United FC's Bongokuhle Hlongwane hoping to help lead Loons to postseason
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota United have six games to go in the regular season and are fighting for a postseason berth.
It has been a roller-coaster season but perhaps the whiplash has slowed.
"Through the season we've been losing some games, but now we're coming back on our feet," said the team's leading goal scorer, Bongokuhle Hlongwane.
Hlongwane's increased production has helped the team regain its footing. He's scored three goals in the last two matches — both wins.
"For me, what is working is to be in the right place at the right time," said Hlongwane. "Most of my goals, I score them inside the box. That's where I should always be."
United manager Eric Ramsay says Hlongwane has loads of tools.
"In some senses, he's a coach's dream in that he's got real athleticism. He's got unpredictability and craft," he said.
But, in other senses, Hlongwane's season has mirrored the Loons' record, at times frustrating his new head coach.
"We saw probably the best and worst of him over the course of our messy middle period, where he really contributed in some senses. But he was part of a team that turned the ball over often and struggled for a real rhythm when we were attacking," said Ramsay. "I think now we're seeing the best of Bongi in the last couple of games, where he's playing in a team that's functioning really well and he's contributing."
Talented transfers have arrived in droves recently, but the play of the tenured players, like Hlongwane in his third Minnesota season, will be crucial down the stretch.
"I didn't start well. But I always tell myself, it's not how you start, it's how you finish," said Hlongwane, who brought his season's goal total to 10 over the weekend. "Hopefully I'm gonna finish the season well. I'm hoping that I'm gonna score more over the last six games."