HOUSTON ā Minnesota United FC head coach Adrian Heath never lost faith in his Loons.
He didnāt lose it when Portlanddropped five goals on them. Or the week after when Atlanta blitzed them for six goals. Or on Saturday vs. Houston when they fell behind by two before battling back for a hard-fought 2-2 road draw.
āIām confident in this group ā like Iāve said before, even early on in the season when we had a few heavy defeats, I probably had a little more faith in them than most people,ā Heath said. āSome people thought it was blind faith but I think weāre starting to look like a decent team.ā
Much like this season has gone for them, the Loons didnāt make things easy on themselves on Saturday. Down 2-0 with halftime looming, they had to make two substitutions, including one for goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth, who left the game with a laceration to his face.
āWe gave ourselves a mountain to climb again with poor goals conceded,ā Heath said. āBut thereās a little bit of resolve coming in the group now. Maybe a few weeks ago that would have gone to three, to four, to five like we had in the beginning of the season.
"Are we getting better? Yes. Do we have a long way to go? Definitely.ā
Kevin Molino ā who nabbed an assist and was part of the buildup on the second goal ā said the teamās last two games, against Houston and FC Dallas, are proof that the team is starting to find itself.
āThe game in Dallas [a 2-0 loss], I thought we played well,ā he said. āThe final pass, and the quality in the final third wasnāt there, but today we got two goals. Weāre going to take the draw but we expected more from the game.ā
Saturdayās draw against the Dynamo marked the first time this year in which Molino left a big mark on the game ā and it didnāt go unnoticed by Heath.
āHeās getting better and better every week,ā the Minnesota coach said. āHe is starting to get a better understanding with his teammates now. His teammates are starting to realize what a good player he is and starting to give him the ball, even when heās marked.ā
The Loons now have five points from seven games, five of which were on the road. Four out of their next five games are now at home, and Heath wants to use that time to keep building their momentum.
Molino echoed his coachās sentiments.
āThereās no excuse,ā Molino said of the Loons upcoming homestand. āWhen youāre home, you have to be on the front foot and we have to make it difficult for teams to come there and play in front of a tremendous amount of fans who come out in the snow and support us and show us that love.ā
Christian Ramirez ā who started the Loons comeback with a 46th-minute goal and now has five goals on the season ā was satisfied with the draw but much like Heath and Molino, knows the team is far from a finished product.
āWe need to play better, 90 minutes together,ā Ramirez said. āI think we keep coming up, having 60 or 45 and even 70 [minutes], so we need to really dig deep and stay focused and get some results. Weāre coming home to a loud crowd and weāre going to need them to get three points.ā