Recap: DC United 1, Inter Miami CF 0

Sydney Hunte

Ola Kamara's 72nd-minute penalty kick was all D.C. United needed to defeat nine-man Inter Miami CF 1-0 in front of a sellout crowd at Audi Field on Saturday night.

Already missing Designated Players Rodolfo Pizarro and Gonzalo Higuain for the evening, Miami's difficult night was compounded by second-half red cards for Gregore and Ryan Shawcross.

D.C. were the early aggressor as their press caused issues for Miami, and it nearly paid off in the 11th minute when Julian Gressel's strike from distance snuck over the crossbar. But Miami carved out a few chances of their own thanks to poor possession and a couple of defensive let-offs by D.C., allowing the visitors to grow into the match.

Meanwhile, D.C. saw a glorious opportunity go begging in the 41st minute after a beautiful ball from Gressel found Kamara in front of the net. However, it caught the striker in his midsection and deflected out of play. Moments later, Gressel found Kamara again – this time on a free-kick routine – and the striker's header hammered off the post. On the other end, Bill Hamid made himself big to erase a chance from Brek Shea as the match opened up significantly during first-half stoppage time.

Miami found themselves in trouble come the 55th minute after Gregore was shown his second yellow of the match for hip-checking Kevin Paredes at the near touchline, forcing his side to play a man light the rest of the way. D.C. nearly took advantage in the 65th minute, but saw another chance go begging when Nigel Robertha mis-hit a bicycle pass by Kamara that would have been his first goal with the club.

But the opener finally arrived with less than 20 minutes remaining. After Miami were called for a handball in the box, Kamara stepped up to the penalty spot and delivered, forcing goalkeeper John McCarthy to guess the wrong way.

Miami pushed for the equalizer despite playing with 10 men, though Shawcross' brutal takedown of Joseph Mora in the 84th minute left referee Fotis Bazakos with no choice but to go to his back pocket and brandish a red card to effectively end Miami's hopes.

Goals

72' – DC - Ola Kamara (PK) | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: Without Rodolfo Pizarro and Gonzalo Higuain in the lineup, Inter Miami looked to conquer a capacity crowd at Audi Field and erase the memory of a 3-0 loss to D.C. United three weeks prior. They ended the night with Gregore picking up two yellow cards, Shawcross sent off on a straight red card and a third straight loss. A number of D.C. chances fell to the wayside throughout the night, but they'll be happy with three points and jumping into sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH: It only took one for D.C. After Miami's handball was whistled for a penalty, Kamara redeemed himself and scored from the spot.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Kamara had the only goal, but Gressel was arguably the best player on the field. His service put Miami under constant pressure, and D.C. could have ended the match with several goals.