Rooney’s absence looms as D.C. United, Montreal Impact battle to 0-0 draw

D.C. United struggled mightily to break down a compact Montreal Impact side, with the game petering out to a 0-0 draw. The Black-and-Red sorely missed Wayne Rooney, who was suspended after a red card against LAFC, and with the Impact content to break the game down, the sides barely even combined for any shot attempts. Zachary Brault-Guillard’s 55th minute bid from an angle was the only shot on goal on the night by either team.

The less said about the first half, the better. The teams combined for one total shot attempt, and per Opta it was a long-range Luciano Acosta attempt that was blocked in the 18th minute. Montreal slowed the game to a crawl, and United never came close to breaking through their defensive shell.

Minutes after the second half whistle, both sides increased their intensity and offensive efforts. In the 54th minute, Zachary Brault-Guillard raced toward’s United’s box on the right side, leaving Chris McCann to chase after him, and crossed the ball, hoping to reach the back of the net before Bill Hamid slid to make his first important save of the night. McCann was injured on the play as well, with Lucas Rodriguez having to replace him.

United managed to escape the confines of defending for a bit, making their way to Impact’s half but failed to secure any type of successful finish at first. Luciano Acosta attempted to break free from the midfield and race toward Evan Bush, but he was quickly apprehended by Impact’s defense.

Quincy Amarikwa entered the game for Zoltan Stieber, and immediately made a greater impact than the starter. The lively sub, who also got some minutes in against LAFC, raced toward Impact’s box for a loose header that was going wide before Bush opted to corral it anyway.

Minutes before the final whistle, Leonardo Jara went down, having to be replaced by Jalen Robinson. Jara left the field grabbing his shoulder in what could potentially be a problematic injury for United, who may now have four injured fullbacks out for the weekend’s trip to Colorado.

The last 10 minutes saw a defeated United chase the ball around the field, failing to establish a rhythm that could provide dangerous opportunities.

Deep into stoppage time, however, United sent a free kick into their opponent’s box for the game’s most exciting play. Frederic Brillant nodded Acosta’s service down to set up Amarikwa, but his dramatic bicycle kick missed the net by inches.

United will look to break out of their funk this Saturday, as they travel to the Rockies to face the struggling Colorado Rapids.

Box score

MLS Regular Season (Game 6)
D.C. United 0
Montreal Impact 0

Lineups:
DCU (4231): Bill Hamid; Leonardo Jara (Jalen Robinson 90), Frederic Brillant, Steven Birnbaum (C), Chris McCann (Lucas Rodriguez 56); Junior Moreno, Russell Canouse; Zoltan Stieber (Quincy Amarikwa 64), Luciano Acosta, Paul Arriola; Ulises Segura

Impact (433): Evan Bush; Zachary Brault-Guillard, Victor Cabrera, Zakaria Diallo, Dan Lovitz; Shamit Shome, Samuel Piette (C), Saphir Taïder (Micheal Azira 80); Clément Bayiha, Anthony Jackson-Hamel (Orji Okwonkwo 80), Mathieu Choinière (Harry Novillo 84)

Bookings:
DCU - Arriola 27, Jara 40
Impact - Shome 49, Taïder 62