If you play Football Manager enough, you play plenty of games where the after-match comment is “a bore draw.” That appeared to be where Orlando City’s road game at CF Montreal was headed until a mistake by Robin Jansson in added time led to a penalty which opened the scoring for the hosts. They tacked on another late in stoppage time and the Lions will return home for a three-game set (one of them in the U.S. Open Cup) sore from Saturday’s 2-0 loss to CF Montreal.

Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in their matchup with the Quebecois.

Starters

GK, Maxime Crépeau, 5.5 — With 25 shots by Montreal, one would’ve figured Crepeau was busy. Not really — he finished with three saves. A goalkeeper is almost never responsible for being scored on from the penalty spot, but Dagur Dan Thorallsson’s goal at the death is one Crepeau will want back, although in fairness it was perfectly placed. The Canadian goalkeeper finished with a 72.7% passing rate and was helped out after being rounded by Prince Owusu in a 1-v-1 opportunity that his teammates should never have allwoed for what would have been a goal if not for Iago’s sliding block to clear it off the line.

D, Adrián Marin, 5.5 — Marin got caught ball-watching in the 34^th minute to allow a Wiki Carmona rocket that just went wide. Otherwise, he just didn’t impact the game one way or the other. Marin completed 87.8% of his passes and added one tackle, one block, and three clearances.

D, Robin Jansson, 5 — Jansson played his normal emergency role all game. Unfortunately, he got put off-balance in the first minute of added time in the second half and fell into the legs of Luca Petrasso, giving a penalty. It was a rough ending for the captain, but Orlando left the door open for Montreal and the hosts took it. The Swede also couldn’t close down Thorhallsson to prevent the second late Montreal goal. Jansson completed 78.7% of his passes, with one tackle, 10(!) clearances, and one block.

D, Iago, 6 — We saw both sides of Iago. He had a really nice pass in the 17th minute to free up Eduard Atuesta on goal but the Colombian missed the target to waste Orlando’s best chance of the game. The Brazilian’s biggest highlight moment was in the 76^th minute, when Owusu dribbled past Crepeau for an open look at goal but Iago was there to clear it off the line. On the flip side, he also had a dangerous header defending a corner that almost created an own goal, instead hitting the left post. He got pulled wide in the first minute of the second half, allowing a dangerous shot by Owusu. On the offensive end, he got on the end of a corner but headed it right at Thomas Gillier. He was all over the place, which you can expect from a young player. He would’ve gotten a higher grade had the game finished scoreless because of his goal-line clearance and a couple of sparkling long balls that should have led to more. Alas. He finished with zero interceptions or tackles, three blocks, six clearances, and a 92.3% passing rate. He also picked up a yellow card in the sixth minute of added time in the second half preventing a counter on one of his attacking teammates’ many turnovers.

D, Griffin Dorsey, 5.5— While Orlando City was heavily weighted to the left side all game, when the Lions went down the right, it was through Dorsey. He led the break down that side multiple times but had trouble connecting. Dorsey finished with one tackle, three clearances, and one cross while passing at a 79% rate.

MF, Iván Angulo, 4.5 — When Angulo whiffed on a ball in the seco^nd minute which caused a Montreal counter, it was an indicator of the night to come. He was sloppy all game long and, by The Mane Land’s unofficial tally, turned the ball over eight times, with the majority of those coming in his own defensive half. It was an ugly night that looked a touch better when Tyrese Spicer departed, changing Angulo’s duties, but it didn’t wipe out a forgettable match. He finished with 90.2% passing, despite being loose with the ball. He was two out of six for successful dribbles and two out of seven in winning ground duels.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 5.5 — A major part of the toothlessness of the Lions in the match was the midfield play. While Atuesta had a 95% passing rate, the only real impact he had was in the 17^th minute, when Iago broke him free with a great pass. Atuesta made a well-timed run, but he ended up doing nothing with it when he sent his shot wide of goal. He had a turnover in the fourth minute to leave Montreal with a 3-on-2 break, leaving me to wonder if it was going to be one of those nights for him. Luckily no, but there was no real contribution either. He picked up a yellow card in the 62^nd, was dispossessed once, and committed four fouls.

MF, Braian Ojeda, 5.5— Atuesta’s midfield partner also had trouble linking the play but contributed a touch more defensively. His sloppy handling in the 41^st minute allowed Montreal to keep possession and created a corner. In the end, he finished with one tackle, one block, one clearance, and a 90% passing rate.

MF, Tyrese Spicer, 6— Unfortunately, most of Spicer’s contributions came on the defensive end this game because he could never get himself in the flow offensively. While he was 10-for-11 passing, he attempted two shots, one right at the goalkeeper and the other that missed so badly it almost went behind the net without hitting anything. He had just two touches in the opposition box. His biggest highlight was a tackle in the 23^rd minute to end a dangerous Montreal possession. He was replaced in the 67^th minute by Duncan McGuire. Spicer finished with a 91% passing success rate, led the team in tackles with four, and added two interceptions.

F, Martín Ojeda, 5 — This grade may be a bit harsh. However, when you are a Designated Player, you have to contribute, and Martin Ojeda was invisible at best. With 44 total passes, he was the one having to compensate for the lack of midfield control and it showed by his lack of offensive contribution. He had zero touches in the opposition box, which is not going to be a recipe for Orlando City success. Martin took one shot that was on target and passed at a 91% rate.

F, Justin Ellis, 6.5 (MotM)— Someone has to win Man of the Match. Ellis almost wins it by default as his overall play was the only positive thing all game. While his stats were mediocre, and there was not one moment you can pick to point to, he was the most talented when on the ball, tracked back to collect the ball occasionally, did more to link play than the midfield did, and just didn’t have a negative impact. He was replaced in the 80^th by David Brekalo and finished with a 94% passing rate, was four-for-four on successful dribbles, and went five-for-six on ground duels won.

Substitutes

F, Duncan McGuire (67′), 5— McGuire started out playing out of position on the wing and while asked to pick up the offense, McGuire was unable to show anything of promise. Dorsey found him in the 88^th minute with a cross, but McGuire turned down a quick shot and held the ball too long while deciding, and he ended up taking a low angle shot that had been there from the beginning that ended up harmless. He passed at a 75% rate and had three touches in the opposition box, turning those into a measly 0.05 expected goals. One of his touches on a promising attack was heavy and wasted the opportunity to get a shot off late in the game.

D, David Brekalo (80′), N/A — Brekalo came on for Ellis with a few minutes remaining, maybe a tactical choice to see out the draw. He completed all seven of his passes and had one clearance. He was not able to do anything to prevent Montreal’s two late goals, but he wasn’t the only one.

MF, Tiago (90′+5), N/A — Tiago entered right after the penalty to try to claw back a goal. Unfortunately, he whiffed on a 50/50 ball just moments before Thorhallsson ended up scoring the game’s second goal. He wasn’t on long enough to issue a grade, however.

D, Zakaria Taifi (90′+5), N/A — The best thing you can say about Taifi’s time is that he didn’t turn the ball over conceding a goal in the five minutes he was on the field.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s loss to CF Montreal. Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida, and belated happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there. I spent the weekend in Texas catching up with friends and family. Let’s wish a happy birthday to Orlando City goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, who turns 32 today. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Fall to CF Montreal

Orlando City fell 2-0 to CF Montreal at Stade Saputo Saturday on a pair of late goals. After a scoreless first half, the Lions were minutes away from escaping with a point on the road but conceded twice in stoppage time, with former Lion Dagur Dan Thorhallsson adding the insurance goal for Montreal as Orlando City left Canada with zero points. The Lions could not capitalize on their few scoring chances throughout the match. Orlando City returns home for its next match on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Union at Inter&Co Stadium.

Banda’s Late Goal Lifts Pride Over Courage

The Orlando Pride defeated the North Carolina Courage 1-0 at Inter&Co Stadium Friday, as Barbra Banda scored the lone goal late in the second half to help the Pride secure a much-needed win, snapping their two-match losing streak. Banda scored her eighth goal of the season, and she has scored five goals in the last three matches. The Pride will be on the road this week, facing the Boston Legacy Tuesday at Gillette Stadium, followed by another match Saturday against the Denver Summit at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

OCB Beats Atlanta United 2 on the Road

Orlando City B defeated Atlanta United 2 with a goal in each half, winning 2-0 at Turner Soccer Complex in Athens, GA Sunday. Gustavo Caraballo scored the opening goal from the spot to give the Young Lions the early lead. In the second half, Issah Haruna added another goal for the Young Lions to put it away and take three points. OCB will be back on the road Sunday to face New England Revolution II at Beirne Stadium in Smithfield, RI.

Americans Abroad

Austin Trusty played a full 90 minutes as Celtic won its sixth consecutive match across all competitions 3-1 against Rangers. Gio Reyna scored his first goal of the season for Borussia Monchengladbach to snap his 16-month goal drought at the club level, but his side fell 3-1 to FC Augsburg. Weston McKennie played 86 minutes for Juventus in a 1-0 win against Lecce. In the Women’s FA Cup semifinals, Alyssa Thompson played 78 minutes for Chelsea, but her side fell 3-2 to Manchester City after extra time. Lindsey Heaps scored for OL Lyonnes while Lily Yohannes and Korbin Shrader were also in action in a 4-1 win against Paris Saint-Germain to lift the Coupe De France trophy. Later today, Brenden Aaronson and Leeds United will face Tottenham Hotspur.

Free Kicks

• Check out this video on Orlando City’s social media pages featuring some players writing letters to their moms for Mother’s Day.

• The 2027 Leagues Cup tournament will reportedly continue to be played in the late summer window, with Major League Soccer switching to a summer-to-spring season schedule.
• The Chicago Fire have reportedly made an offer to Barcelona to sign Robert Lewandowski.

• James Rodriguez will reportedly leave Minnesota United this week and will not return to the club after the World Cup concludes this summer.
• Slavia Prague chairman Jaroslav Tvrdik stated that the club will impose a lifetime ban to fans who invaded the pitch as the club was minutes away from defeating rivals Sparta Prague Saturday to win the Czech First League title before the match was abandoned.
• Leandro Trossard scored a late winner in the second half to help Arsenal beat West Ham United 1-0 to keep its five-point lead over Manchester City and pull a step closer to clinching the English Premier League title.

• Barcelona defeated rival Real Madrid 2-0 in El Clasico Sunday to seal back-to-back La Liga titles.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

Orlando City wore its “Sunken Treasure” kits against Montreal and went ahead and sunk right back to looking like one of the weakest teams in Major League Soccer, losing 2-0 on the road against fellow Eastern Conference bottom dweller CF Montreal. It is not one of the takeaways, but I wish Orlando City would take away that jersey and find another road kit, because playing in yellow gold has not worked for the club this season.

Here are my five takeaways from the match.

Wasted Chances Early

Orlando City looked decent early, and created several chances in the opening 20 minutes of the game. Unfortunately, the Lions were wasteful with those chances, in particular a glorious opportunity from an Iago ball over the top to Eduard Atuesta. The Colombian midfielder was in alone on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat, which he did, but he also missed the goal entirely with his shot. After a good start the Lions were on their heels for most of the rest of the first half, but it could have been a completely different game had they gone ahead early, which they should have on Atuesta’s wasted breakaway.

Supersub Spicer, not Superstarter Spicer

Tyrese Spicer got the start in the midfield, and he did not bring the same energy or the magic as a starter that he has brought in recent games when he came in off the bench. He only completed eight passes during his 67 minutes and he never really looked threatening, including on the two shots he took. Befitting of his last name, he seems to be a tasty player when used in small amounts, but when used in large amounts it generally does not work, as it did not on Saturday in Montreal.

Lack of Second-Half Adjustments

Martín Perelman made all the right moves during halftime and the second half last weekend against Miami, but he decided to stick with the starters deep into the game against Montreal even though the offense looked somewhere between mediocre and average. In fairness to him, the Lions played better in the second half than the first, but they did not actually look good, and several players — in particular Iván Angulo and Spicer — struggled. Perelman finally brought on Duncan McGuire for Spicer in the 67th minute, but McGuire looked tentative and was wasteful with his opportunities. The only other move Perelman made in regulation was David Brekalo for Justin Ellis, which seemed designed more to hold on for a point on the road than to try to win the game. Montreal is not a great team and this was an eminently winnable game, but the tactical plan and execution were poor and the lack of substitutions to try to find a winner was worse.

Done In by Former Lion, Part 1

Orlando City played better in the second half than in the first, and late in the game the Lions seemed the team more likely to find a late winner. But then former Lion Luca Petrasso made a run up the left side of the field and into the box, and Iago, fearing a handball, tucked his arms behind his back while trying to stay in front of him. Iago briefly lost his balance while doing so, running past Petrasso, and the Montreal left back cut inside. Robin Jansson was there to stop Petrasso but he too lost his balance, but unfortunately fell right into Petrasso, giving Montreal a penalty kick out of what did not look to be a major threat. Daniel Ríos converted, and Orlando City was suddenly behind with very little time remaining.

Done In by Former Lion, Part Deux

Both teams made substitutions after the Montreal goal, and the home team brought on former Lion Dagur Dan Thórhallsson to try to hold the lead and take all three points. Despite trailing by a goal, Orlando City could not get organized, get out of its own end (a problem throughout much of the match), and into any kind of coherent attacking play. The Lions decided they would play the ball in the air multiple times instead of trying to complete passes on the ground in their own defensive third. They turned the ball over on an aerial ball and Thórhallsson subsequently blew right by Brekalo and hit what was probably one of the best-placed shots of his life, a rocket from outside the box that banked in off the far post, just past the outstretched hands of Maxime Crépeau. Former Orlando City players played major roles in both Montreal goals, which was especially brutal considering that the Lions barely generated more than one half of an expected goal as a team and their former teammates accounted for two goals against them.

Those are my takeaways from Orlando City’s thoroughly disappointing 2-0 loss on the road in Montreal. The Lions will need to regroup quickly, as they return home to play the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday in another bottom-of-the-Eastern-Conference matchup.

Let us know your thoughts about the Montreal match in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!