Adrian Heath struggled on an annual basis against Sporting Kansas City over his seven-year tenure at Minnesota United.

Heath’s replacement, head coach Eric Ramsay, ended a winless skid in his first game against the Loons’ closest rival with a 2-1 win on Saturday night at Allianz Field.

MNUFC (5-2-2, 17 points) ended a five-game skid against Kansas City since October 2021. The Loons had won one of 10 since July 2020.

Kansas City (2-3-5, 11 points) had allowed three goals apiece in four of its previous five games and gave up two in the first half-hour Saturday.

In the second minute, Robin Lod’s flick-on header off a corner kick was tapped in on the back post by Michael Boxall. After not scoring on a corner in the first seven games, the Loons have now recorded one in each of the past two games.

After the final whistle, Boxall fist-pumped and fans roared after their second home win this season.

Tani Oluwaseyi doubled the lead with a tap-in at the back post in the 26th minute. Oluwaseyi might have been offside, but it held up through a video review.

Sporting Kansas City cut the lead in half in the 38th minute when Daniel Salloi’s pull-back pass was finished by Allan Pullido.

Ramsay tinkered with the starting lineup and formation to great success in a 3-0 win at Charlotte last Sunday. His latest wrinkle was starting both strikers Teemu Pukki and Oluwaseyi, who primarily had substituted for each other in the opening eight games.

Ramsay addressed the chance to play both after Tuesday’s practice.

“It’s something that is sort of lurking away in the background. They are two very good players, both who have very different strengths,” Ramsay said. “… But it’s sort of working out how we would look behind that, whether that is in certain phases of particular games or whether it’s from the start of games. That is something we’ve got to consider.”

The striker partnership lasted only one half as Ramsay subbed out Pukki after 45 minutes. Pukki did not register a shot in his shift. Oluwaseyi came out in the 66th minute.

Briefly

Lod’s assist moved him into a tie for the MLS lead with six this season. Cristian Espinoza of the San Jose Earthquakes and Dante Vanzeir of the New York Red Bulls came into Saturday with six assists apiece. … Central midfielder Hassani Dotson (hamstring) missed his first game of the season. … Micky Tapias returned from a four-game absence for a hamstring injury. MNUFC2 goalkeeper Alec Smir was signed to a short-term loan for Saturday’s game. He was called up with backup keeper Clint Irwin suffering a “slight” injury. Smir can now be called up for only one more MLS match. … Mexican club Necaxa, which the Loons will play in the Leagues Cup on July 30, are in ninth place (7-3-6) in Liga MX Clausura going into their final regular-season match Sunday. Necaxa finished in last place, 18th, in the Apertura to start the season. … Carlos Harvey, who scored a hat trick for MNUFC2 last weekend, made his MLS debut in the 80th minute. … Victor Eriksson and Moses Nyeman weren’t on the bench Saturday; they traveled with MNUFC2 for their match in Kansas on Sunday.

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