On Thursday, May 12, the day after Union Omaha defeated Northern Colorado 2-0 to advance to the U.S. Open Cup’s round of 16 (and became $25,000 richer as a result), Union Omaha ran into a run of bad luck. Now guaranteed to play an MLS team at this stage of the tournament, there was also a 75% chance that either this next game and/or a hypothetical quarterfinal game could be hosted here in Omaha. But, alas, Sebastian Salazar and Hercules Gomez were unable to wish it into existence. Union Omaha will take on Minnesota United at Allianz Field on Wednesday, May 25 in the round of 16 of the U.S. Open Cup. Still, Union Omaha (and their fans) will get to experience an away atmosphere at an MLS side that we can only imagine will be a better showing than what Chicago Fire did in the third round.
Scheduling quirks for the USL League One season have, for the second straight U.S. Open Cup game, given Union Omaha a rest advantage. Union Omaha’s most recent game was a 1-1 draw at Richmond Kickers on May 14, while Minnesota United won 2-1 away to FC Dallas just this past Sunday, May 22.
For that match in Dallas, Minnesota started seven players that were making at least their 11th start of the MLS season. Of those players, three of them (midfielder Kervin Arriaga, defenders Michael Boxall and Bakaye Dibassy) also started Minnesota’s last U.S. Open Cup game, a 2-1 victory at home to Colorado Rapids. Franco Fragapane and D.J. Taylor have been making fewer MLS starts, but both also started last weekend’s game and their last Open Cup game. Either way, it looks like that even with the short turnaround, I would be surprised if Minnesota play a lineup as soft as the one Chicago Fire played in the third round, especially at this stage of the tournament.
Union Omaha have been flexing their lineup the past couple games, both out of necessity with injuries and as newer roster additions have adjusted. Most notably, Isaac Bawa appears to be getting comfortable at right back. Look for him and Ryen Jiba to continue having the green light from Jay Mims to push the counter attacks up the wing as opposed to moving the ball to the midfield. The last two games have also seen a unique approach to the attacking third, where it seems like Hugo Kametani, Kemal Malcolm and Noe Meza have been taking turns up top, with the third player dropping a little further back to let the other two act as the attackers. It was very noticeable against Northern Colorado, but less so against Richmond as Malcolm didn’t have a particularly good game and was subbed off in the 72nd minute. If Bawa is now solidified as the starting right back, look for Emir Alihodžić to add some depth at midfield, either as a starter or as a substitute, as we saw against Richmond.
As of now, the weather is looking like it will be a factor. The forecast calls for rain in Saint Paul all day on Wednesday, though not to the extent that forced Minnesota’s last Open Cup game to be resumed the following morning. The timeline has compressed a little, and it’s looking more and more like the 19:00 kickoff will be closer to the tail end of the weather system. This means, perhaps, between now and kickoff we may see the forecast adjust to show the rain is perhaps ending around that time. In my opinion a messy field gives Union Omaha an advantage as it hinders Minnesota’s chances at going 1 v 1 against Omaha’s defenders, though it will pressure Omaha to keep the ball low in their counter attacking, which goes against the grain for players like Conor Doyle who love to start the counterattack with long balls over the middle. Either way, I expect a match that will be competitive for the full 90 minutes, or longer if necessary, once again.
Who Gives A Hoot? 