Marcelino Moreno clearly likes playing at Audi Field, last night he delivered the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time to give Atlanta United a 1-0 victory over D.C. United.
Atlanta won a corner in the 94th minute, Brooks Lennon took the kick. He would find Moreno in the middle of the box where he got free of his marker and headed the ball to the far post. It seemed as if Canouse would clear it, but he left it for the keeper. The ball trickled into the net to give the visitors all three points from this match.
Both Bill Hamid and Brad Guzan came up big for their teams in key moments for much of the match, it was a hard fought contest and Atlanta was able to take advantage of an opportunity where D.C. United was not. There were a ton of fouls in this match as it was officiated rather tightly.
" Very equal for most of it" is how Black-and-Red manager Hernan Losada saw the game. Both he and Steven Birnbaum talked about how "unfortunate" it was that a set piece ended up costing them points. Steven on defending set pieces and overall said "We just need to execute."
It was the third consecutive loss for D.C. United after starting the year with back-to-back wins.
In terms of positives to take from last night's result, Losada said he liked the "intensity and mentality" that his group played with. Up next D.C. United will host Austin FC on April 16th.
Thoughts
Robertha - Felt like he had a good showing last night, obviously not perfect but he showed how his pace, skill, and strength at times. He did a solid job in holdup play, but he played a huge part in his team earning 10 corners. He and Kamara haven't yet fully got on the same page, but there were a few moments in where they combined well. Against a team like Atlanta, Nigel showed that he does in fact have qualities that can help this group.
Durkin - It was great to see him return and thought he had a solid night. The trio of he, Canouse and Djeffal is intriguing. Would definitely like to see that group get more time together. Losada talked about the trio and said they work hard and fight but he doesn't count on them to be a big part of the attack from a statistical standpoint. While I get that sentiment, that may not be true once the sort out that group up front and get the best combo going. Both Durkin and Djeffal do a good job of seeing the full field, with the right group up front they could in fact play a bigger role in the attack.
Defense - I thought the Black-and-Red defended well for all but 30 seconds last night. Against a side like Atlanta, your keeper is going to have to make a few saves as you're not going to keep them without chances for 90 minutes. However, they have to tighten up as it pertains to defending set pieces. Failure in doing so has cost them two results.
Attack - It still has to be sorted out, especially with the new additions. We've seen a bit of Estrada already, haven't yet seen Fountas and definitely haven't had those two on the field with Flores yet. D.C. has to figure out the best combination up front, the good news is that it is incredibly early in the season. Just five games in, but they have to find a group that can and will capitalize on opportunities in the final third.