A winger’s finish, pure and simple
71st minute, tight angle, left foot. Allan Saint-Maximin found the far post to hand Charlotte FC a 2-1 win away to D.C. United on Saturday night in Washington. He celebrated with a backflip.
That was his first MLS goal. Signed this summer as a Designated Player, the 29-year-old Frenchman had spent most of his time setting others up: five assists, no goals. The breakthrough came when Charlotte needed it most.
Ashley Westwood scored the other goal and provided the assist for the winner. The Englishman had put Charlotte ahead in the 22nd minute with a right-footed strike from the edge of the box into the top corner, after a loose clearance from the home defence following a Saint-Maximin cross. He was back after missing two matches through suspension.
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Eight unbeaten, and this is no fluke
Charlotte (12-7-7, 43 points) are now eight games unbeaten: five wins, three draws. The run began soon after the former Lens man arrived. Correlation is not proof, sure, but it is starting to matter in that dressing room.
They did not exactly run the show on Saturday. D.C. United managed 34 shots. Kristijan Kahlina saved 10, a figure that tells the story better than the scoreline: Charlotte spent long spells under the cosh before landing the decisive blow.
Lucas Bartlett levelled in the 47th minute with a header from a Keisuke Kurokawa free-kick, awarded after David Schnegg fouled an opponent near the box. It was the defender’s third goal of the season.
Washington slips further behind
D.C. United (6-8-11, 29 points) are sliding further out of the play-off race. The capital club have not reached the post-season in six years, the longest active drought in MLS. They have only two wins in their last 14 league matches, a run of 2-4-8.
Charlotte have now beaten D.C. twice in less than a month. After a spell at Lens last season, Saint-Maximin is showing in North America what has always defined him, and limited him: when he feels like it, he can change a game. Nobody ever knows when that will be.
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