D.C. United returns to action with uneventful scoreless draw at FC Cincinnati

Coach Ben Olsen said he was “happy with the point. Certainly three were there. If you look at the first half, our structure caused them some real issues. . . . That’s disappointing because we’ve been starved for goals, and we all know that. . . . The final 30 yards is just not there.”

This marked the third stage of MLS’s regular season: The first took place over two weekends before the pandemic shutdown in March. The next was last month in the group stage of the MLS is Back Tournament at Disney World. And the third, with geographical considerations to minimize travel, started Friday with the first of 18 planned matches through early November.

On Tuesday, United (1-2-3) will play its first game at Audi Field in more than five months, against the New England Revolution (1-1-4).

To lower the coronavirus travel risk, United chartered into Cincinnati on Friday morning and departed two hours after the match.

D.C. created some decent early chances but remained without a first-half goal this season. The second half brought fresh legs but few threats against Cincinnati (2-3-1).

“You can see we are making some good moves, but we’re not really getting into the dangerous spots, into the side of the box or even the top of the box to create clear chances,” midfielder Julian Gressel said. “We controlled the game pretty well in the back. We did a good job of controlling the tempo, especially in the first half. It’s just the last couple passes are sometimes missing.”

The best chance was produced by the hosts in the 84th minute. Allan Cruz set up Jürgen Locadia behind the defense for an angled effort that struck the far post.

Olsen’s starting lineup offered surprises in both personnel and formation.

Left wing Kevin Paredes, 17, made his first league start after a strong showing as a substitute in Florida. Donovan Pines, a homegrown center back from the University of Maryland, made not only his first start of the year but also his first appearance.

United typically plays with four in the back; on this night, Olsen went with a three-man backline, centered by Pines.

“It was a good transition to this formation, and it started to work for us,” Pines said after the first shutout of the season.

United typically plays with one forward; here, Ola Kamara and Ulises Segura were up front.

Those decisions left Joseph Mora, the usual left back, and attacker Edison Flores, United’s high-priced acquisition last winter, on the bench. Flores struggled to find his way at the MLS tournament, and with a lingering injury keeping him out of full training until last week, he was left out.

“We need more out of him, and we’re going to get it out of him,” Olsen said of Flores, who entered in the 60th minute.

The match was played at the University of Cincinnati’s football stadium, which welcomed an average of more than 27,000 for MLS games last year. Advertising tarps covered the lower rows of stands facing the primary TV camera; absent supporters decorated the sections behind the north goal with colorful banners.

United was the early aggressor. Pines used his 6-foot-5 height to head Gressel’s free kick off the top of the crossbar, and Segura tested Cincinnati goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton with a one-timer.

The hosts rarely crossed into D.C.’s end. United’s possession, though, did not amount to much. A piercing pass or imaginative run was needed to unlock the resistance.

Early in the second half, Gressel wasted a promising combination with Kamara on the counterattack.

After Flores and Mora came on, Federico Higuaín, a 35-year-old super sub at the Florida tournament. followed in the 75th minute. Then there was homegrown Griffin Yow, 17, and Mohammed Abu for his D.C. debut.

But there was nothing to show for the effort.

“Tactically it was a nice battle,” Olsen said. “We get a shutout on the road, and if we can continue to do that, we’ll be in good shape. We like shutouts.”

Notes: Felipe Martins, a starting defensive midfielder, served a one-game league suspension for serious foul play in the last match at the tournament. …

Oniel Fisher and Chris Odoi-Atsem, candidates to start at left or right back, did not travel because of undisclosed injuries.

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