Wayne Rooney comes to Montreal, D.C. United secures draw against Impact

Julian McKenzie

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Wayne Rooney comes to Montreal, D.C. United secures draw against Impact image

MONTREAL--- You could spot the gaggles of fans who walked up to Stade Saputo wearing Wayne Rooney kits, mostly of the Manchester United variety. Fans in attendance, however, weren't shy from booing Rooney when he touched the ball on Saturday night as his new Major League Soccer team came to Montreal. But the jeers didn’t stop D.C. United from equalizing.

The Montreal Impact settled for a 1-1 draw with D.C. United, who remain last place in the Eastern Conference standings, at Stade Saputo on Saturday night. While the bleu-blanc-noir kept Rooney off the scoresheet, they couldn’t keep former Atlanta United midfielder Yamil Asad from scoring an equalizer in the 70th minute. 

Montreal hosted its fair share of superstar players, for and against, since arriving in the MLS in 2012. Fans typically come out to see these players for the experience, and to say they’ve seen them when they made their foray into MLS. It’s nothing new for Impact ‘keeper Evan Bush. 

“We’ve played big stars,” Bush said. “Drogba was here. We’ve played with [Alessandro] Nesta. Against [Thierry] Henry. We’ve played against Zlatan.” 

MORE: MLS 2018: Montreal Impact TV schedule, fixtures and streams

Rooney is the latest marquee attraction to MLS, joining D.C. United in July on a three-and-a-half year deal worth $13 million. The forward was ultimately dissatisfied that his team couldn’t get all three points against the Impact. 

“We felt we were the better team, had the better chances,” Rooney said. “So we’re disappointed we only got the draw but it’s a good sign that we’ve come away from home and we’re disappointed that we only get the point.” 

The Englishman didn’t score, but was still a threat for his club, nearly scoring on two free kick opportunities. One was saved by Bush, while the other went off the post. In five matches, Rooney has only scored once. 

When Rooney wasn’t in the box to finish a chance, he tried to set up plays from the midfield with a few long balls — a role he grew into during his final years in the Premier League with Manchester United and Everton. He also played all 90 minutes in the contest for the second straight match.

“We all know Wayne has versatility in his game, at this point in his career,” said D.C. United manager Ben Olsen. “We can do a bunch of different things, we’ve played him as a 9 and as a midfielder. But primarily we brought him here to score goals and play the 9 position.” 

“Physically, I feel fine. I think, as I said in the press conference, I’m 32 years old, I’m not 35, 36. I’m still fairly young. Obviously not in mid-20s but I’m still fairly young and I’ve got a lot to give,” 

D.C United were playing from behind in the opening ten minutes of Saturday’s game, and Montreal found themselves in the lead thanks to Matteo Mancosu’s third goal of the year. Saphir Taider found Ignacio Piatti in the box, who fired a shot off a defender’s leg. It pinballed to the foot of Mancosu, who put Montreal in front. 

Asad scored the equalizer in the 70th minute after receiving a pass from winger Luciano Acosta, who sped up the left wing side before crossing the ball into the box. 

In the Montreal locker room, Impact midfielder Samuel Piette treated the night’s result like a loss. The Impact have now drawn two of their last three, but still remain in the playoffs. 

“We could’ve won and got three points,” Piette said. “It might be a point that might save us at the end of the year or two points that we didn’t get tonight and will [keep] us out of the playoffs,” 

Montreal, however, doesn’t have the same mountain that D.C. has to climb. Following the draw, D.C. remained 11 points behind the New England Revolution for the sixth and final playoff spot in the East. 

However, D.C. has picked up at least one point in four of their last six matches and has three games in hand on the Revs. D.C. also has 12 home games left to play, including a seven-game homestand from mid-September to late October.

“Players are responding to what the manager wants,” Rooney said. “Myself and my teammates are getting to know each other better. I feel we’re progressing. Obviously, a lot of games to game. Points to fight for. We’ll take each game as it comes and see where we go from there.” 

Montreal will return to action next Saturday with a road game against Real Salt Lake, while D.C. will host Orlando City SC next Sunday. 

Julian McKenzie