Lion Links: 8/21/16

Good Sunday morning Mane Landers! How are you doing today? Me, not too bad. Nothing like watching a late game with an infant who doesn’t want to sleep anyway. I am doing my due diligence though and making sure young Jak (not a typo) is a fan of Orlando City. The last thing we need is for him to start rooting for Atlanta United or worse…be a Rowdies fan. ::shudders::

Let’s not talk about that though – he’s a Lion whether he likes it or not.

Before we get to today’s links, let’s take a quick time out to wish Orlando City midfielder Tony Rocha a happy 23rd birthday. Tony was recently with OCB, which plays tonight against Richmond at 7:30 at Titan Soccer Complex in Melbourne, so it’s another match day!

Orlando City Grinds Out Result at Colorado Rapids

It was a tall order for a struggling Orlando City side to go to Commerce City and take all three points from Colorado side in contention for a Supporters Shield. The Lions failed to grab all three but at least they’ll come home with one and move above D.C. United in the table (albeit possibly only until this afternoon). The Rapids are unbeaten at home so a draw is a pretty solid outcome for Orlando City, all things considered. Here’s all the coverage from last night’s match:

• Austin Siegel has your match recap.
• Michael Citro provides player grades and his Man of the Match (vote for yours!).
• Our friends from Burgundy Wave have the enemy’s perspective of the match.

And come back to The Mane Land later this morning for Austin David’s five takeaways from the match.

Tom Sermanni Ready for Playoff Push

With five matches to go, Pride Head Coach Tom Sermanni is preparing his team for the push to make it to the postseason. I really like Sermanni and this interview cements those good vibes toward him. With Pride players returning to the team from Olympic duty, I fully expect this team to come out focused and with a playoff or bust attitude.

Brazil Defeats Germany on Penalties in Gold Medal Match

Sometimes 90 minutes isn’t enough to decide a champion. And in rare circumstances, 120 minutes isn’t enough. That, folks, is what we were treated to yesterday in a fabulous gold medal game between two awesome teams. And at the end of the penalty kick shootout, Neymar came up with the game winning goal, giving Brazil its first-ever Olympic soccer gold medal.

This game was amazing. It was probably the best gold medal game I’ve ever seen and I hope you had the chance to watch these teams go at it. I don’t know if this win erases the 7-1 memory from the World Cup in 2014 for Brazil, but a gold medal sure is sweet.

And in the bronze medal game, surprising Nigeria beat Honduras, 3-2. For a team many thought wouldn’t do much of anything, that bronze medal has to be the cherry on top of a great run.

Free Kicks

Manchester City put it to Orlando City partner in crime Stoke City 4-1 In EPL play yesterday. Manchester City might be the team to contend against Manchester United and Mane Land favorite ZLATAN!!!…The Chicago Fire won a road game last night for the first time since July 12, 2014, beating Montreal, 3-0. That snapped a 36-game road winless streak. Orlando City’s is currently at 11 (0-5-6)…Have you seen SB Nation’s 2016-17 La Liga team previews? If not, head over here…And the Bundesliga preview is here…And finally, the Olympics are coming to an end in Rio today. Things we learned: the U.S. women’s basketball team is really good and that Ryan Lochte just might be faster than Usain Bolt.

Well, until next time everyone, enjoy your Sunday!