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Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Final Score 2-2 as Lions Rally From Two Down

Another controversial video review goes against Orlando City late.

Published

7 years ago

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City recovered from giving up two first-half goals but could have won had yet another controversial video review not gone against the Lions. Maxime Chanot’s handball on a Dom Dwyer attempt was not called and then not overturned on video review, as the Lions drew New York City FC 2-2 at Orlando City Stadium. The Lions (0-0-1, 1 point) snapped a four-game losing streak to NYCFC (0-0-1, 1 point) and are now 5-5-3 in the all-time series.

“We felt we didn’t deserve to be two-nil down, but we were two-nil down,” said Head Coach James O’Connor after the game. “So, like we said, you either sit and feel sorry for yourself or you get out and you keep believing and you keep pushing and you keep doing the things that we’d spoken about. And I think we were very unfortunate not to go on and win the game at the end. I think there was some kind of controversy or some handball or something, so we go from two-nil down to having a real opportunity to go and win the game.”

O’Connor opted to start mainly the same team that faced NYCFC two weeks ago in the Orlando City Invitational. With Nani having missed a few days of training and flying back a day before the match, the Portuguese star began the game on the bench. He was alongside Dwyer, who was fit enough to be available but not 90-minute match fit after missing the bulk of preseason. Lamine Sané didn’t even make the 18, as O’Connor’s back line featured rookie Kamal Miller, newcomer Alex De John, and Shane O’Neill.

City began the game with good spells of possession but the Lions weren’t really able to generate a lot of clear-cut chances, as the New York City defense and midfield kept the lads in purple away from goalkeeper Sean Johnson. Still, the first shot of the half came five minutes in when Will Johnson fired just inches wide of the post.

New York scored in the 13th minute through Ebenezer Ofori, who was given too much space about 25 yards out, straight above the penalty area. Sebas Mendez was slow to close Ofori down and his shot was hit with power and was well placed just inside Brian Rowe’s post to make it 1-0.

Chris Mueller should have tied the game two minutes later. He was slipped into the top of the area by O’Neill and had either side to choose from but he fired wide of the right post in a chance he’ll no doubt want back.

A minute later, Sacha Kljestan shot from just inside the top of the area but didn’t get all of it and hit it right at Sean Johnson.

Will Johnson (no relation) took a nice layoff pass from Kljestan above the area in the 25th minute but got under it and fired well over the bar, as the Lions missed the net on seven of their eight first-half shot attempts. Eventually the attack started to become just lumping the ball over the top for Tesho Akindele, but he was a lone wolf against three defenders most times, and that was never going to work.

Assistant referee Kevin Klinger appeared to pull a hamstring late in the half and had to switch out with the fourth official in an incident you don’t see every day.

Orlando was lucky not to give up a goal in the 41st minute when Chanot’s free header on a corner kick was sent wide of goal. But the Pigeons got a second just before halftime through Alexander Ring, who took a pass from Alexandru Mitrita, which nutmegged De John, and got in behind the defense before beating Rowe to make it 2-0.

Minutes later, the first half mercifully ended. Orlando City held 62% of the possession to just 38% for NYCFC, but the Lions had little purpose in their attack, despite also being the better passing side (82%-75%). Shots were 8-6 Orlando (1-3 on target, however).

“I thought we were extremely unlucky to be going in two-nil down,” O’Connor said. “I think when you look at the balance of play first half, we had a lot of possession, we were camped in their half, we had multiple good opportunities — I think we were all a little frustrated to go in two-nil down.”

The tide turned in the second half, but it took a few minutes. Kyle Smith had the first good opportunity of the second half, forcing a good Sean Johnson save in the 51st minute. De John got under the cross on the ensuing corner and couldn’t direct Mueller’s pass on frame, as it was just a bit high.

But Mueller pulled the Lions back into the game in the 59th minute. After Kljestan was pulled down out on the left side, just above the penalty area, Mueller stepped up to the ball. The second-year player delivered a dangerous ball into the box that took a bounce and found its way inside the back post. The delivery forced Sean Johnson to decide between playing the oncoming attackers or the ball, and he could only watch as Mueller made it 2-1.

“I just wanted to put it into a dangerous area,” Mueller said. “And I made sure that if no one got a touch onto it, it would creep into that back post area and that’s exactly what ended up happening. So it was good to get the team back into the game.”

Mueller’s goal was the first scored by any Lion in a competitive game against NYCFC since Cyle Larin’s second goal in a 2-1 win on April 23, 2017.

The teams battled back and forth, mostly in the middle of the pitch, for the next 10 minutes or so, and then the game changed again when O’Connor sent Dwyer and Nani onto the pitch in exchange for Smith and Mendez.

“You could hear it, couldn’t you, in the stadium?” Mueller said when asked if he could feel the energy change when Nani and Dwyer checked in. “It got pretty loud in the stadium and I think that just gave us a little bit of an extra boost. Guys were getting tired and they came on and they created a very nice goal together. It was awesome.”

Just five minutes after coming on, Nani — on one of his first few touches as a Lion — unlocked the NYCFC defense with one long pass, sending Dwyer behind the back line on the left. Dom drew Johnson over toward him and slipped a centering pass to Akindele, who tapped it in to open his Orlando City account.

“I thought they came in and they made a huge impact,” Akindele said of Nani and Dwyer entering the game. “I think one of Nani’s first touches was the pass to set Dom through. One of Dom’s first touches was an assist. So that just shows the quality they bring and the depth we have up top.”

Akindele had to leave the game after the goal but said he was just cramping up due to the heat and the effort put into the match.

“I was like, happy (after scoring the goal), but then my body was cramping, so it was kind of weird,” he said, laughing. “I was trying to be like real happy and celebrate but I couldn’t. So, next time maybe I’ll have a better celebration.”

With the game tied, Orlando looked for the winner and it appeared the Lions had their chance to grab it in the 80th minute. Mueller sent in a good cross that Dwyer knocked toward goal. The ball hit Chanot’s arm and Dwyer emphatically screamed for a penalty. Once there was a stop in play, video assistant referee Jose Carlos Rivero buzzed down to referee Baldomero Toledo, who stopped the game and reviewed the play on a monitor.

Although replays show Chanot’s hand out away from his body and moving in a way so as to block the flight of the ball, Toledo did not overturn the play and no penalty was awarded. Following the game, the game officials issued this statement to the pool reporter covering the game:

“The VAR recommended a review for a potential handling in the penalty area. After review, the referee determined that the defender did not deliberately handle the ball.”

O’Connor clarified that he hadn’t seen a good replay of the incident in the box but several players had told him it was a clear-cut handball.

The Pigeons had one more good opportunity, but Rowe was able to deny Mitrita from a tight angle late in the game, and, after 90 minutes plus four minutes of stoppage time, neither team had a win.

Shots for the match were even at 13 apiece, with New York City putting six on frame to Orlando’s four. The Lions held 58% of the possession to NYCFC’s 42%, and Orlando connected on 80% of its passes to the visitors’ 73%.

“I felt like overall the team’s performance was really good. It definitely hurts not to get the three points on the first day but I think that we showed a lot of character fighting back.,” Mueller said.

“I think it’s cool to see the response but obviously you don’t want to put yourself in a position where we go down at all,” Akindele said. “And to be honest, I think that start to finish, I think we outplayed them. I think they had two chances against the run of play that they did really well, that they took advantage of, but honestly I think we completely outplayed them.”

Nani said after the game that he was feeling the effects of the travel but he hopes to be able to start “after a very good week of training.” O’Connor said he went through several instances in his mind of when he’d bring in Nani and Dwyer, who hadn’t trained much with the team this preseason.

“I think if I’m being honest I didn’t envision the two lads getting the minutes that they did,” O’Connor said of his plan on when to use Nani and Dwyer. “But I knew in the back of my mind if we needed a goal or we needed something to change the game, then them two were going to go on. They both deserve a lot of credit because they’ve not done a lot of training. To go on and impact the game like they did, some of the play and the heart that they showed was really encouraging.”

With yet another first-game draw, the Lions are now 1-0-4 in their opening day matches since joining the league.

Orlando City will be back in action next Saturday at the Chicago Fire. Game time is 1 p.m.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/11/26

Leagues Cup preview, Americans in midweek action, open letter addressing Gianni Infantino, and more.

Published

3 hours ago

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August 11, 2026

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Good morning, everyone. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, but fortunately, opportunities to change the vibes are right around the corner. Orlando City B plays NYCFC II in a few hours, Orlando City plays San Luis tomorrow and FC Cincinnati on Saturday, and the Orlando Pride are in action against the Portland Thorns on Saturday night as well. We’ve got lots to talk over this morning, so let’s get into it.

Leagues Cup Preview

Leagues Cup will begin its final round of group stage games later today, and there are several storylines to keep an eye on. Most prominent among them is the match between Austin FC and Club America, as each team currently sits first in its respective table. Myrto Uzuni’s hat trick helped Austin bury Puebla in its second match, and the Verde and Black are now in great position to advance. Before we get to that match on Thursday though, FC Cincinnati plays Atlas this evening to kick off the last round of games. Cincy sits fourth in the MLS table and therefore has plenty to play for, while Atlas has no points and has already been eliminated from contention. With Cincy visiting the City Beautiful on Saturday, Orlando fans should be hoping for FCC’s key players to rack up a lot of minutes tonight.

Americans in Midweek Action

Plenty of Americans will be taking part in matches during the working week, so make sure you’ve got everything noted down on your calendar. Tanner Tessmann and Lyon kick things off later today as they try to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit against Sparta Prague in UEFA Champions Leauge qualifying. Things continue with Brenden Aaronson and Leeds playing Manchester United in a friendly on Wednesday, while Malik Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen have a friendly of their own against Nottingham Forest. Things wrap up with some American-on-American violence on Friday, as Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid play Marseille in a friendly, while Folarin Balogun and Monaco face Haji Wright and Coventry in a tune-up game.

Confederations Write Letter Criticizing Gianni Infantino

Concacaf, UEFA, and AFC have written a joint open letter soccer as a whole, in which they accuse FIFA president Gianni Infantino of betraying the trust of the confederations and engaging in deceptive practices. They condemned the plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, and called both FIFA’s integrity and Infantino’s running of the organization into question. U.S. Soccer put out its own statement on Sunday in support of Concacaf’s stance. The letter also urged FIFA to conduct an independent review of the proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup, while calling for accountability and openness among Infantino and the rest of FIFA’s leadership.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

There are plenty of transfer rumors to catch up on this morning, so let’s get straight into it. We start in England, where Crystal Palace is reportedly finalizing the signing of Zavier Gozo from Real Salt Lake. In Spain, Atletico Madrid has reportedly submitted an offer in the area of €35 million to Lille for winger Matias Fernandez-Pardo. Meanwhile, Endrick will supposedly be staying at Real Madrid this season following discussions between himself, the club, and Head Coach Jose Mourinho. Barcelona ha reportedly rejected a €50 million offer for Ferran Torres from Paris Saint-Germain, as the Catalonian club wants the fee to be structured differently than PSG’s initial proposal. Finally, in a rather unexpected bit of news, Tom Bogert reports that CF Montreal is signing Alexis Sanchez as a Designated Player.

Free Kicks

That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/10/26

Lions and Pride lose, Americans abroad, Latest MLS transfer roundup, and more.

Published

1 day ago

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August 10, 2026

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Image of Marco Pasalic dribbling the ball in the attack against Atlanta.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been keeping myself busy at work and getting ready to cover high school sports again soon. Let’s wish a belated happy birthday to former Lion Alex Freeman, who turned 22 on Sunday, and a happy birthday to former Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja, who turns 58 today. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Fall to Club Leon in Leagues Cup

Orlando City fell 2-1 to Club Leon at home in the second matchday of the 2026 Leagues Cup on Saturday. Marco Pasalic scored for the Lions in the first half as Orlando took a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Club Leon overturned the one-goal deficit, responding with goals from Juan Guevara and Daniel Arcila to take a 2-1 lead as the Liga MX side edged the Lions for the win. Orlando City will be back at home on Wednesday to face Atletico de San Luis to close out the first phase of Leagues Cup.

Pride Winless Skid Continues with Loss to Racing Louisville

The Orlando Pride fell 3-1 to Racing Louisville FC at home on Friday as the club continues to slide down the NWSL table and has lost back-to-back league matches. Louisville struck first to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Emma Sears scored twice to give Louisville a 3-0 lead. In stoppage time, Kerry Abello scored for the Pride to avoid the shutout, but Louisville secured its third win in its last four games. Meanwhile, Orlando has lost four out of its last five matches. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Saturday, taking on the Portland Thorns.

Americans Abroad

Orlando City midfielder Colin Guske started and played a full 90 minutes for the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team against Mexico in the Concacaf U-20 Championships. The U.S. fell 2-0 to Mexico in the final on Sunday. Max Arfsten and Sebastian Berhalter made their debuts for Middlesbrough in Round 1 of the Carabao Cup against Wrexham on Friday. Berhalter notched an assist as Middlesbrough defeated Wrexham 1-0 to advance to the second round. Ricardo Pepi started and played 80 minutes for PSV Eindhoven in a 2-2 draw against Fortuna Sittard in the Eredivisie on Saturday. Austin Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers were both in action for Celtic in a 5-1 victory against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

Latest MLS Transfer Roundup

The LA Galaxy have been busy making moves of late, signing former FC Barcelona and Como midfielder Sergi Roberto to a contract through June 2028 with an option for the 2028-2029 season. The Galaxy added winger Chucky Lozano from San Diego FC on loan through the end of the season and reached an agreement to transfer midfielder Edwin Cerrillo to Liga MX side Club America. Atlanta United has acquired midfielder Mauricio Amaro from Uruguayan top flight club Defensor Sporting. Amaro will be under contract through the 2028-2029 season with an option for 2029-2030. San Diego FC announced on Saturday that the club has transferred defender Andres Reyes to Atletico Nacional in Colombia.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City forward Yutaro Tsukada, who is on loan at Rhode Island FC, scored his first goal in the USL Championship over the weekend.
  • Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga scored for Malawi, which defeated Ghana 2-1 on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time.
  • Nigeria fell 1-0 to Cameroon in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, resulting in Cameroon qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Nigeria will face South Africa on Thursday in a play-in match to qualify for the FIFA inter-confederation playoffs.
  • Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho revealed in a documentary that he had signed a contract to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013, but later backed out of the deal and decided to return to Chelsea after his first stint at Real Madrid.

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

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Club Leon, Leagues Cup: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Blow Halftime Lead in Loss

Marco Pasalic gave the Lions a halftime lead, but the defense got leaky in the second half.

Published

3 days ago

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August 8, 2026

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Image of Harvey Sarajian getting elbowed in the neck by Juan Guevara of Club Leon
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Marco Pasalic put Orlando City ahead in the first half, but two second-half mistakes and what appeared to be a clear foul in the penalty area late on Club Leon led to the Lions falling 2-1 at home tonight on the second matchday of Leagues Cup. Juan Guevara and Daniel Arcila pulled Leon back from a goal down in the second half, and an Orlando City (1-1) side that didn’t rotate much from Wednesday’s game looked a bit leggy in the second half against Leon (2-0).

“I think, of course, very very sad for the result for us, for our people, for everyone,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “We were trying to compete in the best way as possible and trying to win, and we couldn’t. Congrats to them; they did a really good job. We were there, trying to to compete. At the end, we were short.”

Perelman’s lineup featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, Iago, and Zakaria Taifi. Luis Otavio and Wilder Cartagena started in central midfielders with Ivan Angulo and Tyrese Spicer in the attack and Marco Pasalic and Antoine Griezmann up top.

The start of the game was bereft of action as the teams tried to figure one another out. The Lions nearly created something magical five minutes after kickoff when Pasalic sent in a great ball over the top for Griezmann, who brought it down, but it bounced a bit wide, and when he went to ground to try to shoot, the defender caught up and blocked the effort.

Neither team could do much with a corner kick opportunity over the next 15 minutes and much of the action was played between the boxes. Pasalic earned a free kick in a dangerous spot when he blew past Juan Guevara, who brought him down and picked up a yellow card. Griezmann took the free kick from just outside the area but his delivery hit the wall and came back to him. He got under his second effort and put it out of play.

The first real danger from Club Leon came on a ball over the top in the 28th minute. Crepeau came off his line but couldn’t get there before Arcila, who tried to chip the goalkeeper but he sent it wide left. Sebastian Santos got to it before it went over the end line and tried to shoot from a tight angle with Iago defending but he got under his shot and put it over the bar.

Just moments after the ensuing hydration break, Leon nearly scored on another ball over the top that was just out of Iago’s reach. Arcila got to it first and fired a shot that Crepeau saved. Fernando Beltran picked up the rebound and tried to chip the Canadian, but Crepeau was able to go up and catch the shot to keep the game scoreless.

Orlando tried a ball over the top for itself in the 36th minute. Spicer was first to it but as he swung his foot to shoot the bouncing ball, the defense arrived and bodied him, causing him to whiff on his effort. But the Lions scored anyway two minutes later.

Pasalic and Griezmann worked a nice give-and-go in the attacking half and the Frenchman sent Spicer down the left. Spicer fed Pasalic at the top of the area and the Croatian’s shot took a slight deflection and beat Oscar Garcia to make it 1-0.

“Happy to help in the first half with the goal,” Pasalic said.

After the goal, Leon showed more determination in keeping the ball and building up play. The guests couldn’t do much with a couple of corners over the next several minutes.

Leon created another chance in first-half stoppage time, when Iago was beaten and Jansson couldn’t quite get over in time to intervene. Arcila got there first and fired toward the near post but Crepeau knocked it out for a corner.

Griezmann headed away the ensuing set piece to end the first period.

The late spell of possession after Pasalic’s goal helped Leon lead in that category at the break (54.1%-45.9%). The Liga MX side also led in shots (8-6), shots on target (5-2), and corners (4-2). Orlando City passed slightly more accurately in the opening half (92.7%-91.8%)

Griffin Dorsey entered the game at halftime for Taifi, but it was Club Leon who brought the energy to the start of the second half. In the opening minutes, Crepeau was forced into two great saves. Rhein turned it over in his defensive third, and Arcila’s cheeky backheel of a cross in from the right forced the Canadian international to make a a diving stop. Leon sent the ball back in from the left to a wide-open Jordi Cortizo in front but sent it right at Crepeau for another save.

Orlando’s first chance of the second half came on a Griezmann corner kick. Dorsey headed it across the box and Iago made a flying attempt at a bicycle kick, but he missed the ball and committed a foul in the process.

Leon got back on the front foot after that, with Jansson doing well to block an Arcila shot at the top of the area in the 51st minute. Arcila then got to a cross and stabbed it wide a minute later, but the initial play was offside.

The visitors tied the game in the 54th minute off a long-range set piece near the left sideline. The cross appeared to go in off of Dorsey, who was trying to mark Juan Guevara. Crepeau got to it just after it crossed the line. Dorsey said something to Crepeau after the play, but Guevara was ultimately credited with the goal.

Orlando’s struggles throughout the game came in the attacking third, and it was magnified in the second half. One such play was a nice buildup in the 69th minute that ended up with Rhein on the left, but the youngster made a mess of his cross, sending it out of play. Two minutes later, substitute Justin Ellis headed a pass to Dorsey that he perhaps should have shot. Ellis got it to Dorsey, who didn’t make good contact and sent a weak shot for Garcia to collect.

It was a costly missed opportunity, as Leon scored the winning goal a minute later. Rhein got caught too far upfield after heading the ball forward, and Leon broke in transition down the right side in behind him. Ivan Moreno found Arcila at the top of the area and the striker found space in front of Iago and sent an inch-perfect shot inside the left post to make it 2-1 in the 72nd minute.

Perelman sent Daryl Dike into the game as Orlando chased the match, and the Lions should have gone to the spot in the 84th minute. Ellis sent a fantastic ball to send Harvey Sarajian into the area on the right. Guevara caught up from behind, threw an arm across the rookie forward’s face, and bundled him over from behind, but referee Jose Camacho Espinoza incredibly saw nothing wrong with what the Leon defender did. There did not even seem to be a stoppage for video review, although media were informed that the play was checked.

“Ellis played the ball through. I’m through. I felt contact to the back, and in my opinion, I thought it was a foul,” Sarajian said. “But the referee didn’t agree. So it is what it is. I felt the contact (to the head and neck area).”

“I saw it,” Perelman said of the play. “I think the same thing as (the media).”

Leon was content to put numbers behind the ball and use the dark arts as much as possible to slow things down. The Lions won a lot of set pieces but could not pay them off. Crepeau came up to join the last few, but in the end, the Lions couldn’t find a way through the mass of Leon defenders down the stretch.

With Leon ceding possession and staying compact late, Orlando City finished with more possession (51.7%-48.3%), while also having the advantage in corners (7-5) and passing accuracy (90%-88.2%). Leon attempted far more shots (18-10) and put more on target (10-3). It was the inability to threaten goal that ultimately prevented Orlando from building on its lead or clawing back into the match.

Pasalic spoke to the referee after the game. He had been taken out in the middle of the pitch in first-half stoppage time that not only didn’t earn Leon a yellow card, but it wasn’t even deemed a foul. He came out to try to play through it in the second half, but the earlier contact forced him off before the hour mark and appeared to be one of the more egregious fouls in the match, despite the no-call.

“Suddenly, I get the hit in my knee, so my knee was getting a lump,” Pasalic said. “And I spoke with them in the halftime. I tried it to go out in the second half, but I felt that my knee is not going to help the team. It’s nothing serious, but I just want to be sure that the team has 10 players on the pitch who can play fully. I mean, I don’t want to get fined. No, just I want to speak in a respectful way about (the referee). For me, it’s unacceptable that he don’t give even the foul when I get fouled, and because of this, I was not able to play again in the second half, fully. This was not even a yellow card.”

The Lions will close out the first phase of Leagues Cup Wednesday at home against Atletico de San Luis.

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