In front of a raucous Audi Field crowd, DC United completed the consecutive double against Inter Miami, winning 1-0 and dominating possession for the entire match. United had Miami under fire from the opening seconds, with the patented Losadaball press and superior conditioning responsible for a number of offensive opportunities. A 73rd minute penalty, converted by Ola Kamara, spared United’s number 9 blushes after a number of squandered opportunities in the first half. Indeed, as Coach Hernan Losada said in the post game conference, United should have been up 2-0 after 15 minutes but the Manager still has full confidence in the striker, while asking for the Norwegian to convert more of his chances.
In the first half, United were pushing the tempo and their forward pressure almost created a goal in the first 2 minutes of the game. In fact, Kamara followed that up with misses in the 5th minute and the 41st minute and a shot off the post in the 44th minute, with the striker and fans feeling like he should have had a first half hat trick instead of DCU ending the first half tied with Miami 0-0.
United had excellent performances in the first half across the field, with (Futmob’s Man of the Match) Andy Najar especially shining, taking multiple Miami players off the dribble and almost clinching season end highlight type level plays that unfortunately didn’t end with a goal. United fans were happy to see those glimpses of young Andy, tearing up the midfield and becoming a problem for the opponent’s backline. Kevin Paredes, named to the US Gold Cup preliminary roster, once again showed his skill and technical level at wingback, crossing with accuracy and getting involved in a number of scoring chances all game.
The second half began more even than the first half ended, with Miami beginning to deal with United’s pressure and occasionally threatening United (although Miami only managed one shot on goal, with Brek Shea’s breakaway snuffed out by Bill Hamid). In the 55th minute, Gregore got his second yellow card for a hard foul on Paredes, and the field tilted all the way toward John McCarthy in Miami’s net. United still couldn’t find a break through until the 72nd minute when Christian Makoun handled the ball in the box. Ola Kamara, still confident after an incredibly shaky first half, converted the penalty and United took a 1-0 lead.
United pushed for a second goal, but as Losada said in the postgame, with another game on Wednesday against Montreal, it made more sense to save some legs and close out the win. Paul Arriola said that “while something was clearly off all night, I was proud of the team for continuing to push through to a win at home.”
United will play Montreal (in Fort Lauderdale…) next Wednesday night and currently sit 6th in the Eastern Conference.