three games, RSL would host Game 3.
Kelvin Yeboah has made a name for himself with his scoring prowess, but in the 21st minute he proved he can pass, too. Yeboah picked up the ball at midfield after the Loons won the ball in their own half, turned and played an inch-perfect through ball to Robin Lod behind the St. Louis defense. Lod, calm on the break, made no mistake and beat Roman Bürki low to the keeper’s right, giving the Loons the early lead.
Minnesota had the better of the play in the game’s first half-hour, especially through Joseph Rosales down the left side. Both of the Loons’ best chances before the goal came through the wingback. On the first, Rosales beat his defender and fired a tantalizing low cross through the penalty area, one that Yeboah was a step away from turning into a goal. Four minutes later, Rosales, Joaquín Pereyra and Lod played their way into a shot from Rosales from the middle of the penalty area, one that Bürki alertly palmed away.
The Loons lost their edge to begin the second half, though, leading to manager Eric Ramsay replacing all three attackers in the 68th minute — a move that paid off five minutes later, with all three combining for the second goal. Tani Oluwaseyi, playing off the last defender, got in behind and found a wide-open Franco Fragapane, who slid the ball across to Sang Bin Jeong to tap in for the game’s second goal in the 72nd minute.
St. Louis, though, got back in the game immediately, with Marcel Hartel scoring to cut the lead to 2-1. Five minutes later, though, City defender Henry Kessler turned a Minnesota corner kick into his own net, restoring Minnesota’s two-goal advantage and allowing some easier breathing for Loons fans who were nervously checking scores from around the league.
