Thoughts
This was a game that was truly a cliché of a game of two halves. The 1st half, well that excruciatingly painful, up until the 43rd minute when Arriola whipped the ball in for Leo Jara to get his 1st goal for the Black and Red. Everyone was abysmal in the 1st half. It was difficult watching it and felt like DC of 2014-2017 era. Lackluster, passes going wayward, zero chemistry, it was just poor. That’s me being kind. Birnbaum was a few steps behind the New England attackers, Canouse and Moreno were just standing around, and when they got the ball, found a man in white more often than not. Rooney was being marked out of the game and just nothing was happening. We conceded a very early goal in which Hamid should be very disappointed over, positioning wasn’t the best and despite getting a touch on it, still went in. For the 2nd, nobody was picking up Gil, shot was saved by Hamid only for Gil to be free and slot home the rebound. The Boo’s were ringing around the ground, something I’ve not heard at Audi Field before, especially against our own players, but it was deserved. Then things picked up, Arriola got on the ball more, and the 43rd minute rolled around, Arriola down the left, whips the ball in, Jara was unmarked at the far post and hits it into the roof of the net. Gave Olsen something to work with.
2nd half kicked off, and it was like it was a different team. A team that had the will and passion to get something out of it, we had early chances, and then, the ref who everyone loves to hate, Ted Unkel, he made a decision which went in favour of DC (who’d have thought that?). He gave Wilfried Zahibo his 2nd yellow card in the space of 14 minutes. This was a turning point, as it seemed we then had complete control of the game. We were turning the screw. Rooney had a golden opportunity to tie the game but from 6 yards out decided to hit it over the bar.
Chance after chance came and it looked like it was going to be a painful defeat, but then, Rooney is on a free kick, we are into the 86th minute, he whips the ball in, Quincy Amarikwa volley’s it from an unnatural position into the back of the net. Game tied 2-2. Dodgy celebration to boot too. This is how the game finished and to be honest, it felt like the right result. Both teams had a half where they performed badly. No team deserved a win.
Key Points
- Steven Birnbaum made his 150th regular season appearance for D.C. United; his 55th consecutive start.
- Paul Arriola returned to the starting lineup for the first time since the 1-1 draw against San Jose on June 1. He was representing the USMNT at the Gold Cup.
- Donovan Pines returned to the starting lineup for the first time since the 3-1 victory over Columbus Crew on May 4.
- Leonardo Jara scored his first goal for the Black-and-Red in the 43rd minute off an assist from Paul Arriola.
- Quincy Amarikwa scored his first MLS goal for D.C. United in the 87th minute off an assist from Wayne Rooney.
- D.C. United are now 5-2-5 at Audi Field this season.
- The Black-and-Red are in second place in the Eastern Conference.
- D.C. United are undefeated in their last seven MLS matches at Audi Field.
Man of the Match
Up next is FC Cincinnati at the Nippert Stadium on July 18th 2019.