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Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Final Score 3-1 as 9-Man Lions Undone in Second Half

Robin Jansson’s red card late in the first half completely changed the game and Sacha Kljestan’s red in the second half didn’t help.

Published

6 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City just can’t quite seem to find a way to win consecutive games. With yet another good opportunity to start a winning streak, the Lions saw Robin Jansson sent off at the end of the first half for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity in a tie game, and Sacha Kljestan was sent off in the second half for a horror tackle. The first-place Union (10-5-5, 35 points) took full advantage and beat the Lions (6-9-3, 21 points) 3-1 at Exploria Stadium.

It was the first time this season that Orlando scored first and lost. It was also the Union’s first win at Orlando in five tries (1-1-3).

Chris Mueller opened the scoring for Orlando just eight minutes in, but Kacper Przybylko answered later in the first half and added another just after halftime as the Union capitalized on the Lions being down a man.

“We started the game brightly, got a goal and then after the goal I felt like we needed to do a better job of maintaining possession. We allowed them to come back into the game a little bit,” said Head Coach James O’Connor after the match. “They obviously scored a goal but then I think obviously the sending off (of Jansson) was a major impact.”

O’Connor wasted no time inserting some of his internationals back into the lineup. Will Johnson and Sebas Mendez joined Kljestan in the midfield. The forward line and back four remained the same as it was for Saturday’s win at Columbus, with Brian Rowe back in goal. Dom Dwyer made the 18, along with Kamal Miller.

The Lions got on the front foot immediately, with Danilo Acosta getting a couple of crosses into dangerous spots in the first minute. The second found Tesho Akindele, who was denied at point-blank range by a sliding Matt Freese.

Just after Kljestan and Mendez had shots blocked in the area off a corner kick, Orlando broke through in the eighth minute. Mueller took advantage of an Auston Trusty turnover, backed Jack Elliott into his own penalty area, and fired home for the Lions’ earliest goal in a game this season. It was the fifth of the season and the second straight game with a goal for Cash.

“I picked it up and just started driving kind of towards the goal,” Mueller said. “The defender just kind of kept backing off, backing off, backing off until I thought I was close enough to get a good look and I just kept it low and took my shot.”

“I thought we started out really well,” said Akindele. “They’re a good team. We knew it. We knew we had to kind of impose ourselves on the game and we did. Chris scored an amazing goal and I thought we had control of it. They kind of started taking the momentum back.”

Philadelphia started to climb into the match shortly after that. Przybylko fired a shot from range in the 12th minute that Rowe didn’t pick up right away, but he was able to get down with a strong hand and knock it away.

The Union then spent about the next 10 minutes winning several corner kicks but the Orlando defense did well to keep any of them from becoming dangerous. However, Rowe did have to make a save on a clear-cut chance from an angle in the 18th.

Nani had a ball fall for him on the left in the 24th minute but he sent a scorcher over the bar.

Two minutes later, Orlando tried to break on the counter off a Union corner but Haris Medunjanin was booked for a professional foul.

The Union leveled in the 32nd minute when Akindele turned it over in the midfield. He went down under contact but Chris Penso waved play on and Jamiro Monteiro passed to Przybylko, who put a move on Jansson, who went to ground, then fired into the net to make it 1-1.

Disaster struck in the 43rd minute when a ball got in behind and Jansson took down Fafa Picault. He managed to get a touch on the ball first but fell awkwardly and ended up scissoring Picault to the ground. Penso gave him a yellow card initially, before reviewing the video and changing his decision to a straight red.

“I think that obviously completely changes the game,” O’Connor said.

“Obviously the red card was unlucky for us, but you know, it happens sometimes,” Akindele said. “We need to learn from it and we need to go and review what we did wrong and make sure we’re ready to do better in that situation next time.”

The Lions saw out two minutes of stoppage time down a man, but the game changed dramatically with Orlando’s first red card of the season.

Orlando out-shot the Union in the first half, 8-7, with Philadelphia getting more on target (4-3). The Union held a slight edge in passing (89%-88%), with possession split just about 50/50.

The Union wasted no time grabbing the lead, with Przybylko notching his brace just 62 seconds after the restart. A routine ball into the area fell for the Union striker and second-half sub Kamal Miller was too slow in closing him down, allowing him to get off a volley shot that made it 2-1.

Seven minutes later, Picault put the game away with his third goal of the season, roofing a shot toward the near post to make it 3-1 in the 52nd minute. This time Acosta was late tracking back to close down the shooter.

“The first 10 minutes of the second half I think we needed to be sharper,” O’Connor said. “Granted we’re down to 10 men but I think that’s something that we feel as if we needed to start the second half brighter than we did.”

“I think we lost our discipline as a team,” Akindele said. “You need to at that point bunker and not allow a goal in that first couple minutes. And that’s on everyone. That’s on me from the top and our defenders — everybody needs to be better and I think we just need to be a little bit more disciplined in those situations.”

Things got even worse in the 67th minute when Kljestan caught Monteiro with his studs from behind and got Orlando’s second straight red card of the game and the season. It was a terrible challenge and Kljestan will be lucky if he doesn’t receive any additional punishment beyond the suspension for Saturday’s return leg in Philadelphia.

“Obviously Sacha makes a poor decision, goes to ground,” O’Connor said. “Too tired, to be fair to Sacha, and then obviously we’re down another man. I think the game was completely impacted by the sendings off.”

The Lions did try to hit on the counter a few times after going down to nine men, but Akindele and substitute Dom Dwyer couldn’t quite break free. Dwyer nearly scored in the 84th on a corner kick after Johnson headed a ball into the area with an audacious bicycle kick attempt but he hit his screamer over the bar.

After that it was just damage control. Miller blocked a shot that would have made it 4-1 in the 87th minute and seconds later Rowe was forced to make an outstanding stop to deny Medunjanin.

Philadelphia led all statistical categories, including shots (22-13), shots on target (9-3), possession (58%-42%), and passing accuracy (91%-87%). But going down a man and then two goals, then losing another player was too much to overcome against virtually any team, let alone the Eastern Conference leaders.

“The issue for Saturday now is we’ve got a load of guys that have played a lot of minutes and have covered a lot of ground,” O’Connor said. “And then with another game on the Wednesday against New York (City) we’re going to really have to manage the situation.”

These two teams will do it all over again — hopefully without the Orlando red cards — at Talen Energy Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/21/25

Orlando Pride release preseason camp roster, scouting Costa Rica, women’s soccer transfer grades, and more.

Published

22 hours ago

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January 21, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Good morning, everyone! If you had yesterday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, then I hope you enjoyed some restful time off. If not, then I hope you got your week started off on a good and productive note. There’s a lot going on around here this week as the United States Men’s National Team is in town, and Orlando City will play its first preseason match on Saturday. That means we have plenty to discuss, so let’s dig into today’s links.

Orlando Pride Drop Preseason Roster

Monday might have been a holiday but the Orlando Pride were busy, as they announced the roster for their upcoming preseason camp. Almost all of the usual suspects from the 2024 season are back, as the Pride return 98% of the player-minutes from last season and every single scorer. Mariana Larroquette is on the list although she’s currently on loan in Argentina, and Amanda Allen is likewise included after her loan at Lexington Sporting Club was terminated due to a torn labrum. The biggest intrigue comes from the trio of non-roster invitees: goalkeeper DeAira Jackson, midfielder Aryssa Mahrt, and forward Simone Jackson.

Scouting Costa Rica

The USMNT takes on Costa Rica on Wednesday at Inter&Co Stadium to wrap up the team’s annual January camp. Like the U.S., Costa Rica is bringing a roster devoid of the majority of its important players. Costa Rica also has a new manager at the helm in Miguel Herrera, who will take charge of the team for the very first time on Wednesday. Herrera typically lines his teams up in a 5-3-2 where the wingbacks take on a very important role and the team looks to hit on the counter while staying compact at the back. This will be the last time we see the USMNT in action until the Concacaf Nations League semifinals in early March.

Women’s Soccer January Transfer Grades

January has been a busy time for transfers in the women’s soccer world, so which teams have done the best business? Well, the Orlando Pride received an A grade for signing Marta to a new two-year deal, retaining a player who helped the team win its first ever trophies. Liverpool got an A for signing Julia Bartel on loan from Chelsea. Leicester City made an interesting call by transferring goalkeeper Lize Kop to Tottenham despite just being a point above the relegation zone. The Foxes get a C for the move, while Spurs get a B+ for adding a capable netminder.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans taking part in some very important games over the course of this week. Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Juventus face Club Brugge today in the UEFA Champions League, while Ricardo Pepi, Richy Ledezma, Esmir Bajraktarević, Malik Tillman and PSV Eindhoven take on Crvena Zvezda in the same competition. Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan will play Girona in the UCL on Wednesday, while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, and Celtic take on Young Boys. On Friday, John Tolkin could make his Bundesliga debut when his new team, Holstein Kiel, travels to face Wolfsburg.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride players reported for their preseason physicals on Monday.
  • Meanwhile, Orlando City took on the dreaded beep test during Monday’s training session.

That’s all I have for you today. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Striker Suddenly a Position of Need for Orlando City

Departures and a key injury mean Orlando City needs a striker heading into the 2025 MLS season.

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2 days ago

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January 20, 2025

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Image Courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City reached the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in 2024, a milestone for the club. The core of the team was locked up through the 2025 season, so there was no reason to believe it needed to add much this off-season. Unfortunately, injuries and departures have created a serious problem for the team.

The group of forwards last year consisted of Duncan McGuire, Ramiro Enrique, and Jack Lynn. McGuire scored 15 goals in 2023 and was expected to depart for Blackburn Rovers before a clerical error allowed the Lions to keep their target man. The team’s primary striker scored 11 goals in 37 games — the same number as the previous season — but split time starting with Enrique. The Argentinian improved greatly in 2024, increasing his total goal tally from four to 12. Even Lynn showed tremendous improvement last year, playing a greater role in the team and scoring his first two MLS goals.

The future also seemed bright for the Orlando City forwards because of their ages. Lynn is the oldest of the trio at just 25 years old. Meanwhile, McGuire and Enrique are only 23, so there was no reason to believe this group couldn’t produce this coming season.

The problem at striker began in the postseason when McGuire was pulled down by Charlotte FC midfielder Djibril Diani in the final first round game of the playoffs. McGuire suffered a shoulder injury during the challenge that required surgery on Dec. 13. It’s expected that the striker could take four to five months to return to action, possibly leaving him out until May or June.

Another blow to Orlando’s attack occurred Saturday when Lynn surprisingly announced his retirement from professional soccer. In just over a month, Orlando City went from having three strikers to having just one as preseason training starts.

With McGuire injured and Lynn gone, one option would be to have Designated Player Luis Muriel play up top. However, the Colombian prefers to play a more withdrawn position and proved to be effective in that role last year. Since Head Coach Oscar Pareja prefers to play a 4-2-3-1 formation, the Lions need someone up top to control the ball and involve the midfielders in the attack. That’s not Muriel’s game.

The result of these issues is that nobody is currently behind Enrique when the season begins. If the Argentinian gets tired, hurt, or simply needs rest, Pareja is limited in his options. 

Whether there was a lack of strikers or a lack of goals from the position previously, that problem was resolved by the club’s all-time leading goal scorer. Facundo Torres scored 20 goals in 2024, becoming the first player in Orlando City’s MLS history and the second player in club history to do so. He went on to set a new club record for total goals of 47.

However, Orlando City sold its best player to Brazilian side Palmeiras on Dec. 20. It was a gut punch to fans as Torres had signed a new contract on Jan. 10, 2024 that ran through the 2026 season. There had been talk for the last couple of years that the attacker would look for a move to Europe and rumors of a move to South America arose this off-season. Still, it created a huge gap the club has to fill.

There are players on the roster that can make up for the injury and departures. Martin Ojeda had a strong season in 2024, finishing with seven goals and 13 assists. His seven goals ranked fourth on the team and his 13 assists topped the squad alongside Nico Lodeiro. Muriel came on strong later in the season, finishing with five goals and eight assists. But those numbers are a long way from the 20 goals that Torres tallied last year.

Even if you consider all goal contributions, Ojeda and Muriel fall well short of Torres. Ojeda had a total of 20 goal contributions in 2024 while Muriel had 13. In addition to Torres’s 20 goals, he added nine assists for a team-leading 29 goal contributions.

All of this information leads to one undeniable fact — Orlando City needs to sign a striker prior to the season. And there’s not much time for Luiz Muzzi to act. The European transfer window closes on Feb. 3 and many MLS teams have already been filling similar needs. With the season starting in just over a month, the options will be limited if the Lions don’t do something soon.

After the best postseason finish in Orlando City’s MLS history, things were looking good heading into 2025. While the back line and most of the midfield is returning, McGuire’s injury and the departure of Torres and Lynn have left the Lions in a tough spot offensively. If they don’t do something in the next couple of weeks, it could be a long 2025.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/20/25

Orlando City signs Nicolas Rodriguez, Jack Lynn announces retirement, USMNT defeats Venezuela in friendly, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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January 20, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope you’re all having a good holiday weekend as we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Over the past week, I’ve been working and covering high school ice hockey. It will be a busy week in Orlando, with the United States Men’s National Team’s match against Costa Rica on Wednesday and Orlando City’s first preseason match against Atletico Mineiro on Saturday. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Signs Nicolas Rodriguez

Orlando City announced on Friday that the club has signed forward Nicolas Rodriguez from Fortaleza CEIF in Colombia’s top flight. The deal is through the 2027 season, with a club option for 2028, and Rodriguez will occupy a MLS U22 Initiative slot. Rodriguez made 19 appearances for Fortaleza, recording 1,607 minutes, five goals, and three assists during the 2024 Primera A Clausura season. The Lions add a young attacking player the club can develop and Rodriguez can play on the right wing, the right side of a three-man midfield, or in the No. 10 spot.

Jack Lynn Announces Retirement

Orlando City forward Jack Lynn announced his retirement from professional soccer on Saturday. Lynn was drafted by Orlando in the first round of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. He became a regular starter for Orlando City B, scoring a team-record 38 goals in over three seasons with the MLS NEXT Pro side. Lynn also won the Golden Boot with 19 goals during the 2023 season and became the first OCB player to be named MLS NEXT Pro MVP. He played sparingly with the first team, but he scored twice last season as his role increased. The Lions will likely look to add another striker for more depth up top.

Orlando Pride Acquire Allocation Money in Trade

On Friday, the Orlando Pride announced that the club has acquired $50,000 in Allocation Money from the Washington Spirit. In exchange, the Pride sent the Spirit a 2025 international roster spot. The Pride will face the Spirit in the NWSL Challenge Cup final on March 7 at Inter&Co Stadium.

USMNT Defeats Venezuela in Friendly

The USMNT defeated Venezuela 3-1 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday in a friendly. Jack McGlynn and Patrick Agyemang scored in the first half to give the USMNT a 2-0 lead just before halftime. Matko Milijevic scored the third goal for the Americans in the second half, with Venezuela pulling one back thanks to a goal from Jorge Yriarte. Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino has led the USMNT to winning four out of its first five matches since he took charge last September. The USMNT’s next match will be against Costa Rica on Wednesday at Inter&Co Stadium.

Alyssa Naeher Named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year

On Saturday, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was voted 2024 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year. Naeher won 40% of the vote, while defender Naomi Girma finished in second with 32%. In her final year with the USWNT, Naeher ended 2024 with 18 starts, playing 1,170 minutes and only conceding 11 goals. She played a crucial role with clutch saves to help the USWNT win the 2024 SheBelieves Cup, 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup, and gold at the Olympics in Paris. Naeher is the second goalkeeper to win the award since Hope Solo won it in 2009.

Free Kicks

  • Manchester City forward Erling Haaland has reached an agreement with the club on a record-breaking contract that extends his deal through 2034.

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

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