sport news New York City FC 3-2 DC United: Wayne Rooney's side give themselves too much to ... trends now
Wayne Rooney told his DC United players 'there's no chance I'm finishing f***ing bottom again' before the season.
Although it is early days with DC's record 1-1-2 after New York City FC clinched a 3-2 victory, they simply cannot afford a first half like the one on show at the Yankee Stadium on Saturday night, or they will be competing at the wrong end of the table once again.
It wouldn't have been a surprise to hear more expletives sounding in the away locker room from the visiting head coach at the break.
Nick Cushing's NYCFC finished third in the Eastern Conference last season, 28 points above DC, and they have strong foundations. The maturity in their game plus quality on the ball told.
The hosts were sharper in every department and it took them just 17 minutes to open the scoring.
Talles Magno opened scoring inside just 17 minutes, tapping the ball home from close range
Santiago Rodriguez doubled the hosts' lead 20 minutes later after beating the offside trap
Rodriguez is surrounded by his teammates after scoring New York City FC's second goal
It was harder for forward Talles Magno to miss then score when he found himself with the simple task of tapping the ball home from just yards out.
The space was created by Keaton Parks' defense-splitting pass to full-back Braian Cufre on the overlap. New York City were behind DC and Magno was there waiting in the middle for the square pass.
Cufre duly obliged and even though Magno had to reach slightly behind he found the net. But the hosts were made to wait for confirmation after the linesman flagged for offside.
Referee Mark Allatin was sent to the pitch-side monitor to watch the play back after the goal went to video review. After some delay the opening goal was awarded.
Magno had already warned the visitors in the first 10 minutes but he could not get a proper connection on his shot when the ball fell into his path in the area.
Just moments after the deadlock-breaker Matias Pellegrini almost scored what would have been a contender for goal of the season, even at this early stage.
The forward saw
