FiftyFive.One
• Voices From Soccer's North •
Tag: Abu Danladi
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Match Preview: Minnesota United FC vs. Portland Timbers FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: Minnesota United FC vs. Portland Timbers FCThe Loons will return to the relatively safe harbor of TCF Bank Stadium for the first time in seven weeks on Saturday, aiming to salvage a bit of pride and assess its options for 2018. The club will have most of its preferred options available and will be playing a tough Portland Timbers side. With…
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Matchdays Twenty-Seven and-Twenty Eight: Loons’ Long National Road Trip Nightmare Is Over
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Twenty-Seven and-Twenty Eight: Loons’ Long National Road Trip Nightmare Is OverIt’s easy to forget that Minnesota started their recent stretch of seven games, six of which were on the road, riding high on a crest of optimism. They had just pulled off an incredible week with nine points in three home games, and the playoff line was in touching distance. That was nearly two months…
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Match Preview: DC United vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: DC United vs. Minnesota United FCMinnesota United is still playing MLS soccer. It has been a while, with an international break and scheduling conspiring to provide the Loons with the longest break of the season. That does not mean, however, that the team will return refreshed and with its best eleven ready to take the field. Far from it. Minnesota…
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Matchdays Twenty-Five and-Twenty Six: Horrible Road Trip Continues, With Losses In Frisco And Kansas City
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Twenty-Five and-Twenty Six: Horrible Road Trip Continues, With Losses In Frisco And Kansas CityThe late summer stretch of five straight away games was always going to test the Loons. With three down, it’s been a failing effort so far. A two week break to recoup and get healthy before the road trip’s two most winnable (on paper at least) matches is welcome. But what evidence do we have…
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Match Preview: Sporting Kansas City vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: Sporting Kansas City vs. Minnesota United FCAfter a late tactical switch against the Galaxy earned Minnesota a comeback draw two weeks ago, Adrian Heath earned some just plaudits for getting the tactics right. As for his lineup choices against Dallas; well, let’s hold off the talks of Heath replacing Pep Guardiola. In the coach’s defense, Minnesota is just not deeply talented…
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Match Preview: FC Dallas vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: FC Dallas vs. Minnesota United FCCoach Adrian Heath will have some difficult lineup choices to make in the Lone Star State on Saturday. It is easy to overlook how relatively stable the lineup choices have been over the last two months, with few additional injuries, suspensions, and other outages to contend with. Player swaps have largely been by choice rather…
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Matchday Twenty-Three: Late Gut Punch Dooms Loons, Raises Questions About Leadership
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Twenty-Three: Late Gut Punch Dooms Loons, Raises Questions About LeadershipThrough nearly ninety minutes, Minnesota United were in the process of eking out an undeserved but professional home victory over the Seattle Sounders. Then, in stoppage time, it all fell apart. With recriminations flying thick and fast over what increasingly looks like another season short of the playoffs, it’s time to return to some hard…
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Matchday Twenty-Two: Road Woes Continue For Loons In Deflating Loss To Vancouver
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Twenty-Two: Road Woes Continue For Loons In Deflating Loss To VancouverEven thought their impressive three-game win streak catapulted Minnesota United back into surprising playoff contention, it came with a significant caveat: all the wins were at home. Only one other team (San Jose) have won just a single road match this year, and for the Loons to make good on their playoff aspiration, they simply…
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Matchday Twelve: Minnesota Escapes With Home Point Against Sporting KC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Twelve: Minnesota Escapes With Home Point Against Sporting KCMinnesota United rebounded, in a fashion, from their awful loss last weekend to San Jose, with a gritty draw against Sporting Kansas City. An early Khiry Shelton goal was canceled out by Darwin Quintero’s early equalizer, and neither side could break the deadlock in the seventy minutes that followed. Is a point at home a…
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Match Preview: Los Angeles FC vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: Los Angeles FC vs. Minnesota United FCI said last week that a bit of luck and a bit of skill was all it took to change the narrative in a league as wacky as MLS. Against Vancouver, that definitely proved true. But the recipe for victory against the Whitecaps could not possibly be something one would want to replicate against Los…
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Match Preview: Seattle Sounders FC vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: Seattle Sounders FC vs. Minnesota United FCThe old saying “if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it’s a duck” is being put to the test by Minnesota United. No longer does the team look like an utter catastrophe, even in its losses. There is more coherent, cohesive, and competent play happening from top to bottom than fans witnessed…
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Portland Timbers FC vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Portland Timbers FC vs. Minnesota United FCIt seems about 95% of bye weeks are described as coming “at the right time.” Minnesota probably fits that narrative this time around. After encouraging back-to-back wins, the Loons have suffered consecutive losses, each with its own caveats, but each disheartening in its own way. Now, Minnesota enters a new phase of the season and…
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Matchday Five: Minnesota Can’t Find the Keys to Atlanta’s Bus
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Five: Minnesota Can’t Find the Keys to Atlanta’s BusDespite being up a man for fifty minutes, and dominant for seventy, Minnesota United came up short against a compact Atlanta United defense, on a night when the temperatures recalled last near’s ‘snowpener.’ It was a dispiriting evening for the Loons. It was a waste of a golden opportunity to get three points. But it…