Road woes continue for Loons, losing 4-2
Published 7:59 am Monday, July 30, 2018
Not only did Minnesota United fail to earn a point Saturday, the Loons continued to allow goals in bunches on the road.
Vancouver beat Minnesota 4-2 at BC Place, becoming the eighth of 10 opponents to put up at least three goals against United this season. The Loons have allowed 2.8 goals per game on the road, compared to 1.2 at home.
Minnesota fell behind 3-0 through 64 minutes Saturday. They clawed back to 3-2 with two goals in the 82nd and 87th minutes, but it was too big a hill to climb.
Alphonso Davies, the teenage sensation who agreed to a transfer to super-club Bayern Munich this week, scored twice for the Whitecaps to seal the win.
“The goals were pathetic,” United coach Adrian Heath said of the goals conceded during his postgame interview on Fox Sports North.
Minnesota had won three straight games, all at home, and looked to carry that success to the road. But it was the same old story as Minnesota fell to 1-9 in away matches this season. The Loons (9-12-1) continue to have the fewest road points in MLS this season (three) and fell to 4-21-2 away from TCF Bank Stadium since joining the top domestic league in 2017.
Vancouver (8-9-5) jumped Minnesota in the Western Conference standings with the victory.
Whitecaps midfielder Yordy Reyna sidestepped four Loons defenders and beat Minnesota goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth for the first goal in the 35th minute.
An inexplicable turnover from Loons midfielder Ibson, where he back-passed in Minnesota’s defensive third, was capitalized on by Davies, who weaved around Michael Boxall to score in the 56th minute. Davies iced the game with a second goal in the 89th minute.
Vancouver didn’t start Kei Kamara, who has a team-high eight goals and three assists this season. He later came on as a sub for Anthony Blondell in the 61st minute. He scored his ninth on the counter attack in the 65th minute, with an assist to Davies.
By Andy Greder
Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.