COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Minnesota United FC earned its first-ever Major League Soccer point in a 2-2 road draw at the Colorado Rapids. It was a truly wild match. Read my gamer and notebook for the full effect.
I'll have another follow-up tomorrow after I rewatch the match again. But in the meantime, I wanted to share a little Q & A with Abu Danladi, United's No. 1 draft pick who saw his first professional minutes Saturday.
"I was really excited," Danladi said. "It's been a childhood dream to play pro."
Danladi came on as a substitute late in the second half with the match all tied up, and coach Adrian Heath was hoping the sub would net a game-winner. But then Justin Davis' red card happened, and Danladi had to switch his mindset to defending.
"Adrian was like, 'I want you to run behind defenders and give them a tough time.' But we had to adjust [after the red card]," Danladi said. "It's been a rough start for the team, and this is a good tie to help us push up to the next game. And I didn't want to lose this game."
After the match ended, Danladi tracked down Colorado defender Marc Burch on the bench
"I was just apologizing," Danladi said. "I did foul him, and it looked like he was really, really frustrated. I told him I didn't mean to harm him in any way, just tried to tip the ball over and got him at a bad time. ... Just don't want to have a bad reputaiton as a player who kicks everybody."
It was your first 25 minutes as a professional, Abu, I think we'll all let that slide.
Also, check out my Facebook Live video from after the match. Sorry my finger was obscuring part of the camera at the beginning:
