Second-half struggles doom SDFC, which falls 3-1 to Minnesota

The last time San Diego FC and Minnesota United played each other, back in mid-June, SDFC came from behind to win 4-2 on the road. But there would be no miracle on Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium, as Minnesota blasted the home club by the score of 3-1. As a result, Minnesota (15-6, nine draws, 54 points) maintains second place in the MLS Western Conference standings, but gains ground on conference-leading San Diego (17-8, five draws, 56 points). A loss by Minnesota on Saturday would have all but handed the top seed to San Diego, giving the club an eight-point lead. But SDFC remains in the driver’s seat when it comes to winning the conference. However, the loss prevents – for now – San Diego from tying or besting Los Angeles FC’s expansion record of 57 points, set in 2018. Yet with four matches still left in the regular season, it would take a massive slump for San Diego to not at least tie the record by earning at least a draw against one of its final few opponents. Saturday’s match started out as a defensive battle and was tied 0-0 at the half. Much of the reason why was the strong play of the two goalkeepers. San Diego’s CJ dos Santos and Minnesota’s Dayne St. Clair, two of the better keepers in the league, were both excellent during the initial 45 minutes. SDFC had 12 shot opportunities in the first half, including six shots-on-goal. But St. Clair swatted or snatched each with a combination of agility and acrobatics. Minnesota didn’t spend much time near San Diego’s goal and only took one shot during the first half, but that shot didn’t come close to finding the back of the net. As usual, San Diego won the possession and passing battles during the first half. It maintained the ball for 69% of the opening 45 minutes and made 303 passes, compared to 141 for Minnesota United. For the full match, San Diego maintained 61% possession and took 27 shots, compared to six for Minnesota. But although both goalkeepers performed well in the first half, dos Santos struggled in the second. The match’s first goal came during the 74th minute, when Minnesota defender Anthony Markanich scored with a header to the top left corner of the net. Then Markanich’s teammate, midfielder Carlos Harvey scored with a left-footed shot to the top left corner of the net three minutes later. Minnesota wasn’t done. During the 92nd minute midfielder Nectarios Triantis hit a right-footed shot to the net’s left central zone. At that point, many in the announced crowd of 27,158 started streaming out of the building, knowing the outcome of the game was likely sealed. San Diego finally got on the scoreboard during garbage time – the 95th minute – when Jeppe Tverskov scored with a header to the net’s lower right central zone, to make the score 3-1 right before the whistle sounded. “We played well in the first half. In the second half, we kind of got away from the things that we were doing well. We were rushing our attacks too much,” SDFC head coach Mikey Varas said during the post-match press conference. “At the end of the day, we want to make this place (Snapdragon) a fortress,” he continued. “We’re going to take the things we did well and we’re going to clean up some things.” Up next, SDFC faces Liga MX’s Club Tijuana in a friendly, non-competitive match that takes place on Mexican Independence Day, Tuesday, at Snapdragon, with a special start time of 7 p.m. San Diego then plays Atlanta United FC on the road Sept. 20 before returning to Snapdragon for a Sept. 27 match against the San Jose Earthquakes – SDFC’s last home match of their inaugural regular season. Notes: Despite Saturday’s loss, San Diego has beaten every team in the Western Conference at least once this season. It has a chance to go 6-0 against California teams if it beats the Earthquakes in two weeks.