Coach Adrian Heath was delighted to see Minnesota United claim a vital victory against FC Cincinnati despite an underwhelming performance prior to their trip to Nashville.
Following a rare week that saw just one round of MLS fixtures, Minnesota head to Tennessee on Tuesday.
A first win in five for the Loons - 2-0 over Cincinnati - came despite a display that was far from their most convincing in that stretch, although Heath cared little amid a manic schedule.
"We're going to go (to Nashville), going to give it a go and be positive, because that's what we have to do, and then we're looking at another four or five days and then we're on the road in Dallas," he said.
"It gets no easier, that's why the three points at the weekend were probably more important than the performance."
He added: "It's going to be as much mental as it is physical. The fact that you've got yourself up in 36 hours, now you're next day preparing for another game.
"We know it's going to be tough - [Nashville] have done well of late. But if we play as well as can, we're more than capable of getting a result."
A limited number of fans can return to Nissan Stadium, where they will find a Nashville team in playoff contention after a battling draw at New England Revolution.
"I know the stats lean heavily against us with regards to possession, goals, crosses, corners, whatever area you want to look," coach Gary Smith said.
"But the performance really was about this group digging in, showing the sort of fiber and character that really championship teams are built on.
"While there is a long, long way to go for this team, they are all the qualities I want to see in a group."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nashville - Derrick Jones
The versatile Jones has been largely restricted to a fringe role this season but impressed from the start in the win over DC United last month. He was handed another opportunity last week when Daniel Rios was out yet failed to fire and must add an end product if he is to become a regular.
Minnesota United - Kevin Molino
Minnesota's top scorer missed two games last month with a hamstring injury but is now back fit and already firing again. Molino's seventh goal of the season came in a 29-minute cameo against FC Cincinnati and he will now hope to star from the start.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- Minnesota have picked up big wins in their past two matches against expansion teams, beating Los Angeles FC 5-1 in July 2018 and scoring a club-record seven goals in a 7-1 win over Cincinnati in June 2019. Their most recent away match against an expansion side ended in defeat, however, a 2-0 loss at LAFC in May 2018.
- Nashville have lost only one of their past eight matches (W3 D4) - including going unbeaten in their past three (W1 D2) - after losing four of their first six MLS games.
- Minnesota have collected just one point from their past five away matches after opening the season with wins at Portland Timbers and San Jose Earthquakes. Ten of the 11 points they have collected since the regular season resumed in August have come at home.
- Nashville's scoreless draw with New England Revolution on Saturday marked the seventh time there have been fewer than two goals scored in one of their matches this season. Only New York City (nine) have played more games with fewer than two goals in MLS this year.
- Kei Kamara scored his first Minnesota goal from the penalty spot in their 2-0 win over Cincinnati on Saturday. With that goal, Kamara became the first player in MLS history to score for eight different teams (Columbus Crew, San Jose, Houston Dynamo, Sporting Kansas City, New England, Vancouver Whitecaps, Colorado Rapids, Minnesota).
Author
Hi, Its me Hafeez. A webdesigner, blogspot developer and UI/UX Designer. I am a certified Themeforest top Author and Front-End Developer. I'am business speaker, marketer, Blogger and Javascript Programmer.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment