Orlando City B vs. Ottawa Fury: Final Score 1-0 as Young Lions Blanked Again

Playing their second “School Day Game” in a week, Orlando City B fell to the Ottawa Fury this afternoon, 1-0. It was a bad giveaway by Zach Carroll resulting in a 43rd-minute goal by Steevan Dos Santos that was the difference.

Despite controlling possession during the first half with nearly 62 percent of the ball, OCB (4-6-4, 16 points) didn’t record a single shot in the first half. The Lions’ best chance of the half came in the 28^th minute via a corner kick. Pierre Da Silva sent the ball across the top of the six, which appeared on target for Carroll’s head but the ball ended up behind him and rolled out for an Ottawa throw-in.

Ottawa (5-4-4. 19 points), on the other hand, had multiple chances in the first half that nearly saw the Fury take an early lead. The first came in the 15^th minute through Dos Santos. After OCB cleared the initial free kick just outside of the box, the ball was put back in by Andrae Campbell. Eventually, it found Dos Santos who chipped Earl Edwards, Jr. but Carroll was able to clear it off the line.

The second great chance by Ottawa came in the 24^th minute through Carl Haworth. The striker found himself with the ball and his back to goal to the right of Edwards’ net. After a nice turn to lose Zach Ellis-Hayden, Haworth attempted to chip Edwards. He was able to beat the goalkeeper but the ball ricocheted off the crossbar, allowing OCB to narrowly escape again.

The home side finally converted in the 43^rd minute. Attempting to play the ball out of the back, Carroll received the ball and looked for Ellis-Hayden on the opposite side of the field. However, his pass went directly to Haworth, who immediately made a nice run toward the end line. His low cross found the foot of Dos Santos, who touched it past Edwards to give the Fury the lead.

After 45 minutes without an attempt on goal, the Lions got their first in the second half after just two minutes. A free kick by Da Silva found the head of halftime substitute Seb Hines — returning after last week’s knee injury. The flick-on by Hines landed at the foot of fellow center back Conor Donovan, who nearly scored but Callum Irving was able to tip it over the bar.

Da Silva and Ben Polk both had chances in the 67^th and 74th minutes, respectively, but neither shot was on target. In the 76^th minute, Ottawa nearly doubled its lead through Jamar Dixon but the shot rippled the outside netting.

OCB nearly equalized in the 83^rd minute when Da Silva made a nice run down the left and played a low cross in for Michael Cox. However, Cox got tangled up with Kyle Venter and the ball trickled through the six-yard box untouched.

Four minutes into injury time, there was a flurry of action that nearly saw the game put away by Ottawa, then equalized by OCB. It started with a clearance by Edwards being immediately played back onto the OCB side of the field. While three defenders thought Jimmy-Shammar Sanon was offside, Carroll was keeping him on. As Sanon approached the goal, Edwards came well off his line to make the save. OCB immediately went on the break creating a shot by Da Silva but Eddie Edward made the sliding stop for Ottawa.

In the end, OCB was unable to find that equalizing goal and fell 1-0 in Ottawa. This is OCB’s second straight loss and the Lions have now gained just one point from their last three games. With two consecutive shutouts, OCB has now gone 247 minutes without a goal. The loss keeps the young Lions on 16 points as they continue to slide down the table, currently sitting in 10^th place in the USL’s Eastern Conference. They will take the field again on Friday night in Rochester against the Rhinos at 7:05 p.m.

Starting XI: Edwards; Martz, Ellis-Hayden, Carroll, Donovan; Schweitzer, Deakin (Timbo, 45’), Kraft (Hines, 45’), Da Silva; Cox, Polk.

Unused Subs: Fenlason, Thomsen, Valentino, Clowes, Gallardo.

Goals: OTT – Dos Santos (43’).

Yellow Cards: OCB – Ellis-Hayden (17’), Schweitzer (25’), Carroll (90+2’).