Wayne Rooney’s first match in charge of D.C. United did not go as planned with the home team conceding in the opening 10 minutes. It finished with Rooney and his players celebrating an important result after scoring two-stoppage time goals to fight back at home.
Stoppage time goals from Chris Durkin and Taxi Fountas helped D.C. United earn a 2-1 result over Orlando City on Sunday, handing Rooney his first MLS managerial victory. Junior Urso’s stellar opener propelled the visitors into an early lead at Audi Field, but D.C. United fought its way back to claim a first league win since July 4.
It was an important result for D.C. United ahead of a busy week of action against Charlotte FC on Wednesday before facing rivals New York Red Bulls back home on Aug. 6.
Minnesota United’s hot run of form was put to the test on Saturday with the Portland Timbers doing everything they could to leave Allianz Field with one point in an eight-goal thriller.
Giovanni Savarese’s squad earned a 4-4 draw with the Loons on Saturday in a match which finished tied in each half. Luis Amarilla and Sebastian Blanco both finished with braces on the afternoon as the Loons remained in the top three of the Western Conference.
Despite holding onto a 3-1 lead at halftime, Minnesota United watched as Kemar Lawrence’s own goal swing momentum into the Timbers’ favor. Amarilla’s second goal of the afternoon was good enough to help the Loons extend their unbeaten run to seven matches while the Timbers’ current unbeaten streak extended to eight.
Inter Miami used a hat trick from Gonzalo Higuain paired with a stoppage time equalizer from Christopher McVey to earn a 4-4 draw of its own against FC Cincinnati. Brenner and Brandon Vazquez both registered multi-goal performances for Pat Noonan’s squad, but FC Cincy failed to snap a seven-match winless run by conceding late at DRV PNK Stadium.
The Philadelphia Union earned their fifth-straight win on Saturday by rolling past the Houston Dynamo 6-0 at Subaru Park. Mikael Uhre scored twice, Daniel Gazdag netted his 11th league goal of the season, and Jim Curtin’s squad moved three points clear of New York City FC with the result.
Austin FC rebounded from last weekend’s home loss to the New York Red Bulls by downing Sporting KC 2-0 away from home. Alex Ring broke the deadlock before halftime while Sebastian Driussi’s stoppage time insurance goal was all the second-year franchise needed to stay right behind LAFC.
Elsewhere, Real Salt Lake used a Jefferson Savarino equalizer to steal one point from San Jose while FC Dallas made it back-to-back wins after downing the L.A. Galaxy at home.
Here is a closer look at this weekend’s MLS results:
Sunday
D.C. United 2, Orlando City 1
(Chris Durkin 90+1′, Taxi Fountas 90+5′) – (Junior Urso 9′)
Man of the Match: Taxi Fountas played the hero role for D.C. United once again vs. Orlando City, scoring the winning goal in the 95th minute at Audi Field.
Moment of the Match: D.C. United scored two stoppage-time goals to complete a heroic comeback in sloppy conditions, a result desperately needed with the Eastern Conference club bottom of the conference.
Match to Forget: Benji Michel got the starting nod in Orlando City’s attack, but finished with seven lost duels, one yellow card, and only one shot on goal in his 89 minutes on the field.
Saturday
Minnesota United 4, Timbers 4
(Franco Fragapane 9′, Bongokuhle Hlongwane 21′, Luis Amarilla 41′, 69′) – (Sebastian Blanco 1′, 50′, Jaroslaw Niezgoda 53′, Kemar Lawrence (OG) 65′)
Man of the Match: Sebastian Blanco willed the Timbers to stay in the match, scoring a in the first minute of the match and giving the Timbers some new life five minutes into the second half.
Moment of the Match: Luis Amarilla salvaged a draw for the Loons in the 69th minute with a header at the back post.
Match to Forget: Dayne St. Clair allowed a weakly hit ball to trickle past him as the Timbers came all the way back from a two-goal deficit to lead 4-3 in the 65th minute.
Fire 0, Atlanta United 0
Man of the Match: Xherdan Shaqiri created the most chances and drew the most fouls for the Fire.
Moment of the Match: Shaqiri looked to have given the Fire a second-half lead, but VAR waived off the goal due to offsides.
Match to Forget: Josef Martinez missed his only shot in the match and had only 23 touches, the fewest for any player.
CF Montreal 0, NYCFC 0
Man of the Match: Lassi Lappalainen was the deadliest attacker for both teams at Stade Saputo, winning the most duels, creating the most chances, and completing the most tackles.
Moment of the Match: Djordje Mihailovic had the only shot on goal for either team, but Sean Johnson was up to the task.
Match to Forget: Santiago Rodriguez played in the No. 10 role for NYCFC, but was ineffective, losing 10 duels.
Union 6, Dynamo 0
(Daniel Gazdag 23′, Jack McGlynn 42′, Mikael Uhre 45+1′, 48′, Julian Carranza 55′, Quinn Sullivan 89′)
Man of the Match: Mikael Uhre scored twice and was a menace all night for the Union attack.
Moment of the Match: Jack McGlynn’s wonderfully-placed free kick continued to help the Union pile on against the Dynamo.
Match to Forget: Defensive veterans Tim Parker and Daniel Steres were both out of sync defensively in the loss, which is a major worry going forward.
Charlotte FC, Crew – Abandoned
*Match was abandoned due to inclement weather.
Inter Miami 4, FC Cincinnati 4
(Gonzalo Higuain 23′, 37′, 45+5′, Christopher McVey 90+7′) – (Brenner 28′, 40′, Brandon Vazquez 81′, 86′)
Man of the Match: Gonzalo Higuain stepped up in a major way for Inter Miami, netting a hat trick in a thrilling 4-4 home draw.
Moment of the Match: Just when FC Cincinnati thought it would steal three points from DRV PNK Stadium, Christopher McVey scored in the 97th minute to help the hosts earn one point at the death.
Match to Forget: Ryan Sailor was picked apart by the FC Cincinnati attack, struggling to deal with Brenner and Brandon Vazquez in attack.
Nashville SC 1, Whitecaps 1
(Teal Bunbury 17′) – (Javain Brown 87′)
Man of the Match: Hany Mukhtar did everything he could for the Nashville SC attack, assisting on the club’s only goal of the match, to go along with a dominant individual performance.
Moment of the Match: Javain Brown’s late goal helped the Whitecaps pick up one point from Geodis Park in their first-ever trip to the new stadium.
Match to Forget: It was a sloppy debut for Shaq Moore, who lost eight duels in his 63 minutes on the field.
Revolution 0, Toronto FC 0
Man of the Match: Djordje Petrovic was the star for the Revolution, making three saves including a penalty stop on Lorenzo Insigne late in the second half of Saturday’s draw.
Moment of the Match: Insigne came close to scoring his first MLS goal but was left frustrated after being denied by Petrovic in the 81st minute.
Match to Forget: Sebastian Lletget offered little to the Revolution attack on Saturday night, losing four duels and lacking the cutting edge in the final third.
Sporting KC 0, Austin FC 2
(Alex Ring 45+1′, Sebastian Driussi 90′)
Man of the Match: Brad Stuver kept a clean sheet with four saves, while Austin FC’s offense had no trouble getting forward. However, the attack jumped offside too often and was saved by a stunning error by Sporting KC goalkeeper John Pulskamp.
Moment of the Match: Alex Ring’s goal from outside the box, which slipped through Pulskamp’s hands, capped a frustrating half for Austin FC. Austin seemed to score two goals prior to Ring’s, but both were called offside.
Match to Forget: Cam Duke received two yellow cards in the space of four minutes, leaving Sporting KC shorthanded as Austin FC took the lead.
FC Dallas 1, Galaxy 0
(Franco Jara 9′)
Man of the Match: FC Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes stood strong as the Galaxy kept control of the run of play. He stopped Dejan Joveljic’s penalty kick in the 65th minute and made three total saves.
Moment of the Match: Marco Farfan supplied a neat assist to Franco Jara for the game’s only goal in the ninth minute.
Match to Forget: Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez had four shots in this game, but failed to put one on target as the Galaxy squandered plenty of chances.
Earthquakes 2, Real Salt Lake 2
(Cristian Espinoza 12′ pk’, Jeremy Ebobisse 62′) – (Jasper Loffelsend 21′, Jefferson Savarino 90+5′)
Man of the Match: Cristian Espinoza led the Quakes’ effort, scoring a penalty kick early. His assist of Jeremy Ebobisse’s goal showed his awareness and ability to play the final ball as Zack MacMatch had strayed from his line.
Moment of the Match: Jefferson Savarino continues to show his value for RSL. Savarino scored in the final minutes of the game to save a point on the road.
Match to Forget: Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski found himself in no man’s land to allow Jasper Loffelsend to lob a shot over him in the first half. In stoppage time, he got a hand to Jefferson Savarino’s shot but could not tip it away from the goal.
Friday
LAFC 2, Sounders 1
(Kwadwo Opoku 35′, Carlos Vela 44′) – (Jesus Murillo OG 14′)
Man of the Match: Jose Cifuentes was a live-wire for LAFC, assisting on its winning goal while also winning the most duels (8).
Moment of the Match: Carlos Vela’s winning goal proved to be the difference as LAFC grinded its way back from an early deficit to stay top of the Supporters’ Shield race.
Match to Forget: Nouhou Tolo struggled to deal with Carlos Vela, losing five duels and eventually watching the remainder of the match from the sidelines after being substituted off.
Timbers first goal was in .13 seconds!
9 yellow cards and 33 fouls in the second half
Leading 3-1 the Loons decided to start the half aggressively pressing the Timbers. Two possessions the Timbers struggled with the press but eventually made passes to beat the initial line and open up the field to attack. What was Heath thinking with a two goal lead?