Minnesota United shuffled the majority of its starting lineup on Wednesday and the new mix of players weren’t cohesive in a 2-0 loss to Houston Dynamo at Shell Oil Stadium.
Amid a congested schedule of nine games in 30 days, Loons made a striking eight different changes to its starting XI, including five making their first starts of the season.
The makeover was a major reason Minnesota (6-4-2, 22 points) had its two-game winning streak end at Houston (2-4-6, 10 points), which came into the match in 12th place in the West.
Loons head coach Eric Ramsay said he wanted to prioritize fresh legs over in-form players on Wednesday, while more regulars are expected to start Saturday versus St. Louis City. Ramsay added he had no regrets over the team he put on the field, given how stifling the heat was in Houston.
“Even with what is on paper your strongest team, the team that is in real rhythm, the team that has played the large majority of the games so far, there is no guarantee you are going to get a spark, energy and a real intensity, particularly after the experience we had (in a 4-1 win over Inter Miami) on Saturday,” Ramsay said. “With that considered and the conditions here … I think on balance it was a justified way of looking at this game.”
The Loons’ defense conceded a goal on the final action of the first half. On a recycled corner kick, Devin Padelford couldn’t get enough direction on a clearance and Pablo Ortiz’s header to the far post got over 5-foot-8 DJ Taylor’s leaping attempt at a goal-line clearance.
Apple TV broadcasters Neil Sika and Lloyd Sam said Houston coach Ben Olsen felt Minnesota was vulnerable in defending set pieces. That was spot on.
Then in the second half, Houston scored on another recycled corner kick, with Felipe Andrade finding the back of the net in the 77th minute.
In the first half, Minnesota was outshot 11-1 and 2-0 in shots on frame.
Trying to rectify the imbalance, coach Eric Ramsay made a quadruple substitution, bringing in more attacking-minded players — Tani Oluwaseyi, Joaquin Pereyra, Robin Lod and Bongi Hlongwane — in the 64th minute.
Striker Kelvin Yeboah had the Loons best chance in the 81st minute, but his header went over the crossbar.
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