Analysis: Minnesota United defeats Houston, posting an outside-the-norm June result

For the first time ever, Minnesota United winger Bongokuhle Hlongwane’s mother — with his baby brother in tow — was at Allianz Field on Wednesday to see her son play.

And who among us wouldn’t want to score a couple of goals in that situation, to show off for Mom?

Hlongwane scored two goals in three minutes in the second half, getting Minnesota United started on a 3-1 win over the Houston Dynamo — and turning a dull, physical game into a joyful family celebration.

Bongi used the word “happy” about five times in four sentences, to describe his emotions. After his first goal, he jumped into the stands to hug his mom and joyously hold his baby brother aloft. (That his brother’s bottle went flying was probably the only downside of the whole night, for Hlongwane.)

“I was for happy for them, to be here, and I was able to perform in front of them — yeah, I was happy,” he said.

That first goal, just past the hour mark, was a moment of magic. Defender Jefferson Díaz won a long throw-in into the penalty area, flicking it on — but too high for Hlongwane to reach. Instead, the South African leaned forward and stuck out his foot behind him — deflecting the ball over goalkeeper Jonathan Bond’s head and into the net.

And he’d barely climbed back onto the field after his celebration, before Anthony Markanich beat a defender down the left side and squared for Hlongwane, making a perfectly timed near-post run, to get his second with a tap-in.

This time, he couldn’t get to his mom to celebrate; he was too busy hugging every one of his teammates, and whipping the fans in the Wonderwall into a frenzy.

Hlongwane, who had one goal in his first 18 appearances this season as a wingback, was playing as one of the wide forwards in this game — to the right of Kelvin Yeboah, with Robin Lod moving to the left side. It meant he was in scoring position more often.

“This will almost lead us down a lazy narrative around Bongi, that when he plays at wingback, he can’t contribute in front of goal,” manager Eric Ramsay said. “Where, in actual fact, I think he’s developed into a really good wingback, I think certainly one of the better ones in the league, someone who is very complete. But of course when he plays closer to the front, he has an opportunity to be closer to goal, and of course, with that comes a far greater likelihood of him being in the positions that he was in today.”

For Hlongwane’s part, he clearly enjoyed being back up front for an evening. “I think as much as maybe I am helping when we defend, I don’t think that my strength is to defend,” he said. “My strength is playing up there next to the goal and being able to create for my teammates, to create for myself, and score goals and help the team.”

It’s just too bad that Hlongwane’s family is in town for only three weeks, not three months. “I wish they could be at each and every home game that we play,” Hlongwane said. “Maybe they are my lucky charm.”

For the first time in Ramsay’s tenure, Minnesota United did something that was starting to seem impossible: win a league game during a June tournament.

“I can’t dress it up any other way, I feel like we are scarred by last June and how difficult it was without the players who are away on international duty, so I feel like there’s an element of relief that goes with our performance as well,” Ramsay said.

In 2024, those departures precipitated a run in which the Loons earned just two points of a possible 27, a stretch that lasted into mid-July and nearly sank the entire season for Minnesota. So when the Loons started this season’s version, a stretch of what’s likely to be four games without Dayne St. Clair, Tani Oluwaseyi, Carlos Harvey and Joseph Rosales, with a 4-2 loss to San Diego … well, the nightmares came roaring back.

“I would say one of the biggest results that we’ve had this year, because the stage of the season that we’re in, the absences that we’ve got, the — I suppose — scars of last summer and everything that goes with a really messy period in the MLS,” Ramsay said. “I think for us to have won today, to follow up the San Diego performance with that, was really big, and I think it keeps us right in the race at the top.”

For the second straight game, Minnesota signed second-team goalkeeper Wessel Speel to a short-term contract, so they could put the rookie keeper in with the first team. And this time, things went a lot better than his first MLS game.

Until Houston grabbed a consolation goal in the third minute of second-half stoppage time, it looked like Speel was about to earn his first clean sheet in the league and his second overall.

“It’s not easy to follow up what happened against San Diego FC with the performance that was that assured,” Ramsay said.

MATCH SUMMARY: Minnesota United 3, Houston 1

MLS standings

Speel has three wins in his first four first-team games — two in the U.S. Open Cup and two in MLS play. And the 23-year-old said this time around was much more comfortable than his loss to San Diego.

“I felt much more in the flow this game,” Speel said. “I think sitting in the low block especially, [I] felt much more in control. Executing the distribution felt much, much better today, and I don’t think we gave much away today.”

MLS roster rules make Speel no longer eligible for short-term contracts this season, so if the Loons want him to start more games this summer, they’ll have to sign him to an actual contract with the first team. But he clearly has the confidence of the coaching staff, which chose to bring him back after a not-so-auspicious MLS debut against San Diego.