Across MLS, it’s no secret Emanuel Reynoso’s form is often the deciding factor in Minnesota United FC’s fortunes.
That the Argentine No. 10 recorded two assists in Saturday’s 3-1 home win over the Colorado Rapids, the Loons’ first multi-goal game of the 2022 season? The math adds up there.
Just ask head coach Adrian Heath, who credited an off-field development with Reynoso’s best game this year.
“I thought he was better tonight,” Heath said. “I’m not saying it’s the reason why, but his family are here now. They arrived this week. I thought I just sensed him being a little bit brighter this week and himself and around the group. These are the little things that people don’t really know about. He’ll be delighted that his family is here.
“He’s hopefully playing himself into some form because, as I’ve said all along, whatever our success will be, he will be in the focal piece of all that. We need him to be the ‘Reynoso’ we know and I thought there was signs of it this evening.”
It wasn’t just Reynoso who snapped Minnesota’s two-game losing streak, though, as Finnish international attacker Robin Lod scored a 77th-minute winner and assisted a 79th-minute clincher from Abu Danladi.
Lod hadn’t scored since MNUFC’s 1-1 draw at the Philadelphia Union on opening weekend, but his late shift to the center forward position paid dividends at Allianz Field.
“He’s deceptively strong, people don’t think that of him,” Heath said. “Once he gets in front, and he’s got a really good first touch. He gave us a starting point tonight when he got up there. I’m pleased with him because he is gradually getting fitter and fitter. He’s getting back to what he was, what we know he can be.”
Canadian international goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair also supplied seven saves, continuing his strong form since taking the No. 1 job from Tyler Miller. Out of the halftime break, he made several 1-on-1 plays and an incredible stop on Rapids striker Diego Rubio – a game-deciding moment that shifted momentum.
“On a different day, that might hit the post and go in, so I was really ecstatic to see it bounce out and not to one of their two attackers that were right there as well,” St. Clair said. “Probably the best save of the night.”
The big takeaway, though, is that Minnesota’s attack found another level of production. Reaching that level consistently is the next challenge.
“To get three goals in a game, maybe people want to keep talking about it and then we relax and start to play again,” Heath said. “It was a big game for us tonight. We knew that. We rolled our luck.”
