Washington, Aug 13 (IANS) Wayne Rooney was at his prolific best as DC United secured a dramatic last-gasp 3-2 win over 10-man Orlando in the Major League Soccer (MLS) here.
Former Manchester United and England captain Rooney provided a 96th-minute assist for Luciano Acosta to score the decisive goal and help the club stay in contention for a play-offs berth on Sunday.
Rooney, 32, first charged back from the edge of the penalty area and made a goal-saving sliding tackle, only to get up and provide a long-range pass that teed up Acosta for the decisive goal.
The strike sealed a hat-trick for Acosta.
“It was strange, we went from losing to winning in five seconds,” Rooney was quoted as saying by BBC.
“They’re the best games of football to win. Of course, we should’ve done better against 10 men so it’s something we can look to improve.”
DC United said their player went into “beast mode”, while MLS tweeted: “Are you kidding Wayne Rooney? Amazing.”
England’s record goalscorer added: “To be honest, I saw it happen before we took the corner.
“I normally go in the box for corners, that’s why I stayed out because I tried to anticipate something like that happening.
“I’ve seen it before in football. You just run as quick as you can trying to get back. I was hoping he’d take a touch and he did.”
–IANS
dm/gau/bg
