No offense and no speed? No chance for Miami FC -- even against one of the worst teams in the league.

Without their two best offensive weapons, the Blues sustained a potentially season-wrecking loss to the ninth-place Minnesota Thunder on Friday night, falling 1-0 at Lockhart Stadium.

Playing without Paulo Araujo Jr. (hip) and Diego Serna (personal reasons), the Blues had trouble even stringing together consecutive passes, let alone a putting together coherent scoring strategy.

And after a Miami FC own goal credited to Melvin Tarley in the 68th minute, Blues coach Zinho could turn to no real offensive threat to get his team back in the game.

The result: a loss to a mediocre team in one of just four matches the Blues (7-10-4) have left at home this season. They remained tied for the seventh and final playoff spot with Vancouver, a point behind sixth-place Montreal. Minnesota improved to 4-10-6.

``Losing's OK, but when you lose without any dedication in a decisive match, it's very disappointing,'' Zinho said. ``We did not put any energy behind this game.''

Zinho was particularly upset with Serna, who flew to Brazil to resolve a personal issue without telling anyone on the team. He missed the entire week of practice, which was a distraction, Zinho said.

When asked if he wants Serna back on the team, Zinho said, ``It depends on what happens.''

The loss spoiled a strong debut by Junior Baiano, a former Brazilian national team player. Baiano, who last played for second-division Brasiliense in the 2007-08 season, got the start at center-back in place of Cristiano Dias (knee).

Without Araujo and Serna, Alen Marcina and Reinier Alcantara started together at forward for the first time this season. It showed.

Sloppy play marred the opening moments of the match, although Miami FC had the better of the action. The Blues earned five corner kicks in the first 13 minutes, and had a prime scoring opportunity early.

Jack Traynor sent a free kick from roughly 35 yards that found the head of a diving Tim Merritt, who redirected it on goal. However, Thunder goalkeeper Nic Platter was in position to make the save.

Minnesota found its form midway through the half, in large part because of the play of Leonel Saint-Preux, a member of the Haitian national team. Saint-Preux created the Thunder's first chance in the 32nd minute, placing a cross to Brian Cvilikas, but Cvilikas redirected the effort right at Blues goalkeeper Pat Hannigan.

Aside from that, it was a relatively tight defensive effort for Bainano and the Blues' back end. Bainano, 39, had a mental lapse in the 42nd minute, when he pulled down Cvilikas from the side, earning a yellow card. Still, the sides went to the break scoreless. Zinho tried to fix the offense at halftime, bringing Danny Vazquez on for Alcantara and Walter Ramirez for Traynor.

The changes didn't make much of a difference. The Blues went the first 25 minutes of the second half barely sniffing an offensive opportunity.

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