Even after their huge 7-1 win over FC Cincinnati, Minnesota United are looking forward.
The Loons, who are now 6th in the Western Conference, welcome the surging San Jose Earthquakes to Allianz Field on Wednesday (8 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, DAZN in Canada). San Jose, after their two-win week, jumped Minnesota by one point to land in fifth place in the Western Conference.
"[The win] sets up nicely for what I believe will be our biggest game of the season so far on Wednesday," head coach Adrian Heath said after the game on Saturday. He also added there will be no squad rotation amid five games in two weeks. "We’ll pick our strongest fight on Wednesday. It’s going to be a big game for us. Another Western Conference team. So, we’ll be ready."
The Quakes have lost just once in their last 11 games, heading to Minnesota. The Loons just snapped a three-game losing streak in league play.
“We’re starting to take the chances when they come,” Heath said. “And it brings confidence. I said to you after the 4-1 win here against Sporting Kansas City, it’s hard to say to people how important that can be to get Darwin [Quintero] firing. To get Angelo [Rodriguez] getting his confidence back. And them two are playing with a lot of confidence now. And you need it, no matter who you are. You need to be playing with confidence. And this group at this time is playing with confidence.”
"All points are points," Ike Opara added. "Whether early in the year, middle of the year and the end of the year. We have a stretch of games at home, a lot that we are going to play here and starting that off with a win for important for us so now we move on."
Next week, the Loons host New Mexico United in the Open Cup quarterfinal at Allianz Field. Combined with their match with San Jose amid the Western Conference playoff race, these next 10 days will have a huge influence on Minnesota's 2019 season.
“I think the team is on a high… but is football and sometimes things don't turn out," Rodriguez said. "The last two games in the U.S. Open Cup gave us confidence and I think that today we made it clear that today we had to win and get the three points. We must think about the next game against San Jose.”
