Since entering MLS last year, St. Louis City has been one of the best teams at home in MLS — except when Minnesota United comes to town.

Saturday, the Loons picked up their second victory in two visits to CityPark, winning 3-1 — thanks to, for the second consecutive season, something a bit outside the ordinary.

In 2023, Minnesota won 1-0 despite not getting a shot on target (besides a winning penalty kick). This season, they got a second-half own goal from St. Louis, plus a VAR-awarded penalty from Kelvin Yeboah after a controversial call on a defensive handball.

The triumph gave Minnesota back-to-back wins for the first time since May 4.

The Loons struggled for much of the night to deal with long passes from St. Louis, and it began just five minutes into the game. St. Louis forward Simon Becher won a long ball, and Michael Boxall’s attempted tackle knocked the ball off Miguel Tapias and into the path of Cedric Teuchert, who made no mistake with his finish.

Minnesota has made a concerted effort to control central midfield on defense this season, but it’s occasionally come at a cost, when teams have managed to score after simply going over the top against the Loons.

Midway through the first half, though, Bongokuhle Hlongwane got the Loons back level, scoring for the third time in two matches. Hlongwane deflected a pass from midfielder Eduard Löwen near midfield, and the deflection went straight to forward Kelvin Yeboah, with plenty of space to stroll forward and take a long-range shot. Keeper Roman Bürki couldn’t hold Yeboah’s low, swerving shot, and Hlongwane was there to chip the rebound over the keeper and tie the game.

In the second half, Minnesota scored twice in the first fifteen minutes — thanks, in both cases, to defensive mistakes from St. Louis City.

First, Kelvin Yeboah picked up an innocuous-looking clearance on the left side of the field, then used his speed to comprehensively beat St. Louis right back Jannes Horn down the sideline. Yeboah drove to the goal line and crossed, and defender Jayden Reid’s attempted clearance pinged down off the crossbar and into the net.

Less than ten minutes later, Yeboah doubled the lead from the penalty spot — but not without a long video review from referee Marcos DeOliveira. St. Louis defender Kyle Hiebert, jumping to try to defend a corner, made contact with a Boxall header with his elbow, which was above his head at the time. DeOliveira eventually judged that Hiebert’s arm was in an unnatural position, and awarded the Loons a penalty kick for the handball.

Yeboah froze Bürki with a hesitation in his run-up, and calmly rolled in the penalty kick.

The Loons lined up with a back four for the first time in 23 games, a surprise as they enter the stretch run. Jefferson Díaz lined up at right back, and Devin Padelford at left back. Usual left wingback Joseph Rosales started on the bench, after playing 180 minutes over five days for Honduras, but replaced Padelford at halftime.

Attacking midfielder Joaquín Pereyra made his first start for the Loons, after arriving during the international break and training with the team for two weeks.

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