Football Season Review

A campaign that threatened to be the worst ever for an expansion side ended on a positive note for Minnesota United as they overcame early teething trouble to show they can make an impact in a highly competitive Western Conference. Late and hurried acquisitions, especially from Scandinavia, did not work out for Minnesota who began the campaign on a record breaking note, though coach Adrian Heath would have liked not to have achieved it as they leaked goals in the opening weeks of the season, conceding 18 in their opening four games. Things did stabilize, especially with Marc Burch and Sam Cronin's arrivals shoring up the defense somewhat, and Minnesota started to pick up encouraging victories including a 2-0 win over Sporting Kansas City. All of their early victories were at home though Minnesota were holding out their own on the travels, making teams work hard for their victories, and it was not until Ethan Finlay's arrivals that they finally hit a consistent patch of form, with the winger chipping in with three goals and two assists from 11 games. It was Kevin Molino's performances though that were crucial for Minnesota's hopes of not finishing at the bottom of the pile in the Western Conference and the midfielder struck a quick understanding with top scorer Christian Ramirez and led the assists column by supplying the final ball on nine occasions while also managing to score seven goals. Minnesota do have the framework for a solid roster ahead of the new season but Heath will need to bring in fresh blood and improve the bench strength if his side is to enjoy a better campaign next time around

Player of the Season: Kevin Molino