MINNEAPOLIS—Every coach wants their club to win its home games over the course of the season, but it is tough not to get a little extra satisfaction when the opponent on the day is your former employer.
Adrian Heath just reminded us of that.
Heath coached Minnesota United to a 1-0 win over Orlando City at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday night. The victory was sweet for the Minnesota head coach not only because it moved his expansion side closer to the playoff picture in the Western Conference, but also because it gave him three points in his first meeting against the team he was previously in charge of.
“The players know what this means to me,” Heath said. “Players want to impress their old club. It’s no different for coaches. There’s been an awful lot said about my relationship with and departure from them. I wanted to win more today than I have in the past, but the most important thing was for Minnesota United to win.”
While Minnesota needed the win after losing their last two games, the main storyline for this match-up was Heath facing his old team and how could it not be?
Along with coaching the Lions in USL and leading them in their transition to MLS in 2015, Heath created many relationships with players that are still on Orlando City's roster to this day. That made for Saturday's tilt to be all the more personal for Heath.
“The thing is, some of these Orlando players are friends,” said Heath. “Cyle Larin’s big friends with my son Harrison. He stayed with us over Christmas and New Year’s this year."
There was a consensus feeling across Minnesota's locker room that this match meant for a lot for Heath, which explains why Loons striker Christian Ramirez ran over to celebrate with his head coach after scoring the winner in the 56th minute.
“It wasn’t a secret that he really wanted to win this one,” Brent Kallman said with a smile. “You could feel it during the week in training. It felt really good to help him get those three points. I’m sure he’s really happy about it. It’s one of the most satisfying wins we’ve had. I’m happy for the staff that came from Orlando.”
Along with Heath, assistant coaches Ian Fuller and Mark Watson were previously employed by Orlando City, so Saturday's showdown also meant a little extra for them.
“I know how important it was for the rest of the staff. There’s no getting away from it with how long we worked for that club,” Heath said. “I keep saying it, but I was so pleased for our players and our crowd. We have to keep building on what we’re trying to do here. We have a lot to go for us.”
Heath added after the triumph that he was surprised by the Lions’ tactics. Orlando City head coach Jason Kreis’ men lined up in a 4-4-2 with a flat midfield instead of their usual diamond. It took Minnesota until the second half to figure out how to crack it, but crack it they did when Johan Venegas fed Ramirez for the game's lone goal.
“I just said to the players, 'I don’t think we played as well as we had over the last three weeks, but we got the reward for all of that work,'” said Heath about getting back in the win column. “The three points were the most important thing. It’s really difficult to convince players what you’re asking of them if you don’t get results."
With this game against Orlando City now over and done with, Heath plans to continue to focus on the task at hand. That is, helping Minnesota United establish themselves in MLS.
“I’ll never have bad memories about Orlando, but this is where I am now," said Heath. "I’m trying to build something we can be proud of here. All of my energy is on that.”
