No Emanuel Reynoso, no problem for Minnesota United FC ā at least for now.
The Loons began their 2023 season with a 1-0 win at FC Dallas on Saturday evening, earning all three points despite being without their Argentine talisman. More than three weeks ago, the All-Star midfielder was suspended without pay by Major League Soccer for failure to report to preseason camp.
While thereās little clarity beyond that update ā head coach Adrian Heath referred to the ādisappointment of the Reynoso situationā postgame ā Minnesota started the new campaign on a high note.
āWith the Reynoso situation and everything thatās gone on, this press conference would have been a lot different if the result wouldāve gone against us, but it speaks volumes of the attitude and the fortitude of the group,ā Heath said at Toyota Stadium. āI thought their discipline was outstanding at times, and I couldnāt be more pleased with them.ā
Minnesotaās breakthrough came in the 48th minute through Mender Garcia, the Colombian forward they signed ahead of the 2022 Secondary Transfer Window closing last August. Garcia was making just his seventh MLS start, taking the strikerās reins in Luis Amarillaās absence (currently obtaining his U.S. Green Card).
In Reynosoās continued absence, creative duties mainly fell on Robin Lodās shoulders. Minnesota persevered, even without their No. 10 whoās supplied 16 goals and 28 assists in 71 regular-season games since arriving from Boca Juniors midway through the 2020 campaign.
āI couldnāt be more pleased for the players because weāve had a difficult offseason, you canāt deny that with whatās gone on,ā Heath said. āThis week even, two of the starting players are not here. Then on Thursday we had the snow. Nobody trains on Thursday. Itās been a really difficult mental week to cope with, but as I say, the players have been absolutely unbelievable and Iām so pleased for them.ā
Center back Miguel Tapias debuted for the Loons alongside captain Michael Boxall, the 26-year-old Mexican arriving earlier this month from Liga MX side Pachuca. Heath said Tapias will be a ātop, top MLS playerā and Minnesota are hoping to get āone or two things wrapped upā on the transfer front to continue completing the squad.
In the meantime, with Reynoso out of the picture, Heath takes solace in his side getting a result when the odds were seemingly stacked against them.
āIn England we call it a ācoupon buster,ā when you play and everybody expects you to get beat and then you come away and get a result,ā said the English manager. āThe most important thing is, the only people that matter are me and the coaching staff and the players, and they believed that we could get a result today, and thatās what weāve gone and done, so hats off to them.ā
Heath added: āI didnāt see anybody who had said that theyāre fancying Minnesota today as they normally do. I take a lot of satisfaction from that. You know what Iām like. You know I like being in a position to stick it up to people sometimes.ā