At the end of a week where we mused on the show that 4 points would be acceptable, DC United managed to beat expectations and deliver all 6 points for their fans at Audi Field on Sunday night. United overcame an unexpected and arguably undeserved early lead by CF Montreal, scoring goals on either side of halftime, and finished the night in 6th place and only 3 points behind Orlando in second place.
United was able to restore Paul Arriola back to the starting lineup after a successful Gold Cup tournament with the US Men’s National Team. He was joined in the lineup by Moses Nyeman and Joseph Mora, and Jon Kempin retained his place after taking over for an injured Bill Hamid on Wednesday night in Columbus.
United’s now patented super press was effective from the start of the game, with United controlling both possession and the bulk of the early chances. Frustratingly, CF Montreal capitalized on a half chance and a positioning mistake from Jon Kempin. Zachary Brault-Guillard caught the DC keeper somewhat out of position after a turnover on DC’s side of the field and scored with what will be charitably called a “shoss”. But even when they don’t mean it, all the balls that go in the net without a flag raised or a whistle blown count.
United continued to have good opportunities but often fell short with the final pass. Paul Arriola looked particularly out of sync with his teammates, which makes complete sense after a month away from them. CF Montreal showed moments of danger in the counter attack, but United always looked the more likely to score.
In the 40th minute, Julian Gressel took a free kick from the right side, and for the first time since 2011, Andy Najar found the back of the net in MLS (and just like we all expected, he scored with his head). The game went to half time tied 1-1, with United looking to be rewarded for their strong midfield play.
In the 54th minute, high pressure again created a chance, with Tony Alfaro winning the ball from a Montreal player, passing to Ola Kamara, who scored a near carbon copy goal from a game against Inter Miami, set shot curler past a diving Sebastian Breza for his 10th goal of the season and a 2-1 lead for United. Kamara is now one goal off the MLS lead in the Golden Boot race.
Aside from a horror tackle by Kamal Miller on Kevin Paredes that netted a yellow card instead of a deserved red and an injury to Andy Najar, the second half proceeded relatively calmly. Subs by United were to see out the game, with Felipe, Drew Skundrich and Yordy Reyna doing just that.
United have a week before their next game, Sunday against Nashville in Tennessee.