Minnesota United coach Adrian Heath did not understand why his club lacked intensity in a 2-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, but he knows the repercussions for the players on his MLS expansion franchise.

“It’s another timely reminder for me that we’re not good enough and we need to get better,” Heath said. “The offseason can’t come quickly enough for me, in terms of trying to shake this roster up, because that wasn’t acceptable for me.”

The Loons (9-16-5) have a less than one percent chance to make the playoffs, but Heath said the players had “everything to play for” against the Dynamo, and still do in Tuesday’s game at Atlanta (15-8-8), a rematch between this season’s startup clubs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

In Minnesota’s March home opener, the Loons were embarrassed 6-1 by Atlanta, which clinched a playoff spot last week. Loons captain Francisco Calvo said last week he wanted to “beat those guys so bad.”

The Loons had won consecutive games for the first time this season, wounding the playoff hopes of Montreal and FC Dallas in the process, and were looking to poke holes in Houston’s hopes on Saturday with the same lineup.

“I was confident coming in, that I thought if we played well, we could get something from the game,” Heath said. “We started reasonably well, a lot of possession, but once we got past the middle third of the field, we didn’t have a threat all evening, I didn’t think.” Related Articles Minnesota United acquires striker Kei Kamara in trade with Colorado

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Minnesota went down 2-0, with Houston goals in the 69th and 85th minutes. “You look at the goals, poor goals from us, poor marking, so it just about summed the evening up,” Heath said.

Loons newcomer Sam Nicholson, a late sub, scored his first MLS goal in stoppage time.

“I thought we had a lack of energy all over the field, a lack of desire to win the game,” Heath said. “Our front four (attackers), who were excellent last week, and had a lot of praise given to them, didn’t do enough. I didn’t feel as though we wanted it badly enough from the very first whistle.”

NATIONAL DUTIES

Five Minnesota players are set for national team duties this week. Defender Michael Boxall (New Zealand) and midfielder Johan Venegas (Costa Rica) are unavailable Tuesday; Calvo (Costa Rica), midfielder Kevin Molino (Trinidad and Tobago) and defender Jermaine Taylor (Jamaica) will depart Wednesday. All will miss Saturday’s final home match against Sporting Kansas City at TCF Bank Stadium.