Minnesota United expected an Argentine attacker to give opponents doses of danger on set pieces this season.
It was supposed to be Emanuel Reynoso, but with the MLS all-star suspended by MLS since February, Franco Fragapane has swimmingly slid into that role so far.
Fragapane’s great free kick was flicked on by Micky Tapias’ head for the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Colorado Rapids on Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.
Fragapane also provided a sterling corner kick that led to a Tapias header and Bongi Hlongwane’s rebound goal in the 1-1 draw with New York Red Bulls last week.
“He’s got good delivery,” manager Adrian Heath said postgame. “It doesn’t matter who it is, if you can put the ball consistently in the right spot then you cause teams trouble. … I think it’s something that we spoke about preseason, being better on set pieces, both for and against. We’ve worked harder on them, and we’ve put people under a bit more pressure to make sure they are in the right spots and do the right things. So far it’s been OK.”
Tapias, who is only 5 feet 10, has shown a knack for winning headers in the attacking box, something the club has lacked for years, and the new Mexican center back notched his first goal as a United player.
With Fragapane and Tapis filling voids, Minnesota (2-0-1, 7 points) snapped a five-match losing streak at Colorado and improved to 1-5-1 in the Denver suburb since joining MLS in 2017.
The Rapids (0-3-1, 1 point) had snapped a 319-minute goalless drought across four games this season by capitalizing on MNUFC’s second straight slow start to a second half. After allowing New York an equalizer just after the break last Saturday, Colorado’s Cole Bassett beat the right side of the Loons’ defense and tucked in a goal inside the far post in the 49th minute.
Minnesota equalized five minutes later. Hassani Dotson’s cross hit Danny Wilson’s arm to give the Loons a penalty kick. From the spot, Luis Amarilla went to his right and goalkeeper Will Yarbrough to the left as Amarilla scored his first goal of 2023.
Both teams nearly took the lead in the 67th minute. Off a set piece, Wilson’s header went off the crossbar. Immediately after that, Minnesota had a man advantage with Fragpane, Amarilla and Hlongwane. But Amarilla’s indecision on the ball, in part, led to Hlongwane being offside as he scored a goal.
Fragapane and Tapias’ eventual connection would covered up that botched play.
With seven players going on national team duties next week, Heath said Tuesday he was going to rest a few players who will remain for the home game against Vancouver next Saturday. This is why Joseph Rosales started on the left wing while regular starter Fragapane came off the bench in the 54th minute.
The Loons’ first MLS point came in a 2-2 draw at Colorado on March 18, 2017; then the club lost five straight matches until exactly seven years later.
“That was a long time ago,” D.J. Taylor said. “I’ve obviously seen people talk about it on social media and stuff like that. It’s huge for the club, just want to keep creating more milestones, and I think we will as a team this year.”
Briefly
MNUFC will pay Wolverhampton a transfer fee of approximately $2.5 million to acquire Jeong Sang-bin on a permanent transfer, a source told the Pioneer Press. Jeong had a 4 1/2-year contract with the Wolves of the English Premier League. The Loons are planning a news conference for their new 20-year-old South Korean attacker at Allianz Field on Wednesday. … Jeong will join MNUFC in one of three Under-22 Initiative slots. … Kemar Lawrence will join the Jamaican national team next week. He will be the seventh player to leave the club for the FIFA international window. The list: Dayne St. Clair, Robin Lod, Michael Boxall, Kervin Arriaga, Hlongwane, Rosales and Lawrence. … Heath was dissatisfied with striker Mender Garcia’s first half, so he brought Amarilla in at the break. “I said to (Garcia), on the road, we need more,” Heath said. … Dotson and Taylor, who both have been recovering from injuries, made their first starts this season. … Center back Mikael Marques returned to training with the first team last week after suffering an ankle injury in preseason.
