The Captain America warmup tops released as part of a collaboration between Major League Soccer, Adidas and Marvel were seen at Allianz Field for the first time Saturday.
Minnesota United did justice by the debut’s theme, even without its entire cast of starters assembled for a rematch against the Portland Timbers in which goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair and midfielder Joseph Rosales were still away on international duty.
The Loons (6-7-6) did not seem at all lost in their absence, as they navigated past the Timbers for a dominant 4-1 win.
Coach Adrian Heath’s yellow card in the 73rd minute served as one of the few blemishes of the night, given that he’ll have to miss his team’s next match against Austin FC due to card accumulation.
Franck Boli’s 60th-minute goal that brought Portland back to a one-goal deficit served as its last moment of hope, as Minnesota United separated itself on scores tallied within several minutes of each other.
Bongokuhle Hlongwane added a fifth goal to his team-leading total with one in the 74th minute that snuck under Timbers goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic, who soon after saw Emmanuel Reynoso tap in a well-set-up score off a Hlongwane assist.
Such chemistry took some time to show.
The teams played scoreless soccer for more than 43 minutes during a span in which four separate Loons players — Miguel Tapias, Michael Boxall, Hassani Dotson and DJ Taylor — picked up yellow cards, before Portland captain Diego Chara kicked in an own goal while parallel with Mender Garcia on a sprint down the center of the box. Hlongwane set up the opportunity with a pass that Chara deflected past Ivacic.
And it wasn’t long until Ivacic let up another unorthodox goal.
Reynoso did all the work himself on a corner kick that concluded as an Olimpico goal in the fourth minute of extra time, just moments before halftime. It was only the second time this season that Minnesota United led at the break.
Mender García and Taylor were subbed out in the second half after respectively active offensive performances, although Taylor walked to the sideline with an apparent injury.