Recap: Loons lose two leads, two players in 4-3 loss to Toronto FC

After the (rather entertaining) craziness of Minnesota United’s home opener, the Loons hoped to settle into a more regular pace of competition as they embark on a challenging stretch of matches. On a rainy night in Toronto, however, chaos prevailed again as United fell 4-3 and had two players sent off late, despite holding the lead twice.

Manager Adrian Heath deployed his trademark 4-2-3-1, with the only notable changes being Rasmus Schuller on the left wing and Brent Kallman in at centerback.

Darwin Quintero helped his team get off to a quick start, managing to get around Toronto’s Alex Bono after a long ball over the top from Jan Gregus.

As has so often been the narrative, that lead was not built to last. Despite doing a relatively good job containing playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo, Minnesota’s defense allowed him to go on a run up the field before a rocket past Vito Mannone.

Just seconds later, Pozuelo struck again. He received the ball at the top of the box and found an easy finish to flip the lead in the host side’s favor.

The game took a positive turn in the second half through Angelo Rodriguez, who continued his solid stretch of play by heading in the equalizer off the bottom of the bar.

Darwin Quintero converted a penalty to put the Loons in front once again, but even that lead was going to fail. Jordan Hamilton equalized for the hosts after he slipped through the back line.

Since the goals were evidently destined to come in bunches, Hamilton found another on an error from Michael Boxall, who decided to take his time on a goal-line clearance, only for Hamilton to head it home first.

To add insult to injury, Gregus was sent off for an unnecessary scissor tackle near the 90th minute.

To cap off a night of disappointment, captain Francisco Calvo saw fit to pick up his second yellow card of the match with a similarly unnecessary play.

Both Gregus and Calvo will miss Wednesday’s key matchup against the LA Galaxy, and Gregus could very well see a longer suspension.