Minnesota defending final Western playoff spot vs. SKC
Minnesota United will try to keep pace in their pursuit of one of nine Western Conference playoff places when they visit Sporting Kansas City on Saturday in Kansas City, Kan.
The Loons (11-12-6, 39 points) suffered a narrow 2-1 home defeat to 2023 Supporters' Shield winners FC Cincinnati on Wednesday night, in a match first-year coach Eric Ramsay thought could've finished with his side taking at least a point.
After going behind 2-0 at halftime, Kelvin Yeboah pulled a goal back from the penalty spot in the 54th minute. Minnesota limited Cincinnati to only two second-half shots while creating plenty of its own chances to level, the most dangerous falling to Jefferson Diaz, who saw his effort blocked in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time.
"I think it was a real chance for us to make a big statement in terms of the result," Ramsay said. "We really had the better of the game in the second half. And really used the momentum of the crowd. And you can't help but look back at some of the chances that we had early on and feel frustrated."
The Loons remain ninth in the Western Conference, in possession of the second wild-card spot and four points in front of 10th-place Austin entering the weekend.
Kansas City's slim postseason hopes got a bounce with its 4-1 home win over Colorado on Wednesday night, keeping SKC (8-15-7, 31 points) at least mathematically alive for the spot Minnesota currently holds with four matches remaining.
And heading into next Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup final, it was also encouraging for coach Peter Vermes to see striker Alan Pulido score a brace for the first time since September 2023.
The 33-year-old Mexican has dealt win injury issues throughout his MLS tenure, most recently managing a knee ailment earlier this summer.
"He's probably in the last six weeks to two months been in really good form, and it's great to see," Vermes said of Pulido, who now has seven league goals. "And I think it has a lot to do with a lot of different things, but his injury was something else, and I think he's really starting to feel good day after day after day."
This story was originally published September 20, 2024, 6:55 PM.
