FiftyFive.One
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Tag: Matchday
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Matchday Thirty One: Away From Home, Loons Embarrass Themselves On The Field, And On The Touchline
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Thirty One: Away From Home, Loons Embarrass Themselves On The Field, And On The TouchlineOn the road, against a Philadelphia Union team on the upswing, the Loons were never going to be favorites. But even a sober observer probably didn’t anticipate the team’s complete and total capitulation. Minnesota was down 0-4 at half, and after a switch back to the 3-5-2 and a more relaxed approach from the hosts,…
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Matchday Thirty: The Results Don’t Matter, But The Loons Are Still Putting On A Show At Home
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Thirty: The Results Don’t Matter, But The Loons Are Still Putting On A Show At HomeFor the second straight week at home, the Loons pulled in another three points. The club now sits with 36 points on the season, as many as they achieved last year. With four games to go, including two final matches at TCF Bank Stadium, the nightmare scenario of no year-on-year improvement will likely not come…
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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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Matchday Twenty-Four: Minnesota Battles To Ugly Point On The Road, With Big Elephant In The Stadium
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Twenty-Four: Minnesota Battles To Ugly Point On The Road, With Big Elephant In The StadiumHappily for much of Minnesota’s time in MLS, there has been surprisingly little drama. Sure the team may have been bad and players have come and gone, but there’s rarely been a behind-the-scenes soap opera that other teams seem to attract. But this week was different. Days after sending beloved striker Christian Ramirez to LAFC,…
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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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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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Matchday Nineteen: Loons Continue Jekyll And Hyde Routine In Win Against Salt Lake
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Nineteen: Loons Continue Jekyll And Hyde Routine In Win Against Salt LakeThree points are three points, but what could’ve been a celebratory home win against Real Salt Lake ended on a sour note, with two late goals allowed that had Head Coach Adrian Heath steaming mad. In a season with more moral victories than actual victories, here at last was a win that raised more questions…
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Matchdays Sixteen, Seventeen, and Eighteen: What Are The Loons Building?
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Sixteen, Seventeen, and Eighteen: What Are The Loons Building?I was away on vacation the last two weeks, blissfully detached from the ups and downs (let’s face it, mostly downs) of following Minnesota United. After the horrific loss on the road to Colorado, it was a good time to step away, and though I missed one of the most memorable individual performances in team…
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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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Matchday Fourteen and US Open Cup: Loons Hit Doldrums In Mid-Country Tour
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Fourteen and US Open Cup: Loons Hit Doldrums In Mid-Country TourMinnesota United traveled to Kansas City last weekend and the result was the same as it always is when the Loons play at Sporting Park—a horrifying beatdown. They then traveled to Cincinnati for the first time for the US Open Cup, and the result was the same as it always is when the Loons play…
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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…