Two quick second-half goals earned CF Montreal a 2-2 draw against DC United on Wednesday night at Audi Field.
Upon his return to Washington, after managing DC United for about a year and a half, head coach Hernan Losada had a lucky hand by bringing forward Sunusi Ibrahim into the game in the 61st minute.
In the space of 71 seconds, Ibrahim scored his first MLS goal since October 2021 and served a perfect pass to Ariel Lassiter to give his team an important point.
CF Montreal (6-8-1) recorded their first draw since September 9, 2022, when they also scored two late goals to confirm their place in the playoffs.
Donovan Pines and Theodore Ku-Dipietro hit the mark for the Washington squad, which was looking to regroup after suffering a loss at the hands of Toronto FC in its previous outing.
DC United (5-6-5) missed the chance to sweep the season series against the Bleu-blanc-noir for the first time since 2015. They won 1-0 in Montreal on April 15.
CF Montreal defender Rudy Camacho left the game on a stretcher in the second half after being the victim of a violent contact with forward Christian Benteke. Camacho seemed injured in the chest or shoulder.
The Montreal team will return to action quickly, as they continue their journey by taking on the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night.
An unexpected point
Both teams studied each other like boxers early in the first half, but they were slow to be threatening.
Goalkeeper Tyler Miller made a routine save against Camacho in the 11th minute, while his vis-à-vis Jonathan Sirois did the same against Pedro Santos three minutes later.
CF Montreal managed to build up a few attacks, but most of their long balls didn’t find takers. Lassiter had an opening, but he made a poor control and the counterattack was nipped in the bud.
DC United quietly picked up the pace and ventured into the visitors’ penalty area in the final quarter of the first half. Santos, Derrick Williams and Mateusz Klich knocked on the door, but to no avail.
However, Wayne Rooney’s troupe got their way before returning to the locker room. On a short corner kick, Klich served a fine cross into the penalty area and Pines jumped higher than George Campbell to redirect the ball with a header past Sirois.
The Montrealers wanted to tie the game, but instead got caught defensively in the 59th minute.
DC United skillfully built up their attack in the final third. Victor Palsson placed a cross in the penalty area and the ball touched Joel Waterman before arriving at the feet of Ku-Dipietro. The latter pushed him with his right foot to thwart Sirois.
While we thought the game was settled, the Bleu-blanc-noir showed up offensively. In the 80th minute, Lassiter found Ibrahim’s header to close the gap. Less than two minutes later, it was Ibrahim who set the table for Lassiter, who brought the two teams back to square one.
DC United came close to regaining the lead in the final minutes of the game, but the Montreal defense held on.
