Minnesota United FC left Snapdragon Stadium with all three points on Saturday night, overturning an early deficit to beat San Diego FC 2-1 in Major League Soccer. In a fixture packed with first-half incident, Luca Bombino fired the hosts ahead in the 7th minute before Minnesota responded through Kyle Duncan in the 15th and Kelvin Yeboah in the 40th.
San Diego made the brighter start and were rewarded almost immediately. Bombino found the breakthrough in the 7th minute, giving the home support an early lift and putting Minnesota on the back foot. It was the kind of opening San Diego would have wanted against a side happy to stay compact and strike when spaces appeared.
But Minnesota settled quickly and hit back with purpose. Duncan drew them level in the 15th minute with a header, a goal that changed the tempo of the match and gave the visitors real belief. From there, Minnesota looked increasingly dangerous whenever they advanced, even while San Diego continued to see more of the ball.
The away side completed the turnaround five minutes before the break. Yeboah made it 2-1 in the 40th minute with a well-taken volley, capping a sharp attacking move and punishing San Diego for failing to regain control after their fast start. By halftime, Minnesota had turned a difficult opening into a commanding position.
The second half offered a very different kind of contest. San Diego’s task became much harder when Christopher McVey was sent off in the 46th minute, forcing the hosts to chase the match with 10 men for virtually the entire half. Even so, they continued to push and actually dominated possession on the night with 64.3 percent, while finishing with 17 total shots and six on target.
Minnesota, though, managed the state of the match well. They remained dangerous going forward, recording 21 shots and seven on target, and did enough defensively to preserve their one-goal advantage. The visitors also had to cope with San Diego’s late pressure, but their structure held firm as the clock ticked through a lengthy stoppage time period.
There were further disciplinary notes in a combative fixture. McVey had already been booked in the 11th minute before his red card just after the restart, while San Diego also saw Oscar Verhoeven cautioned in the 30th minute. For Minnesota, Joaquín Pereyra went into the book in the 69th minute as the visitors dug in.
In the end, the decisive moments all came before the interval. Bombino’s 7th-minute goal gave San Diego FC hope, but Duncan’s 15th-minute equalizer and Yeboah’s 40th-minute winner ensured Minnesota United FC made their trip to Southern California count. For San Diego, there was encouragement in the attacking intent, but the combination of missed chances and the early second-half dismissal proved too much to overcome.
Goal scorers: Luca Bombino 7′ (San Diego FC); Kyle Duncan 15′ (Minnesota United FC); Kelvin Yeboah 40′ (Minnesota United FC).
