Kelvin Yeboah’s two penalty-kick goals bested one PK from St. Louis in Minnesota United’s 2-1 win at Energizer Park on Saturday.
Trailing 1-0 at the half, third-place MNUFC (12-5-8, 44 points) needed a comeback against 14th-place St. Louis (4-14-6, 18 points) to avoid three games without a win for the first time since April.
The Loons fell into a 1-0 hole after captain center back Michael Boxall was whistled for a foul on Tomas Ostrak. It looked like a light touch that sent Ostrak down hard. Boxall couldn’t believe it.
From the spot, Eduard Lowen pounded a shot to his left, while goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair went to the right for the lead in the 36th minute.
While gripes about the justification of the PK might have been warranted, St. Louis completely dominated the first half. City led in possession (59-41%), shots (9-1) and corner kick (7-0).
Minnesota went a half hour before a shot on target and Yeboah’s attempt was low quality and stopped by Roman Burki.
Needing a jolt, coach Eric Ramsay brought Robin Lod and Bongi Hlongwane off the bench for Carlos Harvey in central midfield and Julian Gressel at right wingback, respectively.
The breakthrough came when Kelvin Yeboah’s quickness forced Chris Durkin to grab Yeboah in the 73rd minute. Durkin also received a red card for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity and Yeboah beat Burki from the PK spot.
To set up the second PK, St. Louis defender Jaziel Orozco’s handball was confirmed by VAR after Yeboah and Will Trapp made shouts for the call on the field.
Yeboah’s hesitation from the sport bested Burki a second time. The first time, Yeboah shot left. On the second, he went right to keep Burki off kilter.
Yeboah posted his first two-goal game in MLS since March. It’s his third PK on the season.
Two key Loons starters — midfielder Joaquin Pereyra and center back Nico Romero — were suspended for yellow-card accumulation. Joseph Rosales started in Pereyra’s spot, while Morris Duggan came in for Romero.
After moves away from MNUFC this week, Sang Bin Jeong and Devin Padelford made debut starts for St. Louis. Jeong nearly scored and Padelford nearly assisted on a goal in the opening 25 minutes.
Boxall’s goal-line clearance on Joao Klauss’s header left Padelford flummoxed that he didn’t get on the scoresheet for his new temporary team.
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