Orlando City looked bereft of offensive ideas despite a lot of possession for the first hour in Charlotte Saturday night, but after going down two goals, the switch flipped and the Lions roared back to claim a road point, coming close to snagging all three. It was good to see the team not quit, but it wasn’t so great to see the team struggle for 60 minutes.

We checked our score predictions — one of us nailed it! — broke down the key moments and players from the game, and split our selections for Man of the Match. We also discuss Ramiro Enrique being honored with a spot on the MLS Team of the Matchday bench.

The mailbagbox asks us about hamburger toppings, Alex Freeman, Orlando City trivia, and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

Following the mailbagbox segment, discuss Alex Freeman’s Gold Cup final performance with the USMNT, which academy players are headed to the MLS NEXT All-Star Game, and OCB’s comeback draw at Crown Legacy. Justin Ellis helped the Young Lions claim a point and Carlos Mercado led the Young Lions to a second in the ensuing shootout.

Finally, we looked ahead to Orlando City’s home game coming up Saturday against CF Montreal. Saturday’s visitors have been poor all season but managed a draw in the first meeting. Plus, the Lions will be without a couple of key cogs on the defensive end. We look at the series history, the tale of the tape, our key matchups, and our score predictions for the match.

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Here’s how No. 489 went down:

0:15 – The Lions finally got going, but only in time to claim a single point in Charlotte.

23:56– The mailbagbox brings forth another slew of important questions for us to answer, and we rap about Alex Freeman and some future OCSC stars.

39:44 – OCB takes two points out of North Carolina, and the Lions get set to host Montreal.

Orlando City’s offensive consistency continues to be inconsistent. Days after scoring four goals that could have been eight, the Lions scored one that should have been at least two. The team has also shipped multiple goals in consecutive games, although that set piece howler on Saturday can hardly be blamed on the defense as a whole.

We checked our score predictions, broke down the key moments and players from the game, and made our selections for Man of the Match.

The mailbagbox wanted us to predict Oscar Pareja’s comfort level with his roster and how many guys on an MLS roster should be relied upon for significant minutes. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

Following the mailbagbox segment, we touched on OCB’s Monday matinee at Philadelphia, which had not yet been played at the time of our recording (we recorded Sunday afternoon because of some scheduling issues). We also discussed Alex Freeman’s selection to the MLS All-Star Team.

Finally, we looked ahead to Orlando City’s matchup on the road at Charlotte. The Lions will have to play well against a difficult conference opponent to get back in the win column. City doesn’t have a great record against the other teams above the playoff line, so maybe a game against the 10th-place team is what the club needs to get three points to erase the memory of that Cincinnati loss. We provide our key matchups, look at where the teams are in the table, and made our score predictions for the match.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 488 went down:

0:15 – The Lions fell at home in a winnable game, and what’s up with these bad goals at home?

22:41– The mailbagbox is small but mighty.

32:59 – OCB hadn’t played yet when we talked about their game Monday afternoon at Philly. Plus, Alex Freeman is an MLS All-Star and the senior side heads to North Carolina.

Orlando City found its shootin’ boots on Wednesday in St. Louis, scoring four goals on the road that could have been double that had a little decision making been better, some shots had been a little more precise, and Roman Burki hadn’t played so well for St. Louis City. As it was, two Lions scored braces, with Ramiro Enrique a bit unlucky not to score his first hat trick for Orlando. The less we say about Ivan Angulo’s failure to give him a tap-in late in the first, the better (but yeah, we discussed it for a bit).

We checked back on our score predictions from earlier this week to see how we did, analyze the key moments and players from the game, and make our selections for Man of the Match. We also talked about which Lions made the MLS Team of the Matchday.

One thing we didn’t discuss was Alex Freeman making the MLS All-Star Team. We’ll get to that later. It’s been a busy week.

The mailbagbox asked about Rafael Santos and bands we’d like to see reunite and go on tour. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

Following the mailbagbox segment, we looked back at another rough outing for OCB against Toronto FC II. The Young Lions were shorthanded, but defensive mistakes handed the visitors a win. We didn’t want to dwell on it too long, but if we had, we would have had to discuss how bad OCB’s pitch looked. What’s up with that?

Finally, we looked ahead to Orlando City’s matchup against FC Cincinnati on Saturday. We provide the series history and the current state of both teams in this six-pointer. We also provide our key matchups and our score predictions for the game.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 487 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City should have cruised to an easier win, but the Lions got the job done and why you no pass ball, Ivan Angulo?

22:41– The questions in our mailbagbox are both soccer-related and not soccer-related.

32:59 – OCB’s loss and Orlando City’s date with Cincy.