Minnesota returns key pieces, aims to continue road success at Dallas
Minnesota United will be at near full-strength when they meet banged-up FC Dallas for a special Independence Day match on Friday in Frisco, Texas.
The Loons (9-4-7, 34 points) settled for a 2-2 draw on the road against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. Kelvin Yeboah and Anthony Markanich scored goals for Minnesota, with third-string goalkeeper Alec Smir making five saves in relief of starter Wessel Speel, who went down with a right shoulder injury 20 minutes into the match.
'As always, I looked at the draw with New York as objectively as possible,' Minnesota coach Eric Ramsay said. 'There is a lot of that we were really pleased about and that we can take forward from the match.'
Minnesota is 5-2-3 over its past 10 matches and sits third in the Western Conference. The Loons are 4-2-4 on the road this season and expect to have leading goal-scorer Tani Oluwaseyi and No. 1 goalkeeper Dayne St. Claire back from international duty. The duo has been playing for Canada at the Gold Cup the past few weeks.
Oluwaseyi has produced eight goals and five assists in 14 starts for the Loons this season.
Dallas (5-8-6, 21 points) is 11th place in the conference entering the weekend. The Toros fell 3-2 at home to San Diego FC on Saturday, conceding the game-winner six minutes into added time after allowing the game-tying goal in the 77th minute.
Petar Musa and Sebastian Lletget scored in the loss as Dallas fell to 1-5-3 over its past nine MLS outings. The Toros are just 1-6-2 on their home pitch this season; their six losses at home are tied with Houston for most in the West.
'The effort was there,' Dallas manager Eric Quill said. 'It's not like I'm watching a team that's not giving effort -- and we had chances. We are where we are because we don't play an entire 95-plus minutes in every game. But we're toe to toe with everybody, and we just have moments where we switch off.'
Dallas forward Bernard Kamungo and midfielder/defender Nolan Norris both left the San Diego game with apparent ankle injuries and are doubtful for Friday's match, as are defender Osaze Urhoghide and forward Anderson Julio.
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