Minnesota United hope to move up Western Conference against St. Louis

Minnesota United boasts the third-best record in the West table as it prepares for a Saturday night match at St. Louis City SC.

But it's not a stretch to say that Minnesota could be leading the conference - in fact, all of MLS - comfortably if it could master the art of holding a lead.

Minnesota (11-5-8, 41 points) trails conference leader San Diego by two points and the second-place Vancouver Whitecaps by one. Five of its eight draws, including one on March 15 in Kansas City where it gassed a 3-0 second-half lead and settled for a 3-3 deadlock, have seen it cede a tying goal. Four of those have come late in the match.

That includes its last outing, a 1-1 tie on July 19 at Portland that saw the Timbers equalize in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.

"We are the team that has been in losing positions least over the course of this entire season," said Minnesota coach Eric Ramsay. "I think that is a credit to the team in one sense but in another, we have to be much more clinical and ruthless in closing games out."

While Minnesota tries to refine its ability to finish off matches, St. Louis (4-13-6, 18 points) is back to the drawing board after a discouraging 3-0 loss on July 19 at Dallas. Coming off a rare win on July 13 against Portland, St. Louis couldn't string together consecutive wins for the first time since March.

St. Louis is beefing up its roster via its Saturday night opponent, ironically enough. It acquired defender Devin Padelford via loan from Minnesota for the year's remainder and also picked up forward Sangbin Jeong from the Loons, sending them $1.6 million in exchange.

Padelford started 19 matches for Minnesota last year and has played in 36 fixtures over the last two-plus calendar years.

"His ability to get forward from the left side, combined with his defensive instincts, will provide us with another option," said St. Louis sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel.

Minnesota blanked St. Louis 3-0 on May 17 and owns a 4-1-0 lead in the all-time series.

--Field Level Media