Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Colorado Rapids: Final Score 4-3 as Nani Powers Lions to First Home Win
Nani’s brace led Orlando to a pair of comebacks in a wild, rain-soaked affair.
The Lions finally got a home win in 2019, but it was anything but easy. Orlando needed to come from behind twice against the Colorado Rapids to grab a late 4-3 victory at Orlando City Stadium in front of 22,450 on a rainy night.
The Rapids (0-4-2, 2 points) grabbed leads of 1-0 and 3-2 in the match but the resilient Lions were a threat to score all night and eventually put enough goals on the board to win the match when Nani converted a penalty in the 89th minute to lift City (2-2-2, 8 points) to the team’s first home win of the season. Orlando is still unbeaten in the series with the Rapids, improving to 4-0-1 in five meetings (3-0-0 in Orlando).
“You don’t want to be conceding three goals,” said Head Coach James O’Connor after the match. “As exciting and entertaining as it is for everybody to win — and it is, it’s great — but we don’t want to be like that every week. I certainly don’t.”
“Tonight was fantastic because we had so many opportunities and most of them we put inside the goal,” said Nani.
O’Connor made a few changes to the lineup, dropping center back Shane O’Neill and pushing Carlos Ascues to right center back. Tesho Akindele returned from his hamstring issue to start up top next to Dom Dwyer at forward. Nani slid back to the midfield alongside Sebas Mendez, Sacha Kljestan, and wingbacks Ruan and Joao Moutinho.
After the first six minutes were played between the penalty areas, both teams started attacking. Moutinho’s cross into the box in the sixth was the first good opportunity of the game, but it was knocked out for a corner by the defense. Two minutes later, Ruan sent a dangerous cross into the box that was deflected out by a defender but only as far as Kljestan, who had his shot blocked.
A minute later, the Rapids took the lead. Kei Kamara (who else?) pounced to make it 1-0. Dillon Serna’s cross into the box went about an inch over the head of a leaping Sané. Jansson didn’t expect the ball to get through and it bounced off his head and fell in behind, where Kamara won the race to the loose ball and poked it past Brian Rowe in the ninth minute.
The teams then exchanged set piece opportunities. After Dwyer saw a header blocked at the back post, the Rapids nearly scored on a direct free kick, but Keegan Rosenberry’s effort went just wide.
Orlando kept attacking up the wings and nearly scored in the 21st. Moutinho got to the end line and crossed in for Dwyer, but Deklan Wynne deflected it off his own goal post. Shortly after that, the Lions changed shape after Ascues went down with an apparent leg injury. Uri Rosell came on and slotted into the midfield with Orlando going four at the back.
The Lions equalized in the 31st minute, as Nani opened his Orlando City account. Ruan somehow nutmegged teammate Akindele just a couple yards in front of goal with a sizzling cross. Moutinho gathered it at the other side of the area and crossed it in for Nani to head home .
Colorado tried to pull that goal back quickly, earning a corner kick in the 33rd minute. But it was Orlando City that capitalized. The Lions cleared the cross out to Ruan, who blazed down the pitch on the counter attack. He crossed to Dwyer, who fired and saw his shot well saved by a diving Tim Howard, but it fell to the feet of Akindele, who roofed the ball just under the crossbar to make it 2-1 with his second goal of the season.
The Ruan Show continued for the rest of the half. First, he turned Nicolas Mezquida inside out with a dribble (the man has a family, Ruan!) and then drew a yellow card on Kamara, who tried to pull him back by the shirt. Then the speedy Brazilian blew past Serna, only to overcook his cross, hitting it over everyone.
Moutinho’s long ball in the 43rd minute sent Nani down the left. The Portuguese star found Dwyer in the box. Dom had trouble digging the ball out of his feet, but did manage to turn and shoot, but it was blocked. Two minutes later, Dwyer found space at the top of the area and got his shot on frame, but Howard made another diving save, sticking out a palm to keep it 2-1 at the break.
Orlando led in shots at the break, 7-5 (4-2 on target). Colorado had the edge in possession (54.5%-45.5%) and passing accuracy (82.1%-74.9%).
Unfortunately, Mother Nature reared her ugly head at the half, with a delay due to lightning in the area lasting an hour before the game restarted.
The Rapids were by far the more energetic team after the long delay, holding possession, winning balls off sloppy midfield passes, and trying to hit quickly on the counter. Rowe stopped a header from Kellyn Acosta in the 47th minute.
Orlando fizzed a couple crosses dangerously through the box after that, but defender Axel Sjoberg blocked Ruan’s pass and Nani’s went harmlessly out the other side as no Lions made a run after he mesmerized the defense out on the left side.
Rowe made a big save to deny Kamara in the 59th off a dangerous cross by Keegan Rosenberry on a play that should have — but didn’t — serve as a warning sign for the Orlando defense in the second half. Two minutes later, Rosenberry got down the right channel on the counter and picked out Mezquida, who scored on a free header in the 61st minute to make it 2-2.
Ten minutes later, the visitors took the lead. Benny Feilhaber played a ball across left to right to Cole Bassett, who faked as if he would drive to his right. Once Jansson committed, Bassett cut back inside on his left foot and curled a shot around Rowe to make it 3-2 Colorado.
As the game moved into the late stages, Nani went down in the penalty area after contact with Acosta. Referee Jair Marrufo saw no foul there, and a heated exchange took place between the two midfielders, but ultimately it was much ado about nothing.
Dwyer headed a ball right at Howard from just a few yards out in the 79th, and it started to look like Orlando would fall at home again. But then O’Connor introduced Chris Mueller for Mendez in the 80th, and he once again lifted the team with his energy.
A minute after coming on, Mueller scored. Moutinho threw in the ball in the final third. It took a high bounce and Nani headed it toward goal. Akindele stuck out a leg and helped it on with a back heel and Mueller collected it, then slotted it home through Howard to tie the game at 3-3 in the 81st minute.
“I just tried to stay alive,” Mueller said. “The ball kind of floated into the box. I think it was Tesho that went up with one of the defenders. It kind of took a weird bounce. I took it down and just kept the ball low, tried to get it on target, and it ended up going right through the goalie’s legs.”
O’Connor spoke after the game about his decision to bring Mueller off the bench as a sub yet again.
“We sat down with Chris and I just said to him, ‘Listen, you’re not going to start this one,’” O’Connor said. “I said, ‘You’re really unlucky.’ But we just felt that there was potential for Chris to be able to come off the bench and impact the game like he has. And when you have a weapon like that and you look at the way the game may go or may not go, the biggest decision for us is, do we start him?
The easiest thing for us to do is start Chris tonight. Everyone would have expected it, including them (the Rapids) to start the game. But when we looked at it, we thought we needed to be brave and we needed to maybe follow what our gut instinct was and bring him off the bench. Now when he goes and he does something like that (score), it’s incredible.”
The goal only urged the Lions on even more. Two minutes after Mueller’s goal, Ruan flashed a cross through the area that was just inches out of Dwyer’s reach at the back post, with a wide-open net in front of him. Four minutes later, another Ruan cross turned the game in Orlando’s favor. The Brazilian sent one into the area that Sjoberg tried to block with his head, but it ended up hitting his arm as well and Marrufo pointed to the spot even as Dwyer improbably missed an empty net from just a couple yards away. Nani stepped up to the spot, sent Howard the wrong way, and coolly completed his brace in the 89th minute, putting Orlando up, 4-3.
“It’s always good to score goals for the team,” said Nani shortly after netting his first two as a Lion. “It’s always good to help, but obviously it’s not the most important. We wanted to win for our fans. What they’ve been doing all (these) weeks is fantastic. I never saw that in my life. I’ve been playing for many teams, and when the things are not going well, everyone knows how the fans normally react. These fans, they are special, so I wanted so badly to help the team to win and tonight we are very happy because we did and it was a great game, a fantastic game for our team.”
The Lions saw out the final minute, plus four minutes of injury time, without allowing Colorado an opportunity to equalize, and the whistle signaled the end of Orlando’s first 2019 home victory.
City out-shot the Rapids, 16-10 (8-6 on target), with possession finishing about evenly split at 50/50. Colorado did pass slightly better (80%-76%) in the game.
O’Connor praised his star man after the match following Nani’s two-goal, one-assist performance.
“When you look at Nani, he’s a world-class player. We’re blessed to have somebody like that,” he said. “I think it shows you his professionalism and his mentality to have a reaction like that tonight. He’s got a phenomenal leap first half, scored a great header. And then the composure to take the penalty. He was cool as a cucumber and just slid it into the corner. I think when you look at his play and his experience and the way he’s trying to help the players it’s — as we’ve always said — very, very encouraging. It’s not just the technical aspect. It’s the leadership that he shows as well.”
Orlando City will travel west next weekend to take on Real Salt Lake in Utah on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 10/29/24
MLS playoff results, USWNT prepares for Argentina, Ballon d’Or winners announced, and more.
Happy Tuesday, everyone! It was a great weekend, as Orlando City got its playoff campaign off to a strong start. We have a busy week ahead of us with the United States Women’s National Team in action, the Orlando Pride playing their last match of the regular season, and the Lions traveling to North Carolina for Game 2 against Charlotte FC. As usual, there’s plenty to discuss this morning, so let’s jump right in.
Keeping Up With the MLS Playoffs
The playoffs continued on Monday night, which means we have two matches to catch up on. The early fixture saw FC Cincinnati pick up a 1-0 win over New York City FC at TQL Stadium. Cincinnati had the better of things for most of the game with 22 shots (seven on target) to NYCFC’s six (two on target). In the end, Yamil Asad’s goal in the 51st minute was the decider, and NYCFC defender Tayvon Gray’s red card in stoppage time adds an extra layer of intrigue for Game 2 in New York on Saturday. The late match delivered the first scoreless draw of the postseason as the Seattle Sounders battled the Houston Dynamo to a 0-0 result in regulation, with the Sounders advancing 5-4 on penalties. To make matters worse for the Dynamo, Adalberto Carrasquilla was sent off in the 66th minute so they’ll need to find a way to keep their season alive without him as the series now shifts to Houston.
Previewing the USWNT Friendly Against Argentina
The United States Women’s National Team is having a good international window so far, starting things off with a pair of 3-1 victories over Iceland. The final game of the window will take place tomorrow when the U.S. faces Argentina in Louisville. It will be just the sixth meeting between the two teams, with the USWNT winning all five previous games, including the most recent one during the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup. Argentina is managed by German Portanova, who lines the team up in either a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3. Accordingly, the idea is to stay compact and be difficult to play through, although things have a tendency to devolve after giving up a goal, which was the case during the USWNT’s 4-0 triumph in the last match between the two sides. It’s a game the Yanks should win, and win comfortably.
Ballon d’Or Winners Announced
The Ballon d’Or ceremony took place on Monday evening in Paris, and there weren’t too many surprises in how the awards were doled out. Manchester City midfielder Rodri took home the award on the men’s side, following a year in which his club team won the Premier League and his Spanish side won the 2024 European Championship. Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati won the women’s award for the second straight year after helping her side win its second consecutive Champions League title. Orlando Pride forward Barbra finished 12th in the voting for the award.
Lamine Yamal won the Kopa Trophy for the best player under the age of 21, while Emiliano Martinez was named the best goalkeeper in the world for the second year running.
Manchester United Sacks Erik ten Hag
Manchester United announced on Monday morning that the club has fired Erik ten Hag, with Ruud van Nistelrooy named interim manager. The Red Devils were in the midst of a poor run of results to start the season, with just four wins from 13 matches played. A 2-1 defeat to West Ham on Sunday seems to have been the final straw, with the result leaving United 14th in the Premier League on 11 points after nine matches. While van Nistelrooy has taken over on an interim basis, reports have emerged that Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim is the leading candidate to get the permanent gig, with United having also reportedly asked about the availability of Brentford manager Thomas Frank.
Free Kicks
- Emma Hayes was named 2024 Women’s Coach of the Year.
- Italian forward Mario Balotelli has joined Genoa on a free transfer.
- The NWSL Disciplinary Committee has issued additional suspensions to Chicago Red Stars forward Ludmila and Washington Spirit forward Rosemonde Kouassi.
That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match
How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 2-0 win over Charlotte FC?
Orlando City got its 2024 playoff campaign off to a good start with a 2-0 win over Charlotte FC. The Lions can advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second consecutive year with one more win in the series. It was a solid overall team performance, though some stood out more than others.
Let’s take a look at the individual performances in this critical victory for the boys in purple.
Starters
GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — Gallese didn’t have much to do in this game because Charlotte only managed to put two of its shots on target and the Lions’ number one stopped both. He touched the ball 30 times in 90 minutes while completing 78.3% of his 23 passes, including five of his 10 long balls. There’s not much bad to say about his performance and he recorded another clean sheet.
D, Rafael Santos, 6.5 — Santos was excellent in this game, recording a team-high 83 touches. The left back completed 86.7% of his 60 passes, including two key passes, two of his five long balls, and four of his nine crosses. His cross in the 32rd minute was headed out, but only to Torres, who put it in to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. He also took one shot that was off target. Defensively, Santos recorded two tackles, an interception, and four clearances.
D, Robin Jansson, 6 — Jansson had a solid performance, recording 61 touches on the night. He had an interception, a blocked shot, and four clearances but was fortunate in the 70th minute when he was out-muscled by Patrick Agyemang, allowing the substitute to get a free header that forced Gallese into a good save. Going forward, the center back completed 98% of his 51 passes, including both long balls. While he played well, I lowered his grade a little for nearly conceding a goal, although some (including Jansson) might say he was fouled on the play.
D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6.5 — Schlegel has had an up-and-down season, but the center back was excellent in this game. He recorded 67 touches, a block, and a team-high eight clearances. Offensively, the center back completed 94.3% of his 53 passes, including a key pass and seven of his eight long balls. He hit a volley well in the 64th minute that forced Kristijan Kahlina into a save and had a second shot that went off target.
D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6 — Thorhallsson caused headaches for Charlotte on the right side in this game, recording 44 touches and completing 90.3% of his 31 passes, including two key passes and his lone cross. He also took a shot, but it was off target. Defensively, he added a tackle, an interception, and a clearance before coming off for Kyle Smith in the 78th minute in a defensive change.
MF, Wilder Cartagena, 6.5 — Cartagena recorded 81 touches in this game while completing 89.2% of his team-high 65 passes, including a key pass and three of his seven long balls. He also took one off-target shot. Defensively, the defensive midfielder recorded three tackles, one interception, and two clearances.
MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — Similar to Cartagena, you can’t say much negative about Araujo’s performance. He touched the ball 70 times and completed 91.4% of his 58 passes, including five of his seven long balls. Both of his shots were off target, but his excellent long ball in the 76th minute helped Ivan Angulo set up the second goal. He nearly had an assist with a beautiful ball for Ramiro Enrique in the 20th minute, but the striker missed wide and was ruled offside.
MF, Ivan Angulo, 6.5 — Angulo made the most of his 49 touches in this game, completing 94.4% of his 36 passes, including a key pass and his lone long ball. However, both of his cross attempts were incomplete. His biggest impact on the game came in the 76th minute when he used his speed to win a ball down the wing and played Martin Ojeda into the box for the second goal. Defensively, Angulo recorded a tackle, an interception, and a clearance before being replaced by Nico Lodeiro in the 88th minute.
MF, Martin Ojeda, 6.5 — Ojeda only touched the ball 36 times this game, the fewest of the attacking midfielders. He completed 82.6% of his 23 passes, including a key pass, two of his five crosses, and two of his three long balls. His biggest moment came in the 76th minute when he received a pass from Angulo in the box and drilled his second touch past Kahlina to put the game away. His key pass set up a golden opportunity for Facundo Torres in the 54th minute. The attacker was taken out right after the goal, making way for Luis Muriel in the 78th minute.
MF, Facundo Torres, 7 (MotM) — It was a record-tying and breaking night for Torres, who finished the game with 69 touches. He completed 91.5% of his 47 passes, including three key passes, two of his six crosses, and all five of his long balls. Three of his four shots were on target, and he did well to bring down a cleared cross before volleying it in to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. The goal tied Dom Dwyer for the most goals in club history (46) when considering both USL and MLS eras, and he set a new MLS-era record for most goals in a single season (19) across all competitions. Torres came off to a standing ovation in the 88th minute for David Brekalo.
F, Ramiro Enrqiue, 5.5 — It was a tough night for Enrique, who should have had at least one goal. He touched the ball 21 times and completed five of his 10 passes, including a key pass. He only put one of his four shots on target, missing a golden chance in the 20th minute — even though he was ruled offside — and missed the target when free on goal in the 50th minute. It was a forgettable night for the striker, who was replaced by Duncan McGuire in the 61st minute.
Substitutes
F, Duncan McGuire (61’), 5.5 — Similar to Enrique, McGuire couldn’t really find his feet in his 29 minutes of action. He touched the ball 17 times and completed eight of his 10 passes, including a key pass. He had a great chance to get behind the back line in stoppage time but couldn’t control the ball.
F, Luis Muriel (78’), 5 — Muriel came on for Ojeda right after the midfielder made it 2-0 and never really got involved in the game. He only touched the ball nine times in 12 minutes, completing 62.5% of his eight passes. He didn’t help to create any shots, nor did he take any of his own.
D, Kyle Smith (78’), 5.5 — Smith came on in the 78th minute for Thorhallsson for defensive help. The right back touched the ball nine times and completed 66.7% of his six passes. He also didn’t record any defensive statistics in the 12 minutes on the field, but he did help see out the final minutes of the match with some strong play to maintain possession.
MF, Nico Lodeiro (88’), N/A — Lodeiro was one of the more effective substitutes, though he was only on for the final minutes and didn’t play long enough to warrant a grade. Replacing Angulo, the midfielder touched the ball seven times and completed 85.7% of his seven passes.
D, David Brekalo (88’), N/A — Brekalo came on in the 88th minute for Torres as the Lions went to three center backs to see out the game. He only touched the ball five times and completed two of his three passes while recording a clearance, which was his purpose for entering.
That’s how I saw the individual performances in tonight’s win for the Lions. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Five Takeaways
Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 2-0 home playoff victory over Charlotte FC.
Orlando City kicked off its run in the 2024 Major League Soccer playoffs with a first-round opening victory at home in front of a fiery crowd by a score of 2-0 over Charlotte FC. Much had been made about the contrasting styles of play between the two sides heading into the match, with Orlando sporting one of the best attacks in all of MLS since league play resumed after the Leagues Cup break and Charlotte boasting the second-best defense by goals allowed throughout the regular season.
The Lions ultimately imposed their will on the match and what follows are our five takeaways from a game that Orlando essentially controlled from the opening kick.
Wasteful Opportunities Early
For the first 15 to 20 minutes of the game, Orlando missed multiple golden chances that could have come back to bite the Lions in the behind. Multiple Lions had decent looks on goal and shot wide, high, or directly at Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina. Ramiro Enrique’s final touch seemed just a tad off in the early portion of the match, and Orlando failed to find the end of a few strong crosses across the box from Martin Ojeda and Rafael Santos. Luckily, none of the early miscues mattered much at the end of the game, but if the Lions are lucky enough to advance to the next round and a single-elimination game, lacking sharpness could lead to an unfortunate exit from the playoffs.
Torres Breaks Through
It was always going to be Designated Player Facundo Torres who found the net first for Orlando City, because of course, it had to be. Torres grew into the game over the first 30 minutes of the match, and for a few moments I thought he might find the first assist of the game from a series of short corner set pieces. Instead, Torres found paydirt in the 32nd minute as he was the first player to arrive at poor attempt at a clearance from the Charlotte back line following a dangerous cross sent in by Santos. El Cuervo quickly pulled the trigger, blasting the ball off the bottom of the crossbar and in for the first goal of the game.
Torres has been chasing records all year long, and with that goal, he became the all-time single-season goal scorer in Orlando City history with 19 across all competitions. It was also his third goal against Charlotte in 2024, as he scored in each of the three meetings between the teams this season. Continuing that trend was an important step toward getting the series started on the right foot.
Ojeda Extends the Lead
The strong play of Designated Player Martin Ojeda has been one of the main reasons that the OCSC attack has been so potent over the last two months. In the first playoff match against Charlotte, Ojeda continued his strong run of form and would/should have recorded at least one assist in the first half if the team could have been a tad more clinical. Nonetheless, Ojeda left his mark on the match in the 76th minute. Running on fumes, Ojeda had a ball played past him by Cesar Araujo on the sideline and wisely made no attempt on the ball as he was in an offside position. His non-action allowed Ivan Angulo to streak down the sideline at breakneck speed to reach the ball, and once he did, Ojeda had recycled into an onside position. He then took a crafty pass from Angulo and ripped a shot inside the near post past Kahlina.
The goal gave Orlando a bit of breathing room as the game entered its final moments and also marked the first time in club history that the team had scored more than one goal in a playoff match.
Defensive Cohesiveness
Much will be made over the coming week about the Orlando City attack, and rightly so, but an understated piece of what made the Lions so successful in their first game of the 2024 playoffs was the cohesiveness demonstrated across the back line and defensive midfield. Having Wilder Cartagena back in the lineup surely did not hurt things from a defensive standpoint, but I felt that the entire back line communicated effectively and covered one another quite well throughout the match. Orlando did well in the possession department during the first half, and not many questions were asked of the defense, but in the first 20 minutes of the second half, the defense stepped up multiple times to snuff out any remote possibilities that could have generated hope for the visitors. They say that defense wins championships, and Orlando showed just how steadfast its defense could be.
Playoff Clean Sheet
Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese has now recorded three clean sheets across three first-round playoff matches going back to the implementation of the new best-of-three format that started last year. Charlotte was only able to put two of its nine attempts on target, but regardless of the volume, Gallese did well to position himself at the right place and at the right time. I thought Gallese did a particularly good job of being decisive on the night and chose his moments wisely to come off his line to collect the ball, or at a minimum, get a glove on it to disrupt Charlotte’s attacking pieces. A playoff clean sheet should always be celebrated, and for me, it was the cherry on top of a very satisfying sundae.
That is what stood out to me most from a complete performance by Orlando City in the first matchup against Charlotte FC in this best-of-three series. Was there anything else in particular that caught your eye throughout the match? Let us know in the comments below and as always, vamos Orlando!
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