D.C. United, Montreal Impact Play Out To Scoreless Draw Without Rooney
D.C. United, Montreal Impact Play Out To Scoreless Draw Without Rooney
With Wayne Rooney and Ignacio Piatti missing, D.C. United and the Montreal Impact played out a drama-less 0-0 tie.
D.C. United had a chance to erase all the bad memories of Saturday's loss to Los Angeles FC on Tuesday night but could only manage a 0-0 draw against the Montreal Impact at Audi Field. The two Eastern Conference foes combined for just one shot on target over the course of the 90 minutes, with that chance falling to the visitors.
With Wayne Rooney out due to suspension, Ben Olsen was forced to make at least one change. He opted for Ulises Segura up top instead of Quincy Amarikwa, hoping that the Costa Rican could provide a physical edge against a Montreal team expected to sit back. Olsen also brought in Zoltan Stieber for his first start of the season in place of Lucas Rodriguez.
Both teams were missing their main attractions, with Ignacio Piatti absent for the visitors with a knee injury. Remi Garde used a rotated squad, with another game on the weekend to worry about. However, the game clearly missed the big names, as neither team could create much excitement on the night.
There was only one credited shot for either team in the first half: a 30-yard effort from Luciano Acosta that was blocked well away from goal. Daniel Lovitz had a dangerous cross in the 33rd minute after receiving the ball on an overlapping run from Mathieu Choiniere, but Bill Hamid claimed the cross.
Frederic Brillant had to race into the box to clear away a ball in the 39th minute, and United ended the half with a slick move, but Paul Arriola couldn't pull the trigger quick enough, and the chance quickly dissipated.
The second half opened up a bit more, but neither team created many genuine scoring chances. Choiniere had a shot blocked just outside the box, and from the rebound, Samuel Piette fancied his chances but sent his long-range effort flying over the bar.
Left back Zachary Brault-Guillard had the only shot on goal over the course of 90 minutes, when he got into the box on a sharp angle in the 55th minute. Hamid had to be equal to the effort, forcing the shot across goal for a corner, which United was able to defend successfully.
Chris McCann went out injured in the second half and was replaced by Rodriguez, with Paul Arriola dropping to left back. Amarikwa then came on for Stieber, who wasn't able to provide much of a spark for the Black-and-Red.
United made a bigger push for the winner later on, but could not find the breakthrough. Arriola's cross from Amarikwa's feed was collected by Evan Bush, who did not have to make a save on the night. A stoppage-time free kick from Acosta was won with a header by Frederic Brillant, with the ball falling to Amarikwa. Sans a better option, Amarikwa tried an overhead kick, which was just off target.
United, with 11 points from six games, is back in action on Saturday, when they travel to face the Colorado Rapids.