Notebook: A poor first half costs MNUFC points in their outing in Dallas

Minnesota United fell 3-1 last night on the road to FC Dallas in the clubs second game since returning from Orlando and the MLS Is Back tournament. Not only are the Loons on a losing streak since their loss to Orlando City but they are also without a point since the start of “Phase One” of the re-started MLS season. This does not seem to be the same team we all saw at the ESPN Wide World of Sports we saw in July and early August, and Heath seems to know this.

“I felt this was the best weeks training we’ve had. So, that was, that was such a disappointment, to witness that first half performance.”

And that first half performance he briefly mentioned there, well it was absolutely atrocious, which he reiterated multiple times following the match.

“As I just said, forget the tactics, forget the shape, forget the system. It don’t matter. If the opposition want to run around more than you, and they want to tackle more than you and they want to get the ball forward and get on the second ball, that’s not changed. That’s not changed from the ‘70’s to what it is now. If you don’t compete against Liverpool, Bayern Munich and all these teams, they run all over you. So, if it’s good enough for them, trust me. It’s good enough for Minnesota United. Or, it will be.”

Whatever Heath said at halftime did seem to kick a spark back into the team, as MNUFC did come out of the gates firing on all cylinders. But a lot of that is, well just not good and unrepeatable the coach said.

“No. Trust me. There was a lot said at halftime that I can’t repeat on here. And it could have been four of eight, maybe. First half. But, as I said after, food for thought. You know, we’ve got some players coming in and we’ll see where we are on Wednesday.”

Raheem Edwards put Heath’s halftime talk in a bit of different context.

“He lit a fire up our asses. We knew it wasn’t good enough. We knew, not just from him. We didn’t need to hear it from him. It was from within ourselves. It wasn’t good enough. Obviously, in the first half, being 2-nil down. To get those two goals back to back, in what, less than a minute? It’s not acceptable. So, obviously, we knew we needed to bring something. Bring a different energy. Just bring something different. So, that’s what we tried to do with the four subs at halftime. I thought we did pretty well. We did pretty well. We had a couple of opportunities. A couple, the ball didn’t bounce our way. It’s unfortunate.”

Those subs, could have been almost the entire team if possible according to gaffer.

“As I said, it could have been… If I had more substitutes, trust me, I would have made more changes. But, we obviously had to be realistic, because, at 2-nil the game is never over. We’ve all played in games where you’ve come back. And, the game panned out that way. I said to them, if we get the next goal, then the game changes. The whole complex of the game. And, we did. Then, we hit the post. Then another effort hit the post. So, as I said, the reaction of the group in the second half. If we could have made seven or eight changes in the first half, I would have done it.”

Minnesota United will have a short turnaround facing Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night in Houston, TX at BBVA Stadium. Neither Heath nor the rest of the team are looking forward to a quick turnaround, with Heath saying:

“No. It’s obviously another away game. We’ve had 1-8, it’ll be by Wednesday? On the road? One home game. It’s difficult. It always is, in this league, on the road. It’s going to be no cooler I wouldn’t have thought, at night, in Houston. So, it’s going to be difficult. Obviously, the fact that they just come up with a really big win. Their first win. And, obviously, a few players, ex-players. So, we know it’s not going to be easy on Wednesday. Trust me.”