MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota United FC continue to form their identity in MLS, but a few things have already solidified. Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth has regained the form that helped him lead New England to the MLS Cup Final in 2014. Midfield partners Sam Cronin and Ibson have also partnered well to stabilize the team in possession.
Perhaps most notable, however, is that Christian Ramirez has become the focal point of Minnesota's attack, scoring nine of the team's 24 goals. Kevin Molino follows with a respectable five goals, but no other player has scored more than two.
That said, both of Minnesota’s goals in Saturday's 2-2 comeback draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC came from defenders Francisco Calvo and Jerome Thiesson. To Ramirez, that’s far from a bad thing.
“It’s good to see Francisco finally get his goal,” Ramirez said. “He’s been itching for one – he’s missed a couple headers that he normally puts away, and he’s been upset about that. That’s a big plus for him to get his confidence going. Jerome’s worked so hard and been so versatile for us. Hopefully, that opens the game up more and opens up more chances for myself and the other guys up front.”
Despite controlling 77 percent of possession in the match, Minnesota found themselves trailing 2-0 at halftime. The Loons were able to turn their possession into chance in the second half, however, and Calvo struck first on a header at the far post just five minutes after the break.
“Of course I’m happy,” said the Costa Rican international, after the match. “I’ve been trying to score since my first game. I try to help the team, but I’m disappointed with the result. We deserved more than that.”
Minnesota were able to equalize thanks to a perfectly placed shot by Thiesson from outside the box in the 63rd minute. It was the Swiss’ fifth professional goal and his first since October 2015 with FC Luzern. Elated, the fullback ran around the pitch flapping his arms like wings.
“I don’t think a lot about goal celebrations,” Thiesson said. “I only score once in a hundred games. It just felt right in the moment. It’s not a feeling I have a lot in my life, so I can’t really explain it. I wanted to fly away like a loon.”
While Heath wasn’t happy to leave the match without all three points, he did attribute Calvo and Thiesson’s goals to increased pressure.
“We worked the penalty area for those goals," Heath said. "Jerry’s goal was okay, it was a good finish.”
Now with a Thursday trip to New York City (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE) on the horizon, Minnesota will be hoping that the contributions of the two defenders is a sign of thing to come from the entire squad. Teams are starting to latch onto Ramirez in order to try and neutralize his impact, and that means other players need to step up in order to help alleviate the pressure.
“With how deep they were sitting and focusing on me, I was more of a decoy per se,” Ramirez said. “That’s going to happen. It’s why you saw Molino and [Miguel] Ibarra getting so involved. It was just one of those games where not a lot of action came my way. We showed some great resolve to get out of that hole we dug ourselves into.”
