FiftyFive.One
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Tag: Brent Kallman
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Matchdays Twenty and Twenty-One: Minnesota Change The Narrative With Two Important Wins, One Big Week
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Twenty and Twenty-One: Minnesota Change The Narrative With Two Important Wins, One Big WeekEven a year and a half on, Minnesota United have struggled to shed the first impression they gave in MLS. Hopelessly inept at defending, mercurial in attack, adrift in midfield, struggling to make a splash in the transfer market, and beset by an endless parade of wingers. Now, thanks to Darwin Quintero, Miguel Ibarra, and a…
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Coach’s Corner: When Things Get Chippy
Continue Reading: Coach’s Corner: When Things Get ChippyTake one look at the stat sheet from MinnestoaUnited’s game against the Revs and you could quickly guess what kind of game it was: chippy and aggressive. A chippy first half Games like this are often difficult to coach. With the Loons finding the back of the net in the first five minutes, the Revs…
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Match Preview: Minnesota United FC vs. FC Dallas
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: Minnesota United FC vs. FC DallasYour best value for a Scotch whisky that is approachable and still refined might be The Glenlivet 18 Speyside scotch, which has sweeter tones of vanilla and honey to balance the wood and spice notes. If you need a more affordable entry-level scotch, you may want to bump down to the 12-year version of Glenfidditch’s comparable…
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Matchday Fifteen: Loons Embarrassed In Last-Second Loss To Awful Colorado
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Fifteen: Loons Embarrassed In Last-Second Loss To Awful ColoradoYou’ve heard the adage that ‘good teams make their own luck.’ A team like Atlanta gets so many penalties and cards on the opposition simply by putting them pressure. In contrast, Minnesota are proving the reverse is true, that bad teams make their own bad luck. In Colorado, against a team that would struggle to…
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Match Preview: Colorado Rapids vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: Colorado Rapids vs. Minnesota United FCMinnesota United has spent much of the season at least tickling the playoff line. That is officially no longer the case. The Loons are six points back from the Western Conference playoff line (22 points, where two teams currently sit) and will need a hot streak, in combination with some stumbles by the teams directly…
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Match Preview: Sporting Kansas City vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: Sporting Kansas City vs. Minnesota United FCOf the many reputations Minnesota United might have, it should probably be most noted as the “yeah, but” team. It seems most losses are softened by a “yeah, but half the roster is injured” or “yeah, but they played on short rest” (such as the loss to Los Angeles FC). Many wins, meanwhile, are interrupted with a…
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Matchday Thirteen: Longtime Loons Lead Against Miserable Montréal
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Thirteen: Longtime Loons Lead Against Miserable MontréalIn a must-win match against a very bad team, the Loons finally delivered the three points that was expected of them. Despite a horrible start to the match against Montréal, the club rallied and earned the win through goals from the North’s favorite tag-team duo of Christian Ramirez and Miguel Ibarra. Over at The Athletic, our…
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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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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…
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Matchday Four: Minnesota Soundly Beaten by an Altogether Superior New York Red Bulls Team
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Four: Minnesota Soundly Beaten by an Altogether Superior New York Red Bulls TeamThis week’s matchday notes and analysis comes a bit later than usual, as I spent the post-match hours driving down the New Jersey Turnpike from Harrison, where I watched the game live. Unfortunately for me, the Loons lost, which makes them 0-6 when playing MLS teams while I am in attendance. I may be the…
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Match Preview: New York Red Bulls vs. Minnesota United FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: New York Red Bulls vs. Minnesota United FCHow you view Minnesota United’s season so far probably says a lot about you as a person outside of soccer, as well. The Loons are perched near the peak of the Western Conference after two confident victories. Those wins, however, came against two sides missing key players, and who may not be very good anyway. Should we be…
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Matchday Three: Minnesota Bury Chicago In Dominant Second Half, Continue Impressive Form
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Three: Minnesota Bury Chicago In Dominant Second Half, Continue Impressive FormIt was a completely different home opener for Minnesota United FC in their second year in MLS. The sun was shining, the temperature was well above freezing, and the team on the field looked—dare we say it?—downright good. The previous Saturday, the Loons turned in a classic road performance and emerged clutching three points in…
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Quantitative Divination – Center Back Edition: Boxall or Kallman
Categories: The AngleContinue Reading: Quantitative Divination – Center Back Edition: Boxall or KallmanThe 2018 preseason seems to have brought forth a new player controversy. Who should get the start at center back and be paired with Loons captain Francisco Calvo. Michael Boxall or Brent Kallman? FiftyFive.One writer and staff statistics guru, Dave Laidig, looks at the numbers. One of FiftyFive.One’s regular instigators queried how the stats for…