2019 New England Revolution vs DC United

Late Rooney Penalty Saves A Point For United Against 10-Man Revs

Late Rooney Penalty Saves A Point For United Against 10-Man Revs

D.C. United gave up a goal to the New England Revolution after going up a man, but Wayne Rooney's late penalty split the points.

May 26, 2019 by Steven Streff
Late Rooney Penalty Saves A Point For United Against 10-Man Revs

D.C. United couldn't completely capitalize on a red card for the New England Revolution on Saturday night, needing a late penalty from Wayne Rooney to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Goalkeeper Matt Turner was given a straight red card for clattering into Rooney just outside the box in the 56th minute, only for Juan Agudelo to score the opener five minutes later. United didn't create too much with the man advantage, until Brandon Bye was called for a handball on a video review.

Rooney converted the spot kick in the 90th minute for his eighth goal on the season, giving United a point on the road and returning the Black-and-Red to the top of the Eastern Conference after the Philadelphia Union lost 3-1 at home to the Portland Timbers.

Head coach Ben Olsen made just one change from the side that lost 2-1 to the Houston Dynamo last weekend. With Paul Arriola suspended, Junior Moreno stepped into the starting lineup, returning to the team following the death of his father.

United had to sweat out a video review early on in the game, as referee David Gantar went to the board to check for a penalty on a handball on Russell Canouse. The ball struck the midfielder's hand, but occurred when Canouse was trying to get his arm in behind his back. That motion from Canouse led to Gantar not awarding a penalty to the hosts.

Neither team had a particularly good start to the game, with the result being few chances in the first half. Tajon Buchanan and Carles Gil couldn't keep shots on the frame for the Revs, and Rooney had a free kick from a promising position smack off the wall.

In the 30th minute, a free kick from Gil did cause a moment of madness in front of United's goal, as the ball wasn't immediately cleared away. The play resulted in Marquinhos Pedroso blocking a shot from Bye to help eliminate the danger. Frederic Brillant got on the end of a free kick from Rooney in first half stoppage time, but his redirection was saved by Turner.

The game opened up in the second half a far cry from the previous 45 minutes. The sides exchanged chances, until Gantar did not hesitate to send off Turner in the 56th minute. The keeper didn't have a good sight of the ball when he jumped into Rooney, earning his marching orders.

Brad Knighton came in off the bench and immediately had to deal with a free kick from Rooney, which he was able to parry away from danger.

Two minutes after Knighton made the save on Rooney, the Revs took the lead, with Agudelo outmuscling Pedroso at the far post. The delivery from Cristian Penilla allowed Agudelo to create space, and then head the ball past Bill Hamid for the 1-0 lead.

Lucas Rodriguez almost had an immediate equalizer, as he slalomed through New England's defense to get into the box. But just as he was going to take a shot, Bye slid in to clear the danger away, denying the Argentine an opportunity.

Olsen brought on Zoltan Stieber and Quincy Amarikwa, looking to change the outcome of the game. There were a couple of chances, but the Revolution were mostly doing a good job of limiting opportunities for United. 

That was until a penalty was awarded late in the game. Steven Birnbaum had gone up on a play to help aid the attack and fired a shot off in the box and immediately argued for a penalty. Play continued the other way, but after Penilla sent a shot wide, Gantar went back to look at the incident and awarded a penalty.

In the last minute of regulation, Rooney stepped up to the spot, and though Knighton was able to get his hands on the shot, converted the penalty to earn a point on the road for the Black-and-Red.

After picking up two points from three games on the road, United return to action at Audi Field on Wednesday, hosting the Chicago Fire.