Ahead of Wednesday's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup fourth round match vs Minesota United FC, SportingKC.com caught up with The Star Tribune's Megan Ryan to preview #SKCvMIN. Live coverage of Wednesday's match (7:30 p.m. CT) is available on SportingKC.com and Sports Radio 810 WHB. Check out MatchDay Central for complete online coverage.
Coming off a bye week, do you expect Minnesota United FC to field a strong lineup on Wednesday?
That’s actually been an interesting topic of discussion recently. In previous weeks, coach Adrian Heath had said how he planned to use the U.S. Open Cup to give some of the non-starters some much-needed playing time. With the exception of Joe Greenspan going on loan, Heath has found it tough to get minutes for some of the younger or lesser-used guys, so I think that’s probably still the plan. But with such an abysmal performance the last time out at KC and the Open Cup providing a decent chance at a trophy even for an expansion team, I guess it could go either way. Heath has said he obviously approaches the Open Cup differently as an MLS coach than he did as a lower-division coach, and it’s really become a balancing act, especially with a league match at Real Salt Lake just three days later.
Are there any injury concerns or players unavailable due to international duty? How could that affect Minnesota’s lineup and/or approach to the match?
There are quite a few. National team duty-wise, the Loons will be without defender Francisco Calvo, midfielder Johan Venegas, midfielder Kevin Molino and defender Jermaine Taylor. Injury-wise, there’s quite a few questionables: midfielder Miguel Ibarra, forward Abu Danladi, defender Jerome Thiesson and defender Vadim Demidov. Several starters on this list, but if United sticks to fielding mostly reserve players, the impact won’t be quite as jarring. The team didn’t do too swell when it had to shift its formation early on against KC because of Ibarra’s injury, but with more than a week to prepare and for the injured players to recover, United won’t be using these missing persons as an excuse.
What were the expectations for this season and how would you assess where the club is at this point?
I think the expectation for all expansion teams in their inaugural season is to make the playoffs or at least be in the hunt to do so. I think right now, United is doing OK. Ninth place in the West isn’t the worst place the Loons could be. The most recent loss to KC was a big stumble back for United, but prior to that, the team’s form was really improving, even if the record didn’t necessarily show it. After such a bad start to the season, the team has addressed the biggest problem of defense. Now it’s just consistently putting on good performances, defensively and offensively.
As an expansion side, what priority is the club putting on the Open Cup this season?
Well, I think the priority is still on the league season and trying to make the postseason there. But the Open Cup has its benefits, too, with a Champions League spot on the line. So I wouldn’t say the Loons are taking it lightly by any means. But it’s not like the league season is a wash yet at this point, either, so it really is a balance at this moment. If United keeps advancing in the Open Cup, though, that might change.
What did you take away from the match on June 3 (SKC 3-0 MIN) and any players or match-ups you’re looking forward to seeing from Wednesday’s match?
That June 3 match was a really hard one to take anything away from because the Loons just did not look great, and KC thoroughly out-played them. Assuming KC fields some reserve players as well for this Open Cup match, it will likely be a very different matchup, too. What I’m probably most-interested in seeing is how United responds to going right back to Children’s Mercy Park after such a bad loss. In some ways, it’s an immediate rematch and chance at redemption. But it’s also an immediate reminder of what happened last time. So seeing the attitude of the players will be the most intriguing.
