If you want to know how Minnesota United’s attack is shaping up heading into Saturday night’s game at San Jose just look at the shooting numbers.
Kelvin Yeboah has attempted 14 shots in two games, five more than anyone else in MLS. Tani Oluwaseyi has four attempts of his own. And the entire rest of the Loons squad … has a grand total of eight.
In other words, it’s not too much to say that the Loons’ attack is a two-man game. But it’s also true that, in terms of shot creation, it’s working. While the sample sizes are small, Yeboah and Oluwaseyi together have attempted more shots so far this season than any other two players in the league.
It’s a testament to how much coach Eric Ramsay believes in his two forwards, and believes in their ability to make things happen — if only the Loons can put them in the proper areas.
“We can’t try to be everything,” he said. “What we can do is look at our two forwards, particularly those two, and appreciate that their best qualities are seen most often when they’ve got big spaces to attack into.”
As much as anything, the Loons’ tactical plan is based on creating those spaces, and not just from obvious counter-attacking situations, like when the defense makes a bad pass and one of the forwards is able to pick up the ball for a breakaway.
Minnesota is also looking to create those situations, starting right from when the ball is at goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair’s feet. Against LAFC in Week 1, every one of the goal kicks that St. Clair took was launched at the forwards, standing on the other side of the halfway line.
Though the numbers say he wasn’t 100% against Montreal in Week 2, in several cases, St. Clair only made a short pass to help try to draw the opposition forward. And when they started to press, that’s when the keeper attempted to go over the top.
