Adrian Heath reflects on Minnesota United's elimination from MLS playoffs

Minnesota United’s 2022 MLS playoffs campaign has come to an end. 

Despite taking a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute of the match through a clinical strike by Emanuel Reynoso, FC Dallas came back with an equalizer by Facundo Quignon to force the game into extra time. After 120 minutes of play and a persistent 1-1 draw, the teams took to penalties. 

FC Dallas triumphed 5-4, eliminating Minnesota United. 

"Football's a cruel game at times. Sometimes you don't get what you deserve," said Minnesota head coach Adrian Heath. "Once it comes down to penalties, there's going to be a winner and a loser. There's going to be a hero and there's gonna be somebody who thinks it's the worst night they've ever had. It's never easy, trust me."

Minnesota captain Wil Trapp echoed his coach’s thoughts, insisting the team deserved more. 

 "The way in which we played tonight, I thought we deserved more. It's unfortunate, but we gotta take the positives from it," he said. "Ultimately it's a step in the right direction, in the sense of some of the results we had this season and some of the form we found, and continuing to build the chemistry and quality we have on the field to build consistent winning patterns."

It’s been an inconsistent year for Minnesota, as injuries plagued the roster and forced players to adapt. The team still managed to clinch a playoff slot, ending the 2022 campaign in sixth on the Western Conference table with 48 points in 34 games. But Heath remains unimpressed with this year’s overall performance. 

"It's been a difficult year," admitted Heath. "It's been very inconsistent – inconsistent with the selection at times, because of the players' availability and the injuries that we've had.

"We'll have to assess it all over the next few weeks. See what's been good, see what changes we think we need to make. And there will be. That's the way the game is. People will stay, people will go, new people will come in. We've got some really big and tough decisions to make over a lot of players in the next few weeks."

The team will now head into the offseason, with months to prepare before the 2023 season.

"We'll try to make some alterations in the offseason to come back and make the playoffs and hopefully go further than we've done tonight," Heath concluded.