By Abram Heredia
Another season gets underway as D.C. United hosted Charlotte FC for their very first MLS match and promptly gave them a very warm welcome.
Charlotte got the action started with what they thought was their first ever MLS goal but that was quickly swept out from under themby the referee. Ortiz’s header in the 19th minute was deemed offside and the goal was disallowed.
In the 34th minute, Griffin Yow took the ball on the right hand side off the back of a controversial challenge from Gressel. Yow cut into the box onto his left and fired a shot at the Charlotte defender, deflecting off his arm which cued the referee to then point to the spot.
After a few minutes of deliberation, debuté, Michael Estrada placed the ball on the spot and happily took the opportunity to open up his tally for D.C. United. A stutter step run up (similar to that of his team mate Ola Kamara) saw the ball go straight into the bottom corner and sent the keeper diving the wrong way. A controversial goal that opened the scoring for D.C. United this season.
United continued to pour the misfortune onto Charlotte when in the 5th minute of stoppage time in the first half, a shot from distance by Estrada found the turned back of a Charlotte defender and deflected into the net putting D.C. United 2-0 up just before the end of the first half.
In the 51st minute, Charlotte continued to search for their first MLS. Charlotte got themselves on the break with a ball played through the defense but their forward was denied at point blank range by Bill Hamid. The United keeper would continue to show no mercy when called upon to make another save in the 53rd minute to deny Charlotte off a set piece header which was parried wide.
Later in the 64th minute the route was completed to put D.C. United 3-0 up. A knee high cross from Gressel was punched out by the keeper, yet the ball found the path of substitute Kamara and bounced off of him and into the back of the net. Though a fortuitous goal in the favor of D.C. United, the power and precision of the cross definitely helped tip the scales of fortune in their favor.
Despite having less possession and shots on target, D.C. United showed their fortitude by managing to keep a clean sheet and score 3 in a match some spectators would say belonged to Charlotte. D.C. United fans will be excited to see their star keeper putting in a strong performance as well as their new striker on loan from Liga MX netting a brace in his MLS debut. Much to be excited about for D.C. United looking forward.