United’s three-game winning streak came to a halt as the Black-and-Red fell to the New York Red Bulls 1-0 Sunday night at Red Bull Arena.
Alejandro Romero Gamarra scored the only goal of the match for the Red Bulls as they held United scoreless for only the third time in 2018. United captain Wayne Rooney made his 500th league appearance between the English Premier League and Major League Soccer with his sixth start of the season.
After a quick initial surge to open the match, United took control of the game over the Red Bulls, pushing for the opening goal and creating several good chances in the first half.
The best chance came in the 24th minute when Paul Arriola entered the penalty area and sent a short cross to his right where Oniel Fisher headed the ball just slightly over the crossbar.
On the other end, United goalkeeper Bill Hamid was tested twice but held the line to keep the match scoreless at the end of the second half.
In the second half, though, it was the Red Bulls that struck first when Romero Gamarra fired a shot from the top of the box that just barely eluded the reach of Hamid to make it 1-0 for the home side.
United responded in the 66th minute after a scramble in front of the Red Bull net left Rooney with a clear shot from up close. He could not convert, though, as he placed too much power on the shot and sent it just above goal.
Darren Mattocks was later subbed on for Rooney and nearly found the equalizer in the 81st minute when he redirected a Ulises Segura cross just wide of goal.
Despite the late push, the Black-and-Red could not find the equalizer, bringing their three-game winning streak to a close.
The Black-and-Red will quickly put the result behind them as they return to Audi Field on Wednesday Aug. 29th when they host the Philadelphia Union at 8 PM ET on WJLA 24/7 News with a playoff spot still within reach.
