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Loons can’t convert and get clobbered in 4-1 loss to Austin FC

andy greder, pioneer press
·3 min read

Minnesota United supporters chanted “We want Pukki” in the 50th minute on Saturday night at Allianz Field. The Loons were down 2-0 and needed their new striker to help save them.

Moments later, Sebastian Driussi silenced the crowd with Austin FC’s third goal of the game.

The fans’ request was met when Pukki subbed in for his MLS debut in the 56th minute, and while the Finnish forward got in some dangerous spaces and had two shots on target, the Loons only got one goal back in a 4-1 defeat.

MNUFC (6-8-6, 22 points) remain with only two home wins — the second fewest in MLS this season. Austin FC (8-8-5, 29 points) widened its gap on the Loons.

The Loons dominated the opening half hour and had nothing to show for it, with 1.0 expected goals to 0.1 for Austin.

Mender Garcia botched an open shot in the 11th minute, but was called offside; the Colombian didn’t shoot when open in the 21st minute and instead fed a poor pass behind Bongi Hlongwane; and Garcia’s close-range shot was easily saved by Brad Stuver in the 30th. Hassani Dotson also had a header ping off the post.

Suspended manager Adrian Heath was forced to watch the match from a room adjacent to the press box. He looked perplexed and paced in the confined space.

“Arguably should have been two up before they score, and we’ve said that too many times,” Heath said.

The Pukki chant might have started sooner on Saturday, but he was in Helsinki midweek obtaining his work visa and will need time to build up to full fitness in order to play 90 minutes.

Austin made the most of its chances in the final 15 minutes of the half. Off a combination with Dani Pereira, Diego Fagundez ran right past fullback D.J. Taylor and scored in the 35th.

Then in the 42nd, Bakaye Dibassy’s slide tackle of Jon Gallagher was ruled a penalty by referee Alex Chilowicz. Supporters chanted “VAR,” but after a few-minute delay, Chilowicz didn’t take a look at the video assistant review. In a pool report, Chilowicz said the “call on the field was not deemed to be a clear and obvious error by the VAR.”

Captain Wil Trapp said it might have been a moment where no call is made on the field, but there is an opportunity to go back and call a penalty. “But to call the penalty immediately, for me, was a little bit hasty,” Trapp said.

The call stood and Driussi slotted the PK past Clint Irwin for a 2-0 halftime lead.

The Loons broke through in the 86th minute when Devin Padelford scored his first MLS goal. The Maplewood man got on the end of Dotson’s glancing header from Ismael Tajouri-Shradi’s corner kick.

Emiliano Rigoni added a fourth goal late in stoppage time and some boos came from fans after the final whistle.

Briefly

Heath and center back Michael Boxall were both were suspended for yellow-card accumulation in the 4-1 win over Portland last weekend. … Loaned-out forward Tani Oluwaseyi produced a hat trick in San Antonio’s 4-0 win over Memphis in the USL Championship on Friday. The 2022 first-round draft pick now has eight goals and four assists in 648 minutes across nine games this season. … Patrick Weah has played only 43 minutes while on loan with FC Tulsa this season. … Austin winger Ethan Finlay made his 300th MLS appearance Saturday; the Duluth-born winger played 95 games for the Loons from 2017-21. Finlay assisted on Driussi’s second goal. … After not scoring in 275 minutes this season, former Loons midfielder Aziel Jackson scored in St. Louis City’s 1-0 win over Toronto on Saturday. Meanwhile, Cam Dunbar, whom MNUFC traded for at same time they let go of Jackson, has not scored in 113 MLS minutes this year. … Injured attackers Franco Fragapane (thigh) and Sang Bin Jeong (groin) are expected to miss Wednesday’s game at Houston. …

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