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THE MATCH 3' - A Jarrad Branthwaite throw from almost the right side corner flag finds Richarlison. He returns the ball to Branthwaite who totally mis-hits a cross into the box that very nearly sneaks in at the Tyler Miller's near post. Luckily he is alert to the danger and manages to jump up and make the save. The clearance from Miller's tip is poor though and falls straight to on-loan midfielder Donny van de Beek, who hits a curling strike that bends just wide of the right side post. Almost the perfect start for Everton! 26' - Another Branthwaite throw-in, this time finds Dele Alli who manages to get his way past Robin Lod with some tricksy movement. He lays it off to Richarlison, whose low and skiddy shot from just outside the penalty area gets past the despairing dive of Tyler Miller and ends up in the back of the net right in the corner. 1-0 EVERTON HT - Minnesota United FC 0-0 Everton I went super defensive for the first half, with the objective being to just try and ride out the storm of expected Everton pressure. Defensively the tactic worked pretty well as Everton were limited in their clear cut chances, but it came at the expense of Minnesota not even trying to get forward but rather just creating a bit of a stalemate in midfield. As soon as Everton's goal went in I changed things up slightly as there was no point defending a 1-0 loss, so I switched it to be a little bit more balanced. 49' - Robin Lod with a decent run down the right flank, he gets to the Everton corner flag where he is pushed wide and away from goal by some good defending. He manages to get a pass off to Romain Metanire whose cross is met by Niko Hansen. His header is tame and Ben Godfrey blocks it with his body before kicking the ball away. His clearance doesn't go very far however and Emanuel Reynoso tries an OUTRAGEOUS Di Canio-esque scissor kick from fully 35 yards out that that goes over the crossbar. Minnesota United FC's first real chance of the game and it would have been spectacular if it had worked! 51' - Emanuel Reynoso with a corner from the right side, Sebastien Ibeagha rises highest to head the ball at the near post and it clips the post as it goes just wide! 70' - A long goal kick by Tyler Miller, flicked on by Adrien Hunou to Robin Lod, who manages to outpace Yerry Mina and get through on goal. Jarrad Branthwaite does very well to cover for his fellow centre back though and immediately puts Lod under pressure. This forces him to hit his shot earlier than he would have liked and it goes high and wild into the stands. 77' - Tactical genius that I am, I realise I haven't made any substitutions and partly for romantic reasons I want as many players to have the experience of playing against English Premier League opposition so I totally disrupt the flow of the game when we were starting to look dangerous and make NINE substitutions all at once- Dayne St. Clair, Chase Gasper, Luis Amarilla, Hassani Dotson, Jacori Hayes, Patrick Weah, Brent Kallman, Nabilai Kibunguchy and Abu Danladi all come on to the pitch for Tyler Miller, Sebastien Ibeagha, Michael Boxall, Bakaye Dibassy, Wil Trapp, Emanuel Reynoso, Niko Hansen, Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Adrien Hunou. As expected this kills any momentum and we fail to register another shot for the remainder of the game...... 88' - Last chance of the game falls to Everton. A throw-in from Branthwaite finds Andre Gomes. He is put under pressure by Patrick Weah, but still manages to get a pass off to Anthony Gordon, who fires in a shot from the edge of the box that substitute keeper Dayne St. Clair reads well and gets his body behind it for the easy save. FT - Minnesota United FC 0-1 Everton A much tighter game than I was expecting! Although, this might have something to do with the fact that on this save the English Premier League doesn't start for another four months and this was Everton's first game, so fitness levels were non-existent for their players. After changing up the tactics slightly in the second half Minnesota United FC did much better, as the first half was good defensively but offered absolutely nothing going forward. For a spell of about 15-20 minutes at the start of the second half I would say we were even the better team, but despite that we still didn't technically manage a single shot on target. Richarlison was given the Player of the Match award for his game-winning goal, plus making 3 interceptions and 4 clearances. I would say Emanuel Reynoso was probably the pick of the bunch for Minnesota United FC, as he was a constant threat from crosses, plus he made some key tackles and aerial challenges where he came out on top for the majority. Sebastien Ibeagha did OK in his first start for The Loons, coming close to scoring from a Reynoso corner in the second half. I'm not entirely sure yet how it works with sending players to Minnesota United FC II to give them game time, but I'm assuming it's allowed and they still remain eligible for the MLS roster? If that is the case then Ibeagha will start the season with the reserves to build up match practice and I'd look at having him match-ready by mid-May. **UP NEXT - The MLS season finally begins! The season starts with a trip to Florida and an opening day game against David Beckham's Inter Miami!**

Pre-Season (Continued) Friendly Game 9 - vs. Everton Allianz Field, Saint Paul, Minnesota (Capacity - 19,400) The final game of pre-season sees The Loons taking on English Premier League side Everton FC at Allianz Field. Everton finished the 2020/2021 EPL season in 10th place with a W-L-D record of 17-13-8 and a Goal Difference of -1. After investing once more in the squad before the 2021/2022 season, owner Farhad Moshiri will no doubt be looking for the Toffees to improve on their record and potentially challenge for a European spot. Their most expensive signing ahead of the new season is 21-year old Ukranian fullback Vitaliy Mykolenko. Signed for $23,500,000 from Dynamo Kiev, Mykolenko had previously spent his entire career at Kiev. He made 132 senior appearances for the Blue & Whites, scoring 7 goals and won a number of trophies- The Ukranian Premier League 20/21,Ukranian Cup 19/20 and 20/21 and the Ukranian Super Cup in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Individually he was awarded the u-19 Golden Talent of Ukraine in 2018, u-21 Golden Talent of Ukraine in 2019 and 2020 and the Ukranian Premier League Best Young Player award for the 2018/2019 season. Their other big money signing was opposite side fullback Nathan Patterson from SPL side Rangers for $16,750,000. The 19-year old product of the Rangers Youth Academy is very much seen as a talent for the future, being signed on a 5-year deal worth $2,891,000 p/a. Patterson played 27 times for Rangers in all competitions, scoring 2 goals in 3 seasons and has also represented Scotland 5 times already with his sole career honour to date being the Scottish Premier League Title with Rangers in the 2020/2021 season. You know there is some serious money in the Premier League when a prospect for the future earns over 50% of Minnesota United FC's entire yearly wage budget! Among their other signings is 24-year old attacking midfielder Dele Alli, who is looking to get his career back on track at Everton after it stalled somewhat at Tottenham Hotspur under managers Jose Mourinho and then Antonio Conte. Everton get something of a bargain with Alli, signing him on a Free Transfer from Spurs and will hope that his last few seasons were just a blip and that he can regain the form he found earlier in his career at Tottenham. 24-year old attacking midfielder Demarai Gray was a $2,400,000 signing from German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen. Gray started his career at Birmingham City before joining Leicester City for $5,000,000 in 2016 and he was a regular starter in their remarkable Premier League Title of the 2015/2016 season. After 6 seasons at Leicester he spent a year at Bayer Leverkusen where he made a total of 12 appearances, scoring 1 goal before moving back to England to sign for Everton. Salomon Rondon signed on a Free Transfer from Chinese Super League side Dalian Professional FC, where he played under Rafa Benitez, the man who brought him to Everton. Rondon is obtaining a bit of a reputation as a wanderer, but he has scored goals wherever he has gone, with spells at Aragua FC (49 game, 15 goals), Las Palmas (46 games, 10 goals), Malaga (67 games, 25 goals), Rubin Kazan (36 games, 14 goals), Zenit St. Petersburg (37 games, 20 goals), West Bromwich Albion (108 games, 24 goals), Newcastle United (32 games, 11 goals), Dalian Professional (27 games, 14 goals) and finally CSKA Moscow (10 games, 4 goals). He has also represented Venezuela 84 times, scoring 31 goals for his country. It's likely he will play a backup role to Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the upcoming season. The aforementioned Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the highest rated player at Everton, with the 24-year old England International striker having joined the club for $2,000,000 in 2016 from Sheffield United. Calvert-Lewin started at Sheffield's Youth Academy in 2005 and apart from two loan spells at Stalybridge Celtic in 2014/2015 (6 goals in 5 league games) and Northampton Town in 2015/2016 (5 goals in 20 games) he spent his entire career up to 2016 with the Blades. Since joining the Toffees his goals output has steadily increased each season (1, 4, 6, 13 and 16 from 2016-2021) and his increasing ability earned him England senior honours, where he has so far been capped 11 times, scoring 4 goals for his country. Calvert-Lewin is 1 year into a 5-year contract worth $5,060,000 p/a with a guaranteed wage increase of 20% each season. With the 2022 Winter World Cup in Qatar on the horizon, Calvert-Lewin will no doubt be hoping for another good season to remain in contention for further England appearances. For the goalkeeping Number 1 decision I have decided to go with Tyler Miller to start the MLS season. In his four pre-season appearances so far he has yet to concede a goal and in the three games where he has played the full 90 minutes he has consistently good ratings of 7.4 (Seattle Mariners), 7.3 (Union Omaha) and 7.3 (St. Thomas Tommies). He's made 8 saves in total during pre-season, holding 3, parrying 2 and tipping 3. It was close between him and Dayne St. Clair, but ultimately St. Clair only played a full 90 minutes in his last game against Chicago Fire II and although he has made more saves than Miller (10 compared to Miller's 8) he has also conceded 2 goals against Vancouver and Colorado. His ratings were fairly similar to Miller's with 7.2 (Minnesota United II), 6.9 (Colorado Rapids), 6.5 (Vancouver Whitecaps) and 7.6 (Chicago Fire II). As I am expecting to be put under a lot of pressure by Everton in this match, Wil Trapp has been moved back to the DM role, with Emanuel Reynoso and Robin Lod playing in central midfield. Bakaye Dibassy gets another start at left-back with new signing Sebastien Ibeagha playing in central defence alongside Michael Boxall. It will probably take some time for Ibeagha to catch up with the rest of the squad's fitness and match sharpness level, with this being his first run out in pre-season. Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Niko Hansen get the starts on the wings, as they both just need some more game time to maintain their match sharpness levels, with Adrien Hunou starting up front. I'm expecting it to be a struggle for the forward line against the English Premier League opponents but hopefully we can spring a surprise result!

International Round-Up Before I move on, I realised I forgot to give a breakdown of how the International Call-Ups did for their respective Countries. Robin Lod's Finland as expected struggled against World Cup champions France, losing 4-1 at home with goals from Kylian Mbappe (2), Moussa Sissoko and Karim Benzema. Finland pulled one back through Matti Klinga. Lod started and played a total of 57 minutes but struggled to make any sort of impact before being subbed for goalscorer Klinga. He didn't feature in the second qualifier against Kazakhstan, which Finland won 2-0 thanks to a brace from Norwich City's Teemu Pukki. These early results see Finland sitting in 3rd place in World Cup Qualifying Group D behind France (6pts) and Ukraine (4pts). Dayne St. Clair didn't even make the matchday squads for Canada, as coach John Herdman prefered Red Star Belgrade goalkeeper Milan Borjan as his Number 1 with LAFC's Maxime Crepeau as the backup. Canada drew their first qualifier 1-1 with Panama, conceding a late equaliser from Cesar Yanis after Cyle Larin had given them the lead. In game 2 they comfortably beat St. Kitts & Nevis 4-0, with goals from Cyle Larin, Liam Millar, Steven Vitoria and Jonathan David (who also missed a penalty). Canada currently sit 2nd in the table behind Ecuador who have a 100% record. Luis Amarilla earned his first senior international appearance, coming off the bench for Paraguay against Costa Rica in the 56th minute. He only managed 1 shot on goal in the 34 minutes he was on the pitch and finished the game with a 6.4 rating. He didn't feature in Paraguay's first friendly of the break, a 2-0 win over Jamaica with goals from Richard Sanchez and Lorenzo Melgarejo. Romain Metanire played the full 90 minutes for Madagascar in both of their friendlies, a 2-0 loss to Gabon and a 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea, earning 6.5 and 6.3 ratings respectively. Bongokuhle Hlongwane was an unused substitute for both of South Africa's matches, a tight 1-0 loss to Uruguay followed by a hugely entertaining 6-3 thumping by Argentina in which Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez scored 4 goals. Michael Boxall was also an unused substitute in New Zealand's two friendlies, however his brother and San Diego Loyal midfielder Nikko Boxall played in both games, coming on after 85 minutes in the All Whites 1-1 draw against Colombia and playing the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 loss to Bolivia.

NEW SIGNING Welcome to Minnesota United FC Sebastien Ibeagha! Our waiver claim is successful and so Ibeagha joins The Loons with 1 year 8 months remaining on his $177,000 p/a contract. Sebastien Ibeagha was born in Warri, Nigeria in 1992 and moved with his family to the United States in 2001. Having signed for the Houston Dynamo Academy, he went on to play college soccer for the Duke Blue Devils, where he made 70 appearances and scored 8 goals. In his four years at Duke, Ibeagha was twice named First Team All-ACC as well as 2012 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. During his time in college he was offered multiple contracts by the Houston Dynamo but he declined them all, primarily to finish his education but also because he wanted to try and pursue a professional soccer career in Europe. To achieve this ambition, Ibeagha signed with Danish club AC Horsens, making his debut for them on 15th March 2014 in a Danish Cup game vs. Vejle Boldklub. He made his league debut for the club a week later. In his first season in Denmark, Ibeagha made a total of 17 starts out of a possible 18. After just 2 appearances in the 14/15 season he was sent to FC Fredercia on loan, where he appeared against his parent club in a 3-3 draw in which he scored an own goal. Following one more loan move to Icelandic side Fram Reykjavik (19 games, 1 goal) he returned to the United States where he re-joined his former youth team, Houston Dynamo. Ibeagha spent the 2016 season being loaned out to a couple of clubs, firstly the Dynamo's USL affiliate club Rio Grande Valley FC (6 games, 0 goals) and then Rayo Oklahoma City (19 games, 2 goals) with whom he qualified for the 2016 NASL Playoffs and lost 2-1 to New York Cosmos in the Semi-Finals. After this unsuccessful return to Houston Dynamo, Sebastien Ibeagha joined USL Championship side San Antonio FC, where he was part of the team who recorded the second longest shutout streak in USL history going 672 minutes without conceding a goal. The team finished 2nd in the Western Conference with a league-leading 15 clean sheets and just 24 goals conceded. Ibeagha's 190 clearances were the most by any USL player in 2017 and he was named as the USL Defender of the Year. Following this revival in his career, he joined New York City FC on 27th Februaty 2018 and made his debut as a substitute in a 2-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on opening day. He would go on to make a total of 27 appearances (18 starts) in his first season as NYCFC qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. In the three seasons Ibeagha was at NYCFC, they successfully qualified for the playoffs every season although his game time was limited in his final 2020 season for the club. In 2021, Sebastien Ibeagha joined LAFC in exchange for $150,000 in General Allocation Money Senior Contract - $177,000 p/a Cap Impact - $177,000 p/a

Pre-Season (Continued) Friendly Game 8 - vs. Chicago Fire II Allianz Field, Saint Paul, Minnesota (Capacity - 19,400) As mentioned previously I won't go into massive amounts of detail for the friendly against Chicago Fire II. Dayne St. Clair returns from international duty and gets the start in goal as it's his turn and it's the last game before I make a decision on who will likely be the Number 1 goalkeeper to start the season. It's also the entire backup back four, giving them one last chance to impress and push for more playing minutes in the MLS regular season. Jacori Hayes gets a start in place of the rested Wil Trapp, from whom he takes the captain's armband for the game and as for the forward line I decided to mix things up a little bit. I've gone two up front with Abu Danladi playing as a False Nine in support of Luis Amarilla as a complete forward. Patrick Weah is being switched to the left flank as an inverted winger and Niko Hansen gets the start in right, as both players needed one final push to get their match sharpness up and that was the only way I could think to get them both starting the game. Chicago Fire II only have three actual players on their roster and one of those, 21-year old central defender Carlo Ritaccio is out injured with a broken wrist for another 4-8 weeks. Their other two players are 20-year old captain AM/ST Josh Penn and transfer-listed 20-year old Nigerian striker Chinoso Offor. Offor was a 2021 signing from Latvian Optibet Virsliga side RFS for an undisclosed amount but clearly has already been deemed surplus to requirements at Chicago Fire. As expected it was a bit of a pummeling against a side with mostly greyed-out players. Robin Lod was understandably Player of the Match for his 35-minute hat-trick. Nabilai Kibunguchy was unlucky not to get a brace, with his first being ruled out for a foul as he headed in from a corner. Jacori Hayes also had an exceptional game as the stand-in captain, with 2 assists, 3 interceptions, 4 clearances and an 89% passing success rate. ** UP NEXT - An actual challenge for a change in pre-season, with English Premier League side Everton making the trip to Minnesota to take on The Loons, plus we find out whether our waiver claim for Sebastien Ibeagha was successful**

Before the next friendly against Chicago Fire II there were a couple of developments, firstly the MLS roster submission date arrived and I confirmed the following 24-man roster- Goalkeepers Tyler Miller Dayne St. Clair Eric Dick Defenders Brent Kallman Callum Montgomery Michael Boxall Oniel Fisher Chase Gasper Romain Metanire Nabilai Kibunguchy Bakaye Dibassy Midfielders Wil Trapp (C) Hassani Dotson Jacori Hayes Emanuel Reynoso Forwards Franco Fragapane Robin Lod Niko Hansen Aziel Jackson Adrien Hunou Bongokuhle Hlongwane Abu Danladi Patrick Weah Luis Amarilla Immediately after roster submission day, any players not confirmed onto a 30-man roster are automatically waived by their clubs and can be claimed by any other club (there is a specific order of seniority to claims based on finishing order the previous season). 23 players in total were waived by MLS clubs, with Inter Miami (5) and LAFC (5) accounting for a good chunk of them- Tristan Trager (21, USA, AM/ST, Atlanta United, $63,500) Ben Lundgaard (25, USA, GK, Atlanta United, $81,500) Dylan Castanheira (25, USA, GK, Atlanta United, $81,500) Jhojan Valencia (24, Colombia, DM/MC, Austin FC, $416,000) Jossymar Gomez (33, Colombia, DM/MC, Chicago Fire, $81,500) Federico Navarro (21, Argentina, DM/MC, Chicago Fire, $257,000) Bruno Silva (33, Brazil, DM/DC, Colorado Rapids, $81,500) Olivier Mbaizo (23, Cameroon, DR, FC Dallas, $81,500) Tsiki Ntsabeleng (23, South Africa, AMC, FC Dallas, $81,500) Ema Twumasi (23, Ghana, DR/MR/AMR, FC Dallas, $247,000) Robert Taylor (26, Finland, AMR/L, Inter Miami, $416,000) Ari Lassiter (26, Costa Rica, AML/ST, Inter Miami, $230,000) Jean Mota (27, Brazil, DL/ML/AML, Inter Miami, $520,000) Clement Diop (27, Senegal, GK, Inter Miami, $188,000) Noah Allen (16, USA, DL, Inter Miami, $81,500) Kellyn Acosta (25, USA, MC/DM, LAFC, $1,110,000) Franco Escobar (26, Argentina, DC/DR, LAFC, $450,000) Sebastian Ibeagha (29, USA, DC, LAFC, $177,000) John McCarthy (28, USA, GK, LAFC, $137,000) Andrew Putna (26, USA, GK, LAFC, $153,000) Marvin Loria (23, Costa Rica, AMR/L, Portland Timbers, $81,500) David Ayala (18, Argentina, MC, Portland Timbers, $520,000) Hal Uderitz (21, USA, DC/DM, Seattle Mariners, $63,500) Inter Miami and LAFC seem to be undergoing major salary dumps, with Miami getting rid of $1,435,500 in wages and LAFC a whopping $2,027,000. David Ayala looks to be a serious prospect and I'd be surprised if another club doesn't snap him up. I would have made a claim for him myself but I don't have the salary cap space to pay for his $520,000 salary. He has the potential to be a star player not only in the MLS but any top league in Europe. Similarly Federico Navarro looks to be a promising talent and while his wages are much more manageable at $257,000 I didn't have any spare International Player Slots to find a space for him in the roster. I've added both players to a shortlist to see how their careers pan out if they do move outside of the USA. Kellyn Acosta is a bit unfortunate to be waived, having only joined LAFC in February, but I guess they do have two similar midfield talents in 22-year old Uruguayan Francisco Ginella and 22-year old Ecuadorian Jose Cifuentes to fill the central midfield positions and at a fraction of the salary of Acosta. The player I am interested in is 29-year old American central defender Sebastien Ibeagha from LAFC. He looks perfectly capable of being the backup central defender that I very much need as, although Callum Montgomery and especially Nabilai Kibunguchy have performed well in pre-season I have doubts over their viability over the course of an entire MLS season. His $177,000 salary doesn't break the bank as at the moment if my maths are correct I'm $347,000 under the salary cap and $262,000 under the club's imposed wage budget. I have made a waiver claim for him, but Minnesota United FC are 24th on the waiver list pick order, so essentially if any team other than Seattle Mariners, Columbus Crew or San Jose Earthquakes want him also then I will miss out.

The Match 9' - Goalkick by Jim Lamb is collected by Bakaye Dibassy. He calmly passes to Wil Trapp while under pressure from two Tommies midfielders. Trapp sends it out wide to Franco Fragapane, whose cross is headed just over the top of the crossbar by Adrien Hunou! 10' - Oniel Fisher fizzes a cross right along the penalty area, both Hunou and Fragapane dive to stick a leg out and both miss the ball by inches. Chase Gasper collects it from the left side and sends in another cross. Wil Trapp shoots and it's blocked off the line by Josh Alvarez. The rebound falls to Aziel Jackson and his shot is also cleared off the line by Alvarez! Great last ditch defending by the Tommies player. 18' - Franco Fragapane hits a curler from just outside the box, SOMEHOW Jim Lamb gets a fingertip to it and pushes onto the post. Great save! 20' - Free Kick by Wil Trapp, he sends it into the penalty area where Dibassy is there to meet it at the back post. He manages to jump the highest and sends a bullet header destined for the goal but again Lamb does well, reads the danger early and gets across to push the ball away for a corner. 34' - The one-man wall continues to keep The Loons at bay. Jacori Hayes sends a defence splitting through ball that leaves both centrebacks flat-footed. Adrien Hunou latches onto it and is through on goal. He shoots early before Lamb has a chance to close the gap and yet the Tommies goalkeeper still manages to make an excellent diving save to prevent the goal! 43' - A scramble in the penalty area as the Tommies fail to clear a cross into the box. It falls to Abu Danladi whose shot is blocked, Fragapane picks up the pieces but sends his shot narrowly wide of the left post. HT - Minnesota United FC 0-0 University of St. Thomas Tommies 49' - Another worldie save from Jim Lamb, this time a curling shot from Emanuel Reynoso that is heading into the top left corner from 25 years out. He stretches and gets fingertips to it once again to send it out for a corner. 54' - The wall finally breached! A corner from Fragapane is met at the near post by Nabilai Kibunguchy and flicked on. Somehow Abu Danladi finds himself unmarked at the far post and he has an easy tap into an empty net. Nothing Lamb could have done about it this time, but it was poor marking from the Tommies. 1-0 Minnesota United FC! 55' - Right from kick off, Minnesota win possession and Abu Danladi makes a piercing run down the right flank. He cuts back to get some space for a whipped cross which finds Oniel Fisher. He does very well, sells Omar Herrera a dummy which leaves him standing still and fires a low shot past Jim Lamb and into the back of the net. 2-0 Minnesota United FC! 64' - Hassani Dotson wins possession following an excellently timed sliding tackle. He drives towards the goal, lays it off to Aziel Jackson and his shot deflects off the outstretched leg of Yury Osipov, looping just over the top of the crossbar! From the ensuing corner, Brent Kallman connects well with a header but it's right at Lamb who doesn't even have to move to make the save. 67' - St. Thomas' first real chance of a very one-sided game. Evgeny Anisimov sets up Ferdinand Sieghart just outside the Minnesota box, but his shot is high, wide and not at all handsome, not worrying Tyler Miller at all. 71' - Chase Gasper with a run down the left flank, he cuts inside to pass to Aziel Jackson. After a slick 1-2 with Hunou, Jackson gets it back and drills a shot from a tight angle that goes across the dive of Jim Lamb and in off the far post. 3-0 Minnesota United FC! 73' - A speculative long range shot by Aziel Jackson is horribly fumbled by newly subbed-on Tommies keeper Nick Duran. He flaps at the ball, it spins up and over his head and rolls just wide of the left post. 80' - Nick Duran makes amends for his earlier mistake, pulling off a great reaction save from Abu Danladi, after he is put through on goal by a killer pass from Patrick Weah. 93' - A free kick from Emanuel Reynoso by the right touch line is sent in, Callum Montgomery manages to get his head to it in a crowd of people and Nick Duran makes a wonderful diving save to keep the ball from going in for goal number 4! FT - Minnesota United FC 3-0 University of St. Thomas Tommies That felt very much like a bit of a training game for Minnesota United FC, with 38 total shots (12 on target) and limiting the Tommies to 3 shots (only 1 on target). For large parts of the game The Loons were camped in the Tommies half of the pitch, attacking wave after wave being repelled. The two Tommies goalkeepers Jim Lamb and Nick Duran played absolute blinders (apart from the one mistake Duran made seconds after coming on to the pitch when he spilled a long range shot) and honestly if I could I would give them both the joint-Player of the Match Award! In the end they combined to make 9 saves, 4 held and 5 parried away. The ACTUAL Player of the Match according to FM was Franco Fragapane, with his 93% successful passing rating, 14 key passes and completing 90% of his 11 attempted crosses. Personally I would have said Abu Danladi deserved the award more, with an identical 93% passing completion (with 17 more attempts than Fragapane), plus his goal and assist. Oniel Fisher had to come off injured in the 63rd minute, being replaced by Brent Kallman, however luckily it's not a major injury and he'll only miss a few days with a tight thigh. ** UP NEXT - The Loons take on Chicago Fire II in their penultimate friendly, given that they are a reserve side and much like when we played Minnesota United FC II they don't have many actual players in the squad, I won't go into too much detail for that game**

I have nine friendlies in total, with the last two being against Chicago Fire II and then the 'glamour' friendly against Everton before the season properly kicks off.

Pre-Season (Continued) Friendly Game 7 - vs. University of St. Thomas Tommies Allianz Field, St. Paul, Minnesota (Capacity - 19,400) The University of St. Thomas Tommies are a new addition to NCAA Division 1 soccer in the United States. They moved directly from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in Division III straight to the Summit League in Division I for the start of the 2021 college season. The Tommies were involuntarily ejected from the MIAC after being deemed to be "Too Good" by other MIAC school presidents. St. Thomas therefore became the first school in modern history to jump directly from Division III to Division I. They are also now the only college soccer programme to be participating in Division I in the entire state of Minnesota. The Tommies take their place in The Summit League alongside the University of Denver Pioneers, Eastern Illinois University Panthers, University of Missouri- Kansas City Roos, University of Nebraska- Omaha Mavericks, Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles and Western Illinois University Leathernecks. St. Thomas are currently predicted to finish 3rd in the league (33-1) behind ORU Golden Eagles (10-11 favourites) and the Omaha Mavericks (Evens). Technically as a school 'in transition' from D III to D I St. Thomas should be ineligible for the NCAA Playoffs, definitely in their first season at least. However I'm not even sure how the college playoffs work in this extended database but I'm expecting that The Tommies will still be eligible, if indeed playoffs of any kind are actually included. We will find out together! They don't really have any players that I would consider as "Must Take" for the 2022 MLS SuperDraft, but they do still have a couple of decent players for the level. Omar Herrera is probably the pick of the bunch. The 18-year old native of Minnesota can play anywhere in attacking midfield and can also potentially do a job in central midfield. In his prefered role of central attacking midfield he has an excellent first touch and technique, good passing, decision making and flair. He needs to work on his dribbling and composure a little bit and he doesn't exactly have WOW pace and acceleration. Their other standout player is 17-year old striker Tyrese Brenet. According to the season preview he is not only the best ranked player at St. Thomas, but he is also the fourth best rated player in the entire Summit League. As an advanced forward he posesses good dribbling, finishing, first touch and technique ratings as well as having decent acceleration and pace. His positioning is an abysmal 5, but if I understand it correctly that's more of a stat for the defensive side of the ball so is perhaps not vitally important? Other players worth a quick mention are 19-year old Ball-Winning midfielder Alex Daniel, who has maxed out 20 aggression and should be good for a dozen yellows and a couple of reds each season, and Fullback Brian White who is only slightly behind on 19 aggression. Between the pair of them they will probably account for a good portion of the Tommies card count in the NCAA for 2021. Tyler Miller gets a second consecutive start in goal with the absence of Dayne St. Clair. Bakaye Dibassy as already mentioned is being given a game in central defence, with Chase Gasper getting the starting left-back spot. Club captain Wil Trapp gets another start, this time partnering Jacori Hayes in central midfield, with Abu Danladi, Aziel Jackson and Franco Fragapane the starting attacking midfielders. I probably would have rested Adrien Hunou for this game, but with Luis Amarilla off with the Paraguay squad I don't really have many options up front. Only 7 substitutes named this time because of all the international call-ups.

International Call-Ups Not ideal for this point of pre-season, Minnesota United FC are losing six players to international duty for the next 9-12 days- Romain Metanire (Madagascar)- Friendlies vs. Gabon & Equatorial Guinea Bongokuhle Hlongwane (South Africa)- Friendlies vs. Uruguay & Argentina Michael Boxall (New Zealand)- Friendlies vs. Colombia & Bolivia Luis Amarilla (Paraguay) can potentially make his international debut in Friendlies vs. Jamaica & Costa Rica Robin Lod (Finland) has been named in the squad for two European World Cup Qualifiers against France (H) and Kazakhstan (A). Finland are in quite a tough group with reigning World Cup Champions France, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Ukraine and Kazakhstan and will be outsiders to grab a playoff spot. Dayne St. Clair (Canada) likewise has the potential to play some competitive football for his country. Canada are playing two World Cup First Round Qualifiers vs. Panama (H) and St. Kitts & Nevis (A). Alongside those two teams, Canada will also face El Salvador and Puerto Rico in Group F. In a tie at 68th, they share similar world rankings with Panama (77th) and El Salvador (t-68th) so it might be a close call to see who finishes the group top and qualifies for the Second Round.

THE MATCH 3' - Emir Alidhodzic is caught dallying too long on the ball in the centre circle. Robin Lod pounces and steals the ball off him, he passes forward to Adrien Hunou who beats Dylan Harmon for pace. His shot is just wide of the right hand post, it had Rashid Nuhu well beaten. 6' - A poor clearance from Harmon only falls to Wil Trapp inside the Union Omaha half. Him and Robin Lod exchange quick passes before laying it off to Emanuel Reynoso. His pass puts Hunou through on goal again and this time he makes no mistake, firing the ball low and hard past the dive of Nuhu and into the bottom right corner. 1-0 Minnesota United FC! 17' - Wil Trapp sends in a low skiddy cross into the box from the right side. Reynoso sticks a hopeful leg out and manages to glance it towards the goal. It ends up cannoning off Yoskar Galvin-Mercado's foot after a poor attempt to get the ball away and loops over Nuhu's head and into the goal. Probably should have gone down as an own goal, but Reynoso will take it! 2-0 Minnesota United FC! 21' - Indirect free kick by Reynoso 40 yards out. He plays a sneaky one to Hunou who is loitering quietly just outside the right corner of the penalty area. Unmarked he slams a shot in from a tight angle and it whistles past the oppoite post! 29' - Goal kick by Nuhu is brought down and controlled by Trapp, he passes out wide to Franco Fragapane who races down the left wing. Austin Panchot and Galvin-Mercado get sucked in and both follow in his wake. After being forced wide, Fragapane suddenly cuts back and gets space to cross the ball in. Robin Lod flicks the ball on to an open Hunou, who once again fires the ball past a diving Nuhu and into the bottom right corner. 3-0 Minnesota United FC! 35' - Austin Panchot gets free down the left and sends in a floated cross towards Chavany Willis. Hassani Dotson is with him, but goes down with an apparent injury at the critical moment, leaving Willis with a free header. Luckily the header is poor and straight at Tyler Miller. Dotson comes off immediately and is replaced by Oniel Fisher. HT - Minnesota United FC 3-0 Union Omaha 48' - Corner from the left side by Fragapane. Nabilai Kibunguchy connects with it at the near post but Nuhu somehow manages to get a hand to it and palm it over. Great reflex save by Nuhu! 57' - Goal kick by Nuhu, Adrien Hunou wins the header after outjumping Illal Osumanu. He sends the ball wide to Abu Danladi. He cuts it back to Wil Trapp on the edge of the area and his half-volley cannons off the crossbar and back into play! The ball doesn't go out, there is a scramble in the box and somewhere in the melee, Reynoso is brought down by Dylan Harmon. The referee does well to spot it, penalty awarded! Adrien Hunou coolly rolls the ball into the bottom right corner after Nuhu commits too early and dives the opposite side. 4-0 Minnesota United FC! 60' - Nuhu sends a long ball booming forward. Brent Kallman and Kibunguchy both totally misjudge the bounce and Hugo Kametani races past them and picks up possession. Through on goal he shoots too close to Miller, who is able to get down and make a good save. 64' - J.P. Scearce sets up Elma N'For on the edge of the box. N'for cuts inside to avoid the tackle of Bakaye Dibassy and sends a shot just wide of the left post! 67' - N'For involved again, this time beating Chase Gasper for pace down the right side. His cross finds Conor Doyle but his header is weak and right at Miller. A good 10-minute spell of pressure by the visitors. 70' - Free kick for Minnesota just outside the box. Abu Danladi takes it, curls it up and over the wall but it hits the crossbar and goes out of play! 91' - After a particularly sedate 20 minutes, where substitutions break up the flow of the game, there is one final chance for Union Omaha. A corner from the right by N'For. Doyle gets ahead of Callum Montgomery, who gets his positioning all wrong but he heads it just over the crossbar! FT - Minnesota United FC 4-0 Union Omaha A thoroughly pleasing victory over Union Omaha, gaining some revenge for real-world events. Adrien Hunou was the obvious Player of the Match winner with his hat-trick and 7 shots in total during the game. Emanuel Reynoso also had an outstanding game with 1 goal, 1 assist, making 5 key passes and winning 100% of his aerial challenges. Luckily the injury to Hassani Dotson is not severe, he merely suffered a tight hamstring and is only expected to be out for a day or two. He might be rested for the next pre-season game just to be on the safe side. Bakaye Dibassy had a solid enough game at left back, playing 64 minutes before being replaced by Chase Gasper. I might try him out in a centre-back role in the next game to try and see which position he is better at. I'm starting to think that Chase Gasper and/or Oniel Fisher are more than capable of holding down the regular left-back starting job. Freeing up Dibassy to play centrally would alleviate the lack of depth at CB (even though Nabilai Kibunguchy has been largely excellent as the emergency '3rd choice' centreback so far, despite a couple of mistakes today). ** UP NEXT - I get flashbacks of my 3 wasted years at university as Minnesota United FC invite the NCAA Summit League side, the University of St. Thomas 'Tommies' to Allianz Field for pre-season friendly match number seven.**

Pre-Season (Continued) Friendly Game 6 - vs. Union Omaha Allianz Field, Saint Paul, Minnesota (Capacity - 19,400) It's amazing how quickly you can become attached to a team that you previously had zero connection with, just by picking them in FM. I've rewatched some Minnesota United FC games, had a look at how their MLS season is progressing (just outside a playoff spot in 8th after 14 games played)....even considered buying myself their home shirt. I saw by an interesting quirk of fate that The Loons had drawn Union Omaha in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 in real life. After having a look at the lineups and seeing that Minnesota had put out a weaker team, I figured it should still be strong enough to see off the challenge of a team 10th (out of 11) in the USL League One. I went to bed, having to be up early in the morning for work and when I rose from my crypt the next day, opened my phone up to check the results, and..... Oh dear..... team captain Michael Boxall didn't hold back either - “The freshest ones always hurt the most,” Boxall said. “There have certainly been a lot of low points, I think. But we have to give credit to Omaha. They were well organized and took their chances.” “We had a 16-man squad (Wednesday),” Boxall said of a bench that had available spots left empty. “Probably half the players sitting in the stands who could have helped us (Wednesday). I mean 30-40 minutes (of playing time) isn’t going to kill anyone for the weekend.” “It wouldn’t be news to you guys that we are not as dangerous as we should be in the final third,” Boxall told reporters. Also, this line from TwinCities Pioneer Press' match report made me realise, perhaps Luis Amarilla shouldn't be the go-to striker - "Hunou scored, but Amarilla’s drought without a goal reached nine games played. Amarilla and others couldn’t capitalize, especially on first half-scoring chances to create a wider margin, and it came back to bite. Amarilla’s best chance was saved off the line by an Omaha defender just before halftime." So, Luis Amarilla might be as rubbish in real life as he has been for me so far in pre-season? (Apologies Luis if by some slight chance you look at FM Career Updates in your free time after training, I still love you really). ANYWAY, this all just gives me the perfect opportunity to exact some FM 22-style revenge against the plucky underdogs of Union Omaha! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Union Omaha are a very new side, having begun playing in just 2020 in USL League One. They play their home games at the 9,023-capacity Werner Park in Omaha, Nebraska, a stadium they share with the Omaha Storm Chasers minor league baseball team (AAA-affiliate of the MLB Kansas City Royals if anyone is interested). They have been fairly successful in their short history so far, in 2020 they finished the USL League One season in 2nd place behind Greenville Triumph SC. This qualified them for the League Championship game, which subsequently got cancelled due to several Union Omaha players testing positive for Covid-19. Greenville were awarded the title based on their higher points-per-game average over Omaha (2.188 to 1.825). They bounced back in 2021, finishing 6 points clear of Greenville in 1st place during the regular season. In the Playoffs they trounced FC Tucson 6-1 in the Semi-Finals before a convincing 3-0 win over defending champions Greenville in the Final, to claim their first USL League One Championship Title. This title gained them entry into the 2022 U.S. Open Cup, where they have so far beaten Des Moines Menace of USL League Two 2-1, MLS side Chicago Fire 5-4 on Penalties following a 2-2- draw after extra time, Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC of USL League One 2-1 and of course, claiming the scalp of Minnesota United FC 2-1 in the Round of 16. They have drawn MLS side Sporting Kansas City in the Quarter-Finals. **OF COURSE, none of the 2021 and 2022 seasons have actually happened in FM 22 yet, so Union Omaha are technically entering their second season on the save** In the world of FM 22, Union Omaha have made a quartet of signings so far in pre-season. Dylan Harmon (18, DL) and Victor Parra (20, MC) both from the University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks, former IMG-Academy graduate Hanif Wright (21, Attacking Midfielder) on a Free Transfer and Rhode Island Rams' George Jones (20, DL/CB). I'm now almost certain that all the College players that leave their NCAA clubs and join amateur clubs in USL League 1 & 2 are ineligible for the MLS SuperDraft, as they are all signing professional contracts with their teams. Their two highest earning players are Americans Kevin Piedrahita (29, Goalkeeper) and Attacking Midfielder/Striker Conor Doyle (Also 29) both on $60,000 p/a. Piedrahita has spent most of his career in Colombian football, being a youth player at America de Cali before making his debut for the senior side in 2011. He has also played for Rionegro Aguilas, Le Equidad and Leones before moving to Union Omaha on a Free Transfer at the start of the 2021 season. Conor Doyle enrolled at Creighton University, but only played 7 spring exhibition games for the Bluejays before leaving college to sign with Derby County of the English Championship. He had been spotted by a scout at Derby while playing in a tournament in the Summer of 2009 and was subsequently invited to a 3-day trial with the Rams. He featured 23 times for Derby in 3 seasons, often being played out of position as a holding midfielder by then-boss Nigel Clough. After failing to establish himself as a first team regular, Doyle moved back to the United States and signed for D.C. United, first on loan and then permanently. He won the U.S. Open Cup in his first season at D.C. and played 64 times for them in total, including 4 appearances in the CONCACAF Champions League, where he scored two goals. After a very brief spell at the Colorado Rapids (3 games, 0 goals) he moved down the leagues and played firstly for the Rapids' USL Championship affiliate the Colorado Springs Switchbacks (11 games, 1 goal), then Puerto Rico FC in the NASL (28 games, 5 goals), Jacksonville Armada in the NPSL (10 games, 1 goal) and the Chattanooga Red Wolves in the USL League One (40 games, 2 goals). He then joined Union Omaha on a Free Transfer in 2021. Their highest rated player is another goalkeeper, 25-year old Ghanaian Rashid Nuhu. Nuhu played his college soccer for the Fordham University Rams where he played in 74 games and was named in the First-Team All-Atlantic 10 Conference Team in both his junior and senior years, as well as the Most Outstanding Player of the 2016 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament as a sophmore after posting three consecutive shutouts as Fordham won the tournament. Nuhu was then selected 70th overall in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft by the New York Red Bulls, but only managed a handful of apearances for both their U-23 team and NY Red Bulls II, before leaving to join Union Omaha on 16th February 2020. Unfortunately Romain Metanire (Madagascar), Bongokuhle Hlongwane (South Africa), Michael Boxall (New Zealand) and Luis Amarilla (Paraguay) are all travelling for international duty for this match, so they miss out. Apart from that I've named a fairly strong side to try and get some revenge on Union Omaha. Abu Danladi gets the start on the right wing and Bakaye Dibassy starts at left-back, as both players desperately need the minutes to get up to match speed before the season starts. Nabilai Kibunguchy partners Brent Kallman in central defence in the absence of Michael Boxall and it's Tyler Miller's turn to take his place between the posts for Minnesota United FC. Only 9 substitutes named, due to the players missing for international duty.

haha yep, that will definitely be getting a mention in the next write-up in a couple of days, I guess this makes the upcoming friendly a revenge mission of sorts! I was going to play a weaker team for it.....not anymore, bringing out the big guns lol

Pre-Season (Continued) Friendly game 5 - vs. Vancouver Whitecaps Grand Canyon Stadium, Phoenix, Arizona (Capacity- 2,500) Next up for The Loons is MLS Western Conference side Vancouver Whitecaps FC, after another short hop back to Phoenix. The Whitecaps finished the 2020 season in 9th place in the conference (17th overall), missing out on the MLS Cup Playoffs by 3pts (or a Points Per Game total of 1.17 vs 8th placed San Jose Earthquakes' 1.30 PPG). Due to cross-border Covid-19 restrictions imposed in September of that season they had to play their remaining 7 home games at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon. They haven't made any player trades or transfers since the save started, with their only trade being the already mentioned 2022 1st Round MLS SuperDraft Pick in return for Seattle's 2-Year International Slot. There is still just over a month to go before the MLS season starts though, so plenty of time for trades and transfers for all the teams. Pre-save starting they acquired a few players of note- Deiber Caicedo, a 20-year old Colombian winger from Deportivo Cali for $2,500,000. Caicedo had previously spent his entire career at the Colombian Categoria Primera A side, making 72 appearances for the club and scoring 7 goals for Los Verdiblancos. Vancouver had to purchase his discovery rights from Nashville SC for $75,000 in General Allocation Money.... discovery rights are a totally new 'discovery' for me in the MLS rules, I have no idea how they work and I'm not entirely sure if that concept is represented in the game? Caicedo joins the Whitecaps on a 2-year Senior Contract worth $202,000 p/a with an optional 1-year club extension. Their most expensive signing of the winter was Caio Alexandre, a 22-year old Brazilian Defensive Midfielder/Box-to-Box Midfielder for $3,500,000 from Botafogo. Like Caicedo, he has spent his entire career at Botafogo, making his senior debut for them in 2020. He made 34 league appearances with another 16 in State League and Cups, scoring 5 goals overall as 'Fogo' finished bottom of the table and were relegated to Campeonato Brasileiro Serie B. Alexandre signed a 3-year Senior Contract with the Whitecaps worth $540,000 p/a. Their best player is 25-year old Scottish attacking midfielder Ryan Gauld, signed in the winter from Portugese Primeira Liga side Farense for $825,000. Gauld began his career at Dundee United where he was compared to Lionel Messi by the Scottish Media in 2014 after he helped the team reach the Scottish Cup Final. This hype around his potential superstar future lead to him signing for Sporting Lisbon in July 2014 for £3,000,000. Despite his promising ability he didn't end up featuring much for the senior team, appearing only twice in the league for the 'Leoes'. Instead he spent most of his time in Portugal playing for the 'B' team where he featured in a total of 73 games, scoring 8 goals. He was then sent on a procession of loan moves, to Vitoria de Setubal, Aves, Farense (all in Portugal) and then Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership. While he played ok during these loan spells, he found it impossible to live up to the "New Messi" hype that had been unfairly heaped upon him so early in his career. Gauld eventually left Sporting Lisbon and joined Farense on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee in 2019. He found some form while playing for the 'Leoes de Faro'. On 29th February 2020 he scored his first career hat-trick in a 3-1 win against Academico de Viseu which put his team top of the second division. This concluded a run of 6 goals from 7 games and when the season was stopped due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Farense were awarded promotion to the Primeira Liga. He finished his first season at Farense as the club's top league scorer (9 goals) and was voted as the top player in the Portugese Second Division. He joins the Vancouver Whitecaps on a 3-year Designated Player Contract worth $2,025,000 p/a. Their second Designated Player is 28-year old Canadian Striker Lucas Cavallini, signed in 2020 for $5,250,000 from Liga MX side Club Puebla. Cavallini was born in Toronto but left Canada aged 16 to move to South America and develop his soccer talents. He joined Nacional's youth development squad in Uruguay in 2010 and featured in the 2011 U-20 Copa Libertadores for them before signing a contract with the senior team in 2012. He was sent on a couple of loans where he ultimately impressed, first to Juventud de Las Piedras (25 apps, 10 goals) and then Centro Atletico Fenix (40 apps, 16 goals in 2 seasons). After impressing Fenix, he joined permanently for 2 more seasons, going on to score another 12 goals in 38 games in all competitions. He then moved to Penarol for a single season scoring 6 goals in 17 games as the team finished the Torneo Apertura half of the season in 3rd place. After his season at Penarol he went on to join Club Puebla in Liga MX, where he finished as the team's top scorer in every one of his three seasons, including scoring 13 goals in his first season, 9 more than anyone else in the squad. Cavallini signed for the Whitecaps in 2020 on a 2-year Designated Player Contract worth $1,362,000 p/a. He has represented Canada 28 times, despite giving an interview that he regretted having been 'cap-tied' to Canada following an 8-1 loss to Honduras in World Cup Qualifying in his competitive debut, and scored 16 goals. Their third and final Designated Player is 19-year old Ecuadorian utility player Pedro Vite. Vite can play anywhere on the pitch from central midfield to striker, has good attributes in several areas like technique, flair and dribbling but abysmal elsewhere, such as his Determination rating of 2 and Positioning rating of 5. Fair to say that he seems a bit of a wildcard talent who can be told to "Run around a bit and see what happens" on the pitch. Vite had spent his entire career at Independiente del Valle in Ecuadorian Serie A, making 14 league appearances and scoring 3 goals before being snapped up by Vancouver for the start of the 2021 MLS season on an Undisclosed Fee. He joins on a 4-year Young Designated Player Contract worth $610,000 p/a. Dayne St. Clair gets the start between the posts to continue the goalkeeper merry-go-round strategy. I've also decided to give Chase Gasper a rest and put Callum Montgomery in as a bit of an emergency left-back for this game. I could have put Oniel Fisher in there instead but he has also played quite a few minutes in pre-season so far. Wil Trapp gets to put his feet up too, being replaced in the central midfield advanced playmaker role by Jacori Hayes. I could claim to be giving Luis Amarilla a rest too, but let's be frank, I dropped him in favour of Adrien Hunou because he still fails to impress me. Abu Danladi makes the bench for the first time this season, having recovered from his injury and now needs to be worked up to match fitness slowly and surely. THE MATCH 15' - Throw-in down the left flank by Callum Montgomery, Franco Fragapane collects it and drives into the penalty area. Marcus Godinho hacks him down wildly and with zero subtlety and the referee doesn't hesitate to award a penalty to Minnesota United FC. Niko Hansen steps up to take it....blasts it, but too close to the goalkeeper who saves to his right at the perfect height for him! 26' - Another throw-in down the left by Montgomery to Emanuel Reynoso. He passes it to Fragapane in the penalty area again, this time Godinho makes an EXCELLENT tackle to disposses him. Jacori Hayes pounces on the loose ball and launches a screamer from just outside the box which takes a wicked deflection off Sebastian Berhalter and goes just wide. 27' - Ryan Gauld with a long pass down the right flank for Godinho to chase. He manages to beat Montgomery in a 1-on-1 situation, crosses the ball into the penalty area for Cristian Dajome to attack. His header is straight at Dayne St. Clair though who makes an easy save. 38' - Callum Montgomery starts a counter-attack winning possession in his own half, this is followed by a nice 1-2 between Hassani Dotson and Reynoso, which sets Dotson away to drive into the box. He squares for Adrien Hunou but his shot is well tipped over the bar by Evan Newton. 41' - Romain Metanire with a run down the right side of the pitch, gets deep into Vancouver territory before laying it off for Reynoso. He hits a ball ofer the top which finds Hunou, as Reynoso continues his run. Hunou lays it back to Metanire, whose cross finds Reynoso again, but his volley goes over the crossbar. 45' - Fragapane and Dotson link up down the left and the move ends with a crafty pass to Reynoso by the penalty spot which the centre-back fails to read before it's too late. His shot from close range is well saved by Newton who shows excellent reflexes! HT - Minnesota United FC 0-0 Vancouver Whitecaps 46' - Pretty much from kick-off, Juan Agudelo hoofs the ball forward to Gauld, whose shot goes narrowly wide. A very sloppy start to the half from Minnesota who were totally caught sleeping. 47' - From a broken down Minnesota attack, Newton throws the ball out to Gauld quickly to launch an attack. The ball is launched up towards Russell Tiebert who manages to get a flick on for Dajome to chase. He outpaces Michael Boxall in a foot race, advances through on goal and slots the ball right under the advancing Dayne St. Clair. 1-0 Vancouver Whitecaps. 54' - Niko Hansen sends in a cross from the right flank which is headed by Montgomery at a tight angle. Newton gets his body behind it and makes a routine save. However, his kick out is terrible and goes straight to Dotson. A very slick 1-2-3 between him, Hayes and Reynoso followed by a pass to Adrien Hunou ends with a through-ball putting Hansen in on goal. He makes no mistake shooting firmly to the goalie's left side and into the back of the net. 1-1 Equaliser for Minnesota United FC! 60' - Free kick by Reynoso, floated in but cleared away by Vancouver easily enough. The clearance falls to Dajome, whose long ball sets Gauld away. He waits to square it to Agudelo, the delay meaning St. Clair has time to get across and get his body behind the weak shot to make the save. 63' - Callum Montgomery, despite being given strict instructions to stay back and defend, runs with the ball the entire length of the pitch and whips in a cross which is met by Niko Hansen. His header is just wide of the left post by millimetres! 66' - A poor clearance by new Vancouver goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer falls to Dotson. He manages to nutmeg Gauld and thread a pass into the feet of Adrien Hunou. His shot is well blocked by Matteo Campagna, who puts his body on the line to stop a goal. The follow up shot from Hassani Dotson is then ALSO cleared off the line. A good chance for Minnesota and great last ditch defending from Vancouver! 74' - Free-kick by Reynoso near the right corner flag. Michael Boxall connects with it but his header hits the post and goes out for a goal kick. 75' - Franco Fragapane corner, played short to Jacori Hayes, who gives the ball back to him. Fragapane drives into the box and elects to shoot from a tight angle trying to catch the goalkeeper out. Boehmer gets down well though and makes the diving save. 82' - Abu Danladi makes a spirited run down the right flank, beating Dajome all ends up for pace. He whips in a cross which Fragapane heads just over the bar. 90' - Chase Gasper launches a counter-attacking move by launching the ball up to Adrien Hunou. His through ball puts Luis Amarilla through on goal, but he wastes the chance by shooting weakly straight at the goalkeeper. He really should have done better! FT - Minnesota United FC 1-1 Vancouver Whitecaps How on earth did we only manage to get a draw out of that game?! 36 shots to 6, with exactly 4 times as many shots on target as Vancouver managed. An xG (a stat which I don't fully understand anyway) of 4.23 and possession of 62% I think tells the general story. The amount of times a player was in a clear position and fluffed it or sent a header just wide was too numerous to count! According to the game, Franco Fragapane was the Man of the Match, having made 14 key passes and creating 1 clear-cut chance. He also had an overall passing success of 94%. He attempted TWENTY-SIX crosses in the game (completing 53% of them), which seems like a ludicrous amount. Adrien Hunou and Luis Amarilla combined up front for a total 11 shots, with only 4 being on target, so a disappointing output from the strikers again. Abu Danladi made his return from injury as a 77th minute substitute, replacing goalscorer Niko Hansen. He generally played well in the 13 minutes he was given on the pitch and will hopefully get a few more minutes in the next game to continue his return to match fitness. **UP NEXT - It's back to Allianz Field where Bakaye Dibassy will FINALLY be allowed to join up with the team once again as they take on Union Omaha of the USL League One in their next friendly match**

Pre-Season (Continued) Friendly game 4 - @ Forward Madison FC Breese Stevens Field, Madison, Wisconsin (Capacity - 5,000) For the next pre-season friendly Minnesota United FC make the short hop of 1,685 miles to Madison, Wisconsin to play against Forward Madison FC of the USL League One. Forward Madison are listed as an affiliated club to both Chicago Fire and Minnesota United FC in FM 22, but while Chicago Fire are only able to loan players with their agreement, Minnesota can loan players to Madison, from Madison, agree to host a pre-season friendly every season AND they share scouting data between the two clubs which in my eyes makes Minnesota United FC the SENIOR affiliate club out of the two. While the club has a short history, being founded in just 2018, the stadium they play in goes all the way back to 1926. Breese Stevens Field is named in honour of a former Mayor of Madison and is located just eight blocks away from the Wisconsin State Capitol. In it's time it has hosted baseball, american football (including three NFL games), athletics, rodeo, midget auto racing, Ultimate Disc League, soccer and perhaps most prestigiously..... marbles tournaments. Olympic Gold Medalist at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens ran three exhibition races on the field there in 1938. As for the squad they have a couple of players of note. Noah Ballamann, an 18-year old left-back started the save playing for the Manhattan College Jaspers in the NCAA Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. I earmarked him as a potential draft prospect when the save began, not realising that the college teams could transfer players away to USL League One teams. I'm not sure if him joining Forward Madison means I now won't be able to draft him, or whether the SuperDraft also incorporates players from that divison? Time will tell I suppose. He is a bit raw as you would expect for a teenager in the NCAA but he had good determination and decision making along with decent pace. If his crossing could be improved he could be a decent attacking fullback in the future. Arguably their best player (and highest paid at $60,000 p/a) is 25-year old Brazilian attacking midfielder Matheus Cassini. He started out as a youth player at Corinthians before being snapped up by Italian side Palermo in 2015 for $3,500,000. He was immediately given the Number 9 shirt and was expected to feature for the first team right away. For whatever reason this never materialised and after appearing for the reserves multiple times he was loaned out to Croatian side Inter Zapresic and then to Italian Serie C side Siracusa Calcio. Following the second loan move he terminated his contract with Palermo and that lead to a bit of a merry-go-round for Cassini as in just a single year he moved to Ponte Preta, Santos (Both in Brazilian Serie A), Oeste (Brazilian Serie B) and Amiens B (French Championnat National 3). After yet another loan move to Estoril in Portugal, he moved back to Brazil to play for Fluminense before finally joining Forward Madison FC at the start of the 2021 season..... I wouldn't bet on Cassini staying for too long, he seems to love a passport stamp. Eric Dick gets his first start of pre-season, leaving Abu Danladi as the only player not to have started a game yet. Danladi is still 3 days away from resuming full training so won't be risked. Luis Amarilla gets another start up front, I'm hoping he can perform against a lower league opponent to build his confidence up a little bit as he hasn't been great so far. The lineup is a mixture of backups and first teamers, Oniel Fisher gets the start at right-back, with Aziel Jackson getting the nod at attacking central midfield. Robin Lod got the nod (hey they rhymes) over Jacori Hayes in central midfield as the latter was looking a little jaded. Chase Gasper must be desperate at this point for Bakaye Dibassy to be brought back into the team, I'd like to think during this accidental hiatus from the squad he is back at Minnesota's training ground preparing himself all on his own.....but if I was him I'd be sat around in the clubhouse playing Space Invaders Winstone Bogarde style as a way to repay my careless manager. I'm not entirely sure why he is still ineligible for this game as it's not technically taking place in the Training Camp, but nevermind this just means I won't have him back now until the 6th game of pre-season against Union Omaha. THE MATCH 3' - Corner to Forward Madison, taken by Matheus Cassini, swung in to the back post where Justin Sukow meets it with a bullet header that cannons off the post, great chance early on! 6' - Patrick Weah with an enterprising run down the right flank, weaves past Matheus Cassini and Noah Ballamann like they aren't even there. He swings a cross in and Bongokuhle Hlongwane manages to outjump Christian Diaz and heads it straight past Phil Breno into the back of the net. 1-0 Minnesota United FC! 13' - Almost a carbon copy of the first goal, this time it's Oniel Fisher with the run down the right flank and again Noah Ballamann struggles to stay with his man. The cross is sent in and this time Christian Diaz manages to get his head to it but he heads it straight to Bongokuhle Hlongwane who rifles it home from close range. 2-0 Minnesota United FC! 31' - A corner from Chase Gasper whipped in to the near post, Callum Montgomery times his run perfectly to flat foot Eric Leonard and he heads it into the back of the net, 3-0 Minnesota United FC! 32' - 60 seconds later Forward Madison nearly pull a goal back, Audi Jepson and Matheus Cassini exchange a neat one-two near the centre circle before Jepson slots a pass between the two Minnesota centre-backs and sets Abdou Thiam through on goal. He decides to square it to Jordan Sukow whose shot is very tame and gives Eric Dick time to get across and make the save. Huge wasted chance for Forward Madison. HT - Forward Madison FC 0-3 Minnesota United FC HT - Adrien Hunou comes on the for still-disappointing Luis Amarilla, Brent Kallman comes on to give Chase Gasper a breather with Callum Montgomery filling in at left back and Kallmann going to centre back. Emanuel Reynoso, Romain Metanire and Niko Hansen come on for Aziel Jackson, Oniel Fisher and Patrick Weah respectively. 50' - Romain Metanire and Niko Hansen combine well down the right flank, Hansen floating in a cross that Wil Trapp meets on the half-volley. His shot smacks into the crossbar and up out of play. 62' - Mitchell Osmond launches a long ball forward from central defence that Derek Gebhard latches on to. He passes off to Abdou Thiam who flicks on for Christian Enriquez through on goal. His shot is very well palmed away by Eric Dick, tremendous goalkeeping! 64' - Corner from Emanuel Reynoso directed to the near post, this time it's Nabilai Kibunguchy outjumping the defenders to score past new Forward Madison goakeeper Aidan Hogan. 4-0 Minnesota United FC! 69' - Matheus Cassini does well to rob Romain Metanire of the ball down the right flank, passes to Derek Gebhard who drives towards goan down the centre of the pitch. He dumps it off to Drew Connor who chips a ball over the top of the defenders and Matheus Cassini volleys it from a tight angle over Eric Dick's outstretched hand and into the top left corner. 4-1 Goal back for Forward Madison FC. 82' - A Niko Hansen cross from the right is missed by everyone in the box until it reaches Bongokuhle Hlongwane on the opposite flank. His cross/shot (definitely a mis-hit cross!) flashes right across the goal before being cleared off the line by Mele Temguia. FT - Forward Madison FC 1-4 Minnesota United FC A good run out for The Loons against inferior opposition who were spirited but limited in their ability. Unfortunately the one player I was interested in scouting, Noah Ballamann had a woeful game, being constantly caught out of position and not having the speed to catch up to players once he had been passed, which happened all too frequently. It was only one half of football in fairness but I'm already questioning calling him a potential prospect for the future. Player of the Match was Nabilai Kibunguchy for his headed goal, 97% successful pass rating, making 14 interceptions and winning 72% of his 22 attempted headers. I may have been tempted to give the POtM award to Bongokuhle Hlongwane instead, with his 2 excellent goals and all-round performance. Luis Amarilla was a disappointment again, completing just 54% of his passes and only managing 2 shots, one of which was woefully off target and had more chance of hitting the moon than the back of the net. *UP NEXT - It's another mammoth trip back to the training camp in Phoeniz, Arizona where The Loons will take on Vancouver Whitecaps FC at the Grand Canyon Stadium*