NOTE: This appeared first at SoccerCentric.

Minnesota United FC’s game this week is on Saturday evening, against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, who currently sit last in the NASL standings – but who have already beat Minnesota this year, 2-1 in South Florida.

For more on the team, I emailed Strikers expert Pieter Brown, who hosts the nationally known internet soccer radio show Ultras Alive (www.UltrasAlive.com). You can listen Monday nights at 8pm Central Time as they discuss every level of American pro soccer (and Monday, I’ll be on the show as well.) Pieter and I went back and forth about the Strikers and about United as well; our conversation is below.

JM: I’ve heard goalkeeper Jeff Attinella has headed back to Real Salt Lake after four games on loan with Fort Lauderdale. Who’s going to be in between the pipes on Saturday?

PB: Coach Shore has not handed me his starting line up, but expect to see Matt Glaeser between the pipes. Matt is recovering from a slight injury, however. Antinella was brought in to push Glaeser and get him back to his 2012 form. What I think has given Matt his confidence back was stopping 2 PK’s in the US Open Cup win against Laredo.

JM: Speaking of the US Open Cup, the Strikers got to host FC Dallas after beating Laredo. What was the attendance and the atmosphere like at that game?

PB: The atmosphere created by the Ultras and Flight 19 was awesome, the attendance not so much. Only a couple thousand diehards showed up for a match that saw the Strikers control the game for the first 60 minutes.

With new ownership in Minnesota have there been noticeable upgrades in marketing, excitement or attendance?

JM: There are different answers to the new ownership question. There has been a definite upgrade in marketing – for one thing, there is some. Under league ownership, the team didn’t have any kind of budget for that sort of thing, so just seeing TV ads and billboard ads and hearing radio ads is a change. As far as excitement and attendance, though – the excitement feels like it’s at the same level, and the attendance could be slightly skewed by the games being at the Metrodome rather than in the northern suburbs like usual. That said, if the team can translate the attendance to Blaine – where 4,500 fans feels like a packed house – then it’ll definitely be a success.

I’m surprised to hear that nobody showed up for a game against an MLS team – what do you think caused that? I guess south Florida isn’t necessarily famous for attendance (see: the Marlins), but I would have thought for a big game it’d be more than just die-hards.

PB: The weather hasn’t helped attendance lately, as it has rained for what seems like weeks. Plus, there was zero advertising for the FC Dallas game – but those are excuses that get tired and old. South Florida is a tough sports market to crack, and while the Strikers have made some inroads, they have a long way to go. If they played the LA Galaxy, I think you would see a larger crowd, but in South Florida who really cares about Dallas.

Minnesota United brought in a very talented group of players this year and yet are stuck in the middle of the table. With such a talented roster shouldn’t they be in first place by a healthy margin?

JM: The simple answer is two words long: everybody’s hurt. The actual answer is probably a little more complex; injuries have hurt Minnesota’s continuity at every position, but that doesn’t completely explain the inconsistency shown by a number of players. It’s impossible to blame any one thing, but United certainly didn’t expect to be stuck in mid-table at this point. And injuries or not, losing at home to Des Moines in the US Open Cup is painful for everyone involved.

Turning to this week: Fort Lauderdale has scored the fewest goals in the league; the previous Minnesota game was the only time they got more than one in a match. Is it still injuries causing problems up front, or are their larger issues afoot?

PB: The injuries are really starting to stack up. The lineup is getting younger and younger every game as the reserves are having to step up and start, but injuries have let a player like Manny Gonzalez shine. Others are going to need to step up with Mark Anderson getting another annoying injury that will keep him out for at least 3 more games.

When you think about it, we only have 2 healthy forwards in Aly Hassan and Darnell King. King has spent most of his time in defense this year, and Hassan has struggled to get any playing time. We also have NY Cosmos on loan player Stefan Dimitrov, but he’s been terrible so no one wants to to see him take the pitch.

So we’re going to see two teams limping out on the field in Minnesota. Do you get the same feeling we have down here that it’s time to starting thinking about the Fall Championship?

JM: Not yet, for Minnesota fans. If the results all go United’s way, the team could conceivably be in first place on Saturday night, so it’s too early to give up on the year. If Minnesota drops points on Saturday, though, thoughts may turn that direction.

Final question – what’s your prediction for Saturday’s score?

PB: Final score: 1-1.

JM: Thanks for all your help, Pieter.

NOTE: This appeared first at SoccerCentric.

By the end of last Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the San Antonio Scorpions, I was wondering whether Minnesota United FC could possibly take any positives from the game – and concluding that they couldn’t. This was a San Antonio team that was last in the league, hadn’t won this year at home, and had scored fewer goals than any other team in the NASL. The Scorpions scored in the first minute, then in the 91st, and Minnesota had to feel like their swoon was back.

A few thoughts, in no particular order, now that I’ve had a couple of days to reflect on the game:

1. United will not be happy with their defense – something that is becoming a theme for the team. Both of San Antonio’s goals were slightly ridiculous. The first came off a throw-in ten yards into the Scorpions half that somehow managed to bounce past the Minnesota back line. On the second, San Antonio winger Walter Ramirez somehow managed to dance around two defenders and roll a shot inside the far post.

United is tied for last in the league defensively this year, having allowed 13 goals in eight games. Injuries have been a problem – both Kyle Altman and Connor Tobin have missed time – but that doesn’t explain everything. Against San Antonio, United played the back four and goalkeeper that they started for most of 2012, and they still gave up two goals and got caught flat-footed a couple of other times.

There are no easy changes to be made; the team has already switched starting goalkeepers, from Daryl Sattler to Matt Van Oekel, without seeing immediate results. One thing is clear, though; for most of the year, Minnesota has needed to score three goals to win, and that’s a hard ask.

2. Minnesota actually controlled possession and played some good soccer on Saturday. United had four midfielders out with injury, leading to the team starting a midfield cobbled together with bailing wire and duct tape. But even so, they had the better of the possession, especially in the first half, when San Antonio hardly seemed able to get near the ball.

I’ve had a number of people ask me about whether depth is a problem for Minnesota, but I’m not sure you can say that, after Saturday – at least in the midfield.

3. United’s finishing simply has to get better. Too many crosses are either misdirected, or sail harmlessly through the opposition area. Too many shots miss the net entirely. Over the past few games, Minnesota has done a much better job of getting the ball wide and getting the ball into dangerous areas, but on Saturday, they hardly forced the San Antonio keepers (Pat Hannigan went off injured, forcing Jeremy Vuolo into action midway through the first half) into a save.

It doesn’t help that Pablo Campos’s scoring touch has deserted him, at least for the moment. In 2012, he scored a goal on more than a quarter of his shots; so far in 2013, he’s scored just once in 11 shots at goal. He needs to rediscover that 20-goals-a-year touch.

Saturday’s game against Fort Lauderdale at the Metrodome is an absolute must-win for Minnesota if they want to be in the running for the first-half championship. They’ve been lucky so far with other results, in that a win Saturday could still conceivably put them into first place. They won’t get a better opportunity: at home, and against a Strikers team that’s currently in last place.

I suppose the problem is that Minnesota’s already lost once to Fort Lauderdale this year – and as far as the last-place designation goes, San Antonio was in last place, too, until last week.

Tuesday, the North American Soccer League announced that Minnesota United FC midfielder Simone Bracalello is the league Player of the Month for May. Bracalello is tied for second in the league with four goals this season, and is tied for third in the league with three assists.

“This means a lot to me, because they recognize that I’m doing well,” Bracalello told the team website in a video posted on YouTube. “I’m happy because I helped the team to do well, and the most important thing for us is how the team does.”

Bracalello has been Minnesota’s best player so far this year, leading an attack that’s tied for the league lead with 13 goals – important, given that United is also tied for the league lead in goals allowed (also 13).

The Genoa, Italy native has been in Minnesota since 2010, and had often been used as a forward in the past. Last year in the playoffs, though, they tried him as a wide midfielder, and he responded by scoring once and setting up three more goals. This year, he’s found a home on the left side of midfield, and he told me following the team’s last home game that playing out wide, where he could face the goal and run at defenders, felt much better than playing with his back to goal as a forward.

“Now I start from the back and see the play – that position is my position,” he said. “Before, I played [up front] because they asked me to… but it’s not my position.”

I encourage you to watch the video linked above; you’ll see his wizardry in action. He’s the main creative force for Minnesota right now.