Kwadwo Opoku provided an assist as Los Angeles FC secured a 2-0 victory over Austin FC on matchday one of the 2021 Major League Soccer season.
Ghanaian forward Opoku came off the bench to make a meaningful contribution for the Black and Gold while his compatriot and teammate Latif Blessing started the encounter.
The first half started with both sides aiming to outwit each other but missed a number of scoring chances and it ended without goals.
Corey Baird then opened the scoring in the 61st minute for Los Angeles FC with a fine strike after he was set up by Danny Musovsk.
Moments before the end of the game, Opoku then set up Jose Cifuentes to seal the victory for Bob Bradley’s men at Banc of California Stadium and ensured they started the MLS season on a winning note.
Meanwhile, South Africa international Kamohelo Mokotjo featured prominently as FC Cincinnati played out a 2-2 draw with Nashville SC.
Mokotjo started the encounter and made a key contribution for the Orange and Blue to ensure they avoided defeat at Nissan Stadium.
Luciano Acosta put Jaap Stam’s men in front in the eighth minute before Brenner da Silva doubled their lead four minutes later from the penalty spot.
Jhonder Cadiz reduced the deficit for Nashville SC in the 20th minute before Randall Leal scored a 64th-minute equalizer.
Mokotjo featured for 90 minutes, had 48 touches on the ball, and made six clearances before he was replaced by Haris Medunjanin.
Elsewhere, Nigeria’s Nnamdi Offor and Cameroon’s Wilfrid Kaptoum were also in action in Chicago Fire’s 2-2 draw with New England Revolution.
Offor started the encounter for Raphael Wicky’s men while Kaptoum made a second-half appearance for the Revs at SeatGeek Stadium.
Chicago Fire hit the ground running and got two goals in the opening 11 minutes through Robert Beric and Luka Stojanovic.
They, however, took their foot off the pedal, allowing New England Revolution to launch a comeback in the encounter.
Adam Buksa reduced the deficit in the 12th minute for the Revs before Gustavo Bou levelled proceedings after receiving an assist from Tajon Buchanan.
With no further goals, the game ended with a share of points.
Offor played for 75 minutes before making way for Miguel Navarro, while Kaptoum was on parade for seven minutes after replacing Thomas McNamara.
The African stars will be expected to make a more impactful contribution for their respective clubs in their next MLS games.