Wayne Rooney began his DC United reign with a dramatic comeback victory as two stoppage-time goals from his team secured a 2-1 victory over Orlando City.
The head coach watched on in a baseball cap as Chris Durkin and Taxiarchis Fountas struck late on, stunning an Orlando side who had led since the ninth minute after Junior Urso s sublime chipped finish.
Durkin fired DC level from close to the penalty spot in the first added minute after the regulation 90 was complete, finding the top-left corner with a first-time finish after meeting Ola Kamara s clever low cutback from the left wing.
A draw would have been a decent result for DC, who sit at the foot of the Eastern Conference, but it got even better as a superb goal won it. A volleyed cross from the left by Kimarni Smith was met 12 yards out by Fountas, and he deftly diverted the ball into the bottom-right corner. It was a team-leading 11th goal of the season for Fountas.
3 s win over Orlando was the 10th time a team won an match after entering stoppage time trailing. D.C. is responsible for 3 of those 10 wins (also vs. Chicago in 2000 and New England in 2003). Turnaround.
— OptaJack (@OptaJack)
It meant that DC United won an MLS game after trailing at half-time for the first time since March 7 2020, when they did so against Inter Miami. That dismal 25-game barren run is over, with the Rooney impact already being felt.
The record goalscorer for Manchester United and England has joined DC – a team where he also had a two-season playing stint – after recently leaving English club Derby County.
Midfielder Ravel Morrison, recruited by Rooney, attempted 96 passes in the game, and that ranks as the highest total for a DC United player in MLS this season.
Orlando had not lost an away game in MLS when leading at half-time since September 22, 2019, the date they allowed a lead to slip against Houston Dynamo.
