Minnesota United and its supporters had its heart ripped out in the final seconds of a U.S. Open Cup semifinal Wednesday at Allianz Field.
Austin FC’s CJ Fodrey scored on a rebound in the 120th and final minute of extra time for a 2-1 win that pushed the Loons out of the national tournament.
Tied 1-1 after 90 minutes, Minnesota and Austin were nearing penalty kicks before the devastating ending in St. Paul.
If Minnesota would have won, they would have hosted Nashville SC in the final on Oct. 1 after Nashville beat Philadelphia 3-1 in a semifinal Tuesday. Instead, Austin will host the final.
Loons midfielder Joaquin Pereyra gobsmacked supporters with wonderful zip 25-yard, free-kick goal around the Austin wall and inside the left post to tie the game 1-1 in the 67th minute.
Winger Osman Bukari was Austin’s most-dangerous attacker in the first half and his pace beat Nico Romero in behind and pushed his shot underneath Loons goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair for a 1-0 lead in stoppage time.
Loons head coach Eric Ramsay had worried on Tuesday about the threat Bukari’s athleticism presented.
About twenty minutes earlier, Bukari was only issued a yellow card from referee Alexis Da Silva for kicking out at Loons defender Anthony Markanich, who fell to the ground after the contact and was incensed once he got up. A handful of players on both teams got in a pushing match after the incident.
Without a sending off from a red card, Bukari was able to twist a knife just before halftime.
Loons forward Kelvin Yeboah suffered a leg injury and limped off the field in the 29th minute. With new forward Momo Dieng cup-tied to Hartford Athletic and ineligible to play for Minnesota, the Loons didn’t have another No. 9 on the game-day roster.
Yeboah grabbed his hamstring after going down in the box a few minutes earlier. After coming off, he slumped dejected in his dugout seat.
Without his only natural forward, Ramsay troubleshooted with Robin Lod moving from attacking mid to striker, while Joseph Rosales subbed into a midfield spot.
Ramsay’s later moved Bongi Hlongwane from right wing back to center forward and it gave Minnesota more speed up top and helped set up Pereyra’s goal.
The Loons had a handful of minor scoring chance before Yeboah exited, but few after the change across the rest of the first half.
To reach the semifinal, the Loons beat Louisville City 1-0 in the U.S. Open Cup round of 32 on May 7, topped St. Louis 3-2 in the round of 16 on May 21 and defeated Chicago Fire 3-1 in the quarterfinals on July 8.
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