Barcelona SC vs. Millonarios FC, Florida Cup 2017: Final Score 1-0 as Colombian Side Scores on Late Free Kick

I’ve been covering the beautiful game in Central Florida for about three years now. 2017 will be my fourth season covering Orlando City specifically. In that time, I’ve attended dozens of soccer games — both local and not — and of course, I’ve watched plenty more on television.

So it wasn’t one of the easiest decisions I’ve made in life to determine that Wednesday night’s Florida Cup consolation match between Barcelona SC out of Ecuador and Millonarios FC from Colombia to be, well, not the most entertaining 80 minutes of soccer this local area has seen in the last several years.

And I only say 80, because the last 10 minutes did end up having some moments worth sharing, including the game-winning free kick goal in the 89th minute that helped hand Millonarios the 1-0 victory at Bright House Networks Stadium on the campus of the University of Central Florida.

With the win, Millonarios FC finishes fifth in the FC Playoff portion of the 2017 Florida Cup. Barcelona ends up six out of the six teams in the FC Playoff.

Both sides came out with the intention of establishing possession early, trading chances working up the pitch, but neither side had an easy time getting shots off on goal.

The first big moment in the match didn’t come until the 59th minute, when Millonarios was awarded a penalty kick, which was saved by Barcelona goalkeeper Maximo Banguera.

Barcelona’s goal opportunity came around in the 72nd minute, with a ball played forward into the box and kicked around between the goalkeeper and a couple of attacking players, before the ball was cleared by a defender and Millonarios was off the hook for the time being.

After a golden chance in the 77th minute was called offside on a headed attempt straight into the goalkeeper’s arms, Millonarios finally took the lead late in the 89th minute on a free kick from about 25 yards out. Juan Guillermo Dominguez’s beautiful bending ball sailed around the wall and out of the reach of the diving goalkeeper, giving his side as the lone goal of the match.