It was foggy and humid, but that didn’t slow anyone down. It started off a million miles per hour, as expected in the first game since the boots were hung up last October for both D.C. United and Toronto FC. Black-and-Red saw the better of the first ten minutes, with Nick DeLeon showing his skill and explosiveness, giving both Manny Aparicio and Chris Mannella a handful to deal with right out of the gate.
WATCH: Re-watch tonight's match
Once Toronto got going, though, the game seemed to even out, with Andrew Dykstra having to make a few big saves in the next 20 minutes.
With a new mix of faces in United’s backline, a little disorganization led to a good chance for TFC in the 34th minute, as Aparicio got off a cross to the back post, but the flag went up as Dysktra made an acrobatic save on the goal line.
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United had to stay organized to keep a clean sheet heading into halftime, as TFC had a few free kicks in the final 15 minutes. Dwayne De Rosario had the closet chance off a set piece, driving the ball just over the cross bar.
The second half saw new faces for both sides, with D.C. United and Toronto showing completely new line ups. As the fog cleared, so did the nerves, it seemed, as the pace of the game slowed back down a bit.
As Toronto’s center backs Daniel Henry and Gale Agbossoumonde made things difficult for United’s Michael Seaton, Christiano Francois took some of the pressure off, taking advantage of defenders on their heels and showing off his speed and skill.
Joe Willis and Jared Jeffrey, being the most experienced players for the Black-and-Red in the second half, worked hard to keep everyone organized as TFC had a few good chances on United’s net.
As the clocked wound down to the 85th minute, Kene Eze beat Steven Birbaum down the left side and found Bright Dike’s feet at the six. Dike beat Willis with one touch to put TFC up 1-0.
The Black-and-Red returns to the IMG Academy stadium field on Saturday, February 8 at 7pm to face the Chicago Fire. United’s second match will also be streamed on dcunited.com/live.
