D.C. United made it two wins out of two against Inter Miami CF this year as they defeated the visitors 1-0 in their ninth match of the 2021 Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season.
D.C. United started with Bill Hamid in goal and Andy Najar, Brendan Hines-Ike, and Donovan Pines as the defensive three. Julian Gressel and Kevin Paredes played as the two wingbacks and Felipe Martins and Russell Canouse were partnered in central midfield. Paul Arriola, Adrien Perez, and Ola Kamara started as the front three for the Black-and-Red.
United nearly scored twice in the opening six minutes of the match as Kamara found himself on the end of a pair of crosses from Paredes and Gressel. The Black-and-Red played on the front foot for the opening forty-five and were nearly rewarded right on the stroke of halftime, as Paredes once again connected with the Norwegian striker, who saw his looping effort go narrowly over. Hamid came up big right before the break, as he got down low to stop a one-on-one opportunity for Inter Miami against the run of play. Despite United’s dominance and pressure, the two sides went into halftime tied 0-0,
Following a positive start to the second half, D.C. United found themselves quickly up a man as a red card was issued to Gregore for his second yellow of the night. United quickly capitalized on the man advantage and were awarded a penalty in the 78th minute after a header from Hines-Ike struck a Miami defender’s arm in the box. Kamara coolly stepped-up and slotted the penalty home for the 1-0 lead and his fourth goal of the season. A professional final twenty minutes saw the hosts play the match out with ease, as Miami struggled to get back into the game and even aw themselves go down to nine men before the final whistle.
Homegrown midfielder Kevin Paredes had a standout match down the left side of the field, as he put pressure on the Miami defense all night and sent a number of good crosses into dangerous areas in the box. Paredes beat his defender and drew the foul on the edge of the box in the 78th minute that led to the free kick that resulted in the penalty and match-winning goal for United.
Bill Hamid started his 250th career match for the Black-and-Red on Saturday night. The Homegrown goalkeeper also kept his 72nd career clean sheet, the ninth most in Major League Soccer history.
D.C. United’s next match will be against CF Montreal on Wednesday, June 23 with kickoff scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EST. Tune into NBC Sports Washington, TeleXitos, and www.dcunited.com to watch the match.
