WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mr. Automatic struck again.
Wayne Rooney’s stoppage-time penalty kick secured a point for D.C. United in a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC at Audi Field Saturday night.
During the course of his club career, Rooney has converted 45 penalty kicks. Only one other attempt went right down the middle, according to Rooney. In 2017, he converted a 77th-minute penalty for Everton against Premier League rival Liverpool with a shot right through the middle to steal a point for his boyhood club.
On Saturday, Rooney went the same way for the rare highlight on an otherwise off-night for the D.C. United captain.
“I [wasn’t] satisfied with my performance tonight,” Rooney said. “But lucky to get away with a draw.”
In the final minutes of the game, that luck fell in United’s favor. Defender Fréderíc Brillant was pulled down inside the box on a corner kick. Originally, play continued, but referee Robert Sibiga went to Video Review and awarded United the penalty kick, which Rooney easily converted for the 92nd-minute equalizer.
“Grabbing a point at home is never fun, but I am happy that the guys dug in and grabbed something there at the end,” D.C coach Ben Olsen said. “It is definitely a penalty.”
United (8-4-7, 31 points) started the game on its back foot and did not look sharp through the first 45 minutes. In his return to D.C., midfielder Nick DeLeon made his mark against his former team and scored the opening goal for Toronto (6-7-5, 23 points). Defender Leonardo Jara left the back post open as the Reds charged down from the right wing. Defender Richie Laryea got a cross in front of D.C. goalkeeper Bill Hamid where DeLeon was wide open. The midfielder easily slotted the ball past Hamid.
In the second half, United’s center backs Steve Birnbaum and Brillant continued to bail out the team and limit the deficit to just one. Hamid also did his part, making four saves, including back-to-back stops in the final 30 minutes. During the first, DeLeon set up midfielder Tsubasa Endoh, who hit a hard shot high. Hamid tipped the ball out of bounds and saved the subsequent corner kick sent in by Alejandro Pozuelo.
In the absence of Joseph Mora due to an ankle sprain, attacking midfielder Zoltan Stieber and defender Chris McCann started on the left side.
“[Mora] is a big miss, but we have to move on. We have to get over it and stop making excuses,” Olsen said. “Someone has to step up and deal with that position. We don’t need to change formations every time or tweak it.”
In the first half, the new left-sided pair lacked speed against Endoh and Laryea. Stieber later switched sides with Ulises Segura on the wing. For 66 minutes, Stieber won balls on the touchline and provide crucial plays to switch the field. He had a few defensive giveaways, but got a chance on goal in the 58th minute. With a pass inside the penalty box, Stieber took one too many touches and had his close-range run stopped by goalkeeper Quentin Westberg.
“Neither [Stieber] nor McCann were set up to succeed. They don’t have the minutes to be at their best,” Olsen said. “That is something you would like, to get them more minutes throughout the season to keep them sharp. I have not been able to do that, so that is on me because I pick the team sheet.”
Olsen started winger Lucas Rodriguez in the defensive midfield position. Down a goal in the final 25 minutes, Olsen sent in natural No. 6 Chris Durkin for Stieber and pushed Rodriguez out wide. This added to United’s attack, but by the time Rodriguez had the space and position to go forward, the rest of the squad looked lethargic on a sticky D.C. summer night.
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“In the second half, I thought we showed a nice effort,” Olsen said. “A nice urgency about us to create attacking positions from the group, but lacked maybe a little of that final spice to get the win.”
United failed several late attempts on goal, totaling 14 shots in the second half before VAR awarded the last minute penalty kick which Rooney converted for the draw. Composure and patience were missing in front of goal, according to Rooney.
“I have played this game a long time and there are nights like tonight where they’re frustrating,” Rooney said. “I am just thankful the game is over and we have come away with a point because we probably didn’t deserve it.”