D.C. United’s vital match against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night was as wicked and wild as the weather, and when the bitter MLS rivals were done making unbridled forays in the wind and rain at Audi Field, United’s playoff outlook had taken another bruising hit.
With Christian Benteke recording a first-half hat trick, United busted out of its scoring funk, but sloppy defending against an unaccomplished attack resulted in a 5-3 defeat.
After the teams combined for six goals in the first half, the Red Bulls went ahead in the 58th minute on Sean Nealis’s header and sealed the outcome in stoppage time on John Tolkin’s goal to end a five-game winless rut.