D.C. gets its biggest result of the season so far, as it nabs three points on the road against FC Cincinnati

D.C. United were able to get a point at home from the jaws of defeat late in their game against the New England Revolution on Wednesday night, thanks to a last-minute goal from Gabriel Pirani at Audi Field. 

D.C. now went on the road to face one of the best teams of the Eastern Conference in FC Cincinnati, to get a positive result. They did just that as they got a massive result on their visit to TQL Stadium Saturday night, beating Cincinnati by a final score of 2-1. 

 “During my time with the club, I think it’s probably our biggest result,” said D.C. Coach Troy Lesesne. “It shows what the group is capable of, and we’ve seen that in glimpses, but maybe we haven’t realized a result like this before.”

Kye Rowles and Evander during the match between FC Cincinnati and D.C. United on Saturday night. Photo Credit: D.C. United

The Game 

D.C. opened up the scoring in the 2nd minute. On a free kick close to the penalty area, David Schnegg placed a pass to a waiting Pirani at the top of the box. The Brazilian midfielder drilled a one-time shot from the top of the box that beat a flying Roman Celentano, with the ball finding itself in the far-right corner of the net to open up the scoring. 

“Now to be able to do that again and individually create some momentum for himself by getting the start and then scoring early for us, that’s what we need,” Lesesne said. “We need more confidence like that. We need more personality like that.”

This was Piriani's second goal in three days. Pirani scored coming off the bench against the Revolution on Wednesday night and found the equalizer in the 90th minute with a vicious one-timer from outside the box. 

Cincinnati would respond and tie the game up in the 15th minute. Gerardo Valenzuela linked up with Kévin Denkey in the middle of the field. Denkey played the ball to Lukas Engel on the edge of the box, The Danish midfielder laid off the ball to Evander, who got into the area and dribbled past two D.C. defenders, laying the ball to Denkey, who got a one-timer past Luis Barraza to notch his 10th goal of the season. 

D.C. would regain the lead in the 18th minute, however, on a set piece, as Aaron Herrera played a short corner kick to Pirani, who lifted a great cross to the back post towards a waiting Conner Antley. Antley headed the ball with a low finish, a short-range header, getting his first goal as a member of The Black and Red. 

D.C. looked a lot more threatening offensively towards the end of the first half, getting five shots on target and winning four corner kicks to end the half. 

Cincinnati would be the more offensive team in the second half, creating goal-scoring chances after goal-scoring chances, but D.C.'s defense held steady and repelled Cincinnati’s chances towards goal. 

Cincinnati’s best chance to tie the game came in the 81st minute when Evander tried a shot from distance, but the Brazilian’s shot was saved by Barraza, who sent the ball out for a corner kick. 

D.C. had a chance to put the game to bed in the 93rd minute when a long clearance found Dominique Badji, who raced towards Celentano’s net. Badji took a shot inside the box that ended up hitting the inside of the bar and out; however, the play was called back for an offside. 

“We didn’t allow very many chances against a team that creates a lot of special goals themselves,” Lesesne said. “I thought it was a really concerted effort from the entire team.”

With this result, D.C. United stays in 12th place in the Eastern Conference with 18 points, while Cincinnati remains in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference with 30 points. 

D.C. will host the Chicago Fire at Audi Field in the team’s last game before the break for the FIFA Club World Cup. The game will take place on Saturday, June 7th, with kickoff slated for 7:30 pm.