'We've Got To Make It A Fortress': Minnesota United Hope To Shake New Stadium Jitters

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- You could tell just what the opening of Allianz Field in St. Paul meant to all of Minnesota United's fans.

And afterward, manager Adrian Heath said he was mostly just happy to get it over with. He wasn't being a Debbie Downer. He just wasn't very happy with the way they played, feeling that they had been affected by all of the pomp and circumstance.

So Wednesday night, when they play their second game in the stadium, Heath is hoping things are a bit more normal. Defender Brent Kallman said the team wanted the inaugural victory so bad that it sort of ended up "backfiring."

"I think you get maybe a little too much adrenaline going, and I think it showed itself in the game a little bit," Kallman said. "I think we'll be a little more composed this time around. We got that first game out of the way, now we can settle in and try to be ourselves a little bit and not get so crazy."

It's hard to blame the players, especially for a homegrown guy like Kallman, seeing a lifelong dream of pro soccer in his state realized. But home wins are important, and they need to settle in and get comfortable, and play better here.

"Especially in this league. I think if you look at the MLS, I think more points are taken at home than most leagues in and around Europe etc.," Heath said. "We've got to make this our home now. It's early days, I know, but we've got to make it a fortress."

Make winning the reason to celebrate.