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Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Final Score 1-1 as Shorthanded Lions Look Out of Sync

Chris Mueller’s goal was enough to keep the unbeaten streak going but it wasn’t a good-looking game from Orlando.

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4 years ago

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City played well enough for the opening 30 minutes to extend its unbeaten streak to 11 games (6-0-5) but looked completely out of sync for the last hour in a 1-1 draw vs. New York City FC at Exploria Stadium. Chris Mueller provided the opening goal for the Lions (8-2-7, 31 points) but a mistake at the back allowed Keaton Parks to equalize for New York City FC (8-7-3, 27 points).

Although the Lions have gone 11 matches without a loss, the team has only won one of its last four (1-0-3) and in this game looked disjointed against an NYCFC team that played just four days ago and traveled on match day. Orlando City is now 6-5-5 in the all-time series against New York City FC and 3-2-3 at home.

“It was a hard game and a hard rival too, but today, listen, we’ll take the point,” said Head Coach Oscar Pareja after the match. “(The players) had been consistent on results and today we wanted so bad the three points but we couldn’t (get them) and we didn’t deserve it either.”

The Lions kicked off the match missing a huge chunk of their roster, including:

  • Dom Dwyer (knee)
  • Joao Moutinho (groin)
  • Uri Rosell (not medically cleared)
  • Tesho Akindele (not medically cleared)
  • Mauricio Pereyra (not medically cleared)
  • Benji Michel (not medically cleared)
  • Pedro Gallese (international duty)
  • Sebas Mendez (international duty)
  • Kyle Smith (not on the injury report but also not on the match day roster)

With so many players unavailable, Pareja went with Brian Rowe in goal — his 100th career MLS start — behind a back line of Kamal Miller, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan, who made his return from injury. Junior Urso and rookie Joey DeZart started in the central midfield behind an attacking midfield of Nani, Andres Perea, and Mueller, with Daryl Dike up top.

Orlando City started the match on the front foot. Nani sent Perea down the left in the first minute but the young midfielder missed just wide of the near post.

Three minutes later, Nani practically put a curling cross on a plate for Mueller, but Cash couldn’t make good contact with his head and his shot was well off target from right in front.

In the 14th minute it was Dike’s turn to waste an opportunity. Ruan sent in a nice cross but the big striker hit his shot just wide of the right post.

The Lions finally broke through in the 18th minute. Ruan knocked the ball past Gudmundur Thorarinsson and then raced by him to keep it from going over the end line. Then he sent in a perfect cross to Mueller, who guided his header inside the back post to make it 1-0. It was Mueller’s team-leading eighth goal of the season.

Orlando nearly made it 2-0 on a set piece a few minutes later when the ball pinged around the box and fell to Dike, who passed to Urso for an easy finish. Unfortunately, Dike lined up offside on the set piece and did not establish himself on before playing the ball.

New York City started to grow in the game, largely due to Orlando tailing off. The Lions started to get a bit sloppy with their pass placement, misjudging where their teammates would be, and could never quite get back to playing the free-flowing way they did in the first half hour. The visitors fired their first shot at Rowe in the 25th minute for an easy save and Jesus Medina fired right at Rowe again a minute later from the top of the area and after that, NYCFC controlled much of the match.

The Pigeons finally got their equalizer off a sloppy turnover from Carlos, who took a back pass from Mueller but then tried to play around a New York City player and got his pass attempt blocked. The visitors made the most of the sudden change of possession and worked the ball in behind to Parks, who had his initial shot deflected by Rowe. As the ball headed toward the end line for a corner kick it slowed to a crawl, allowing Parks to reach it first and slot it home to make it 1-1 in the 43rd minute.

After several more Orlando turnovers and six minutes of first-half stoppage time, the teams went to the break even at 1-1. New York City led in shots (9-7), shots on goal (4-1), and corners (3-1). The Lions held more possession (51%-49%) and were more accurate overall in the passing game (85%-80%) despite their nervy last 10 minutes of the opening period.

“Thirty very good minutes for us in the first half,” Pareja said. “After that, New York started just getting the ball. We couldn’t get the ball back as we used to do and they started creating some actions there, including the goal.”

The entirety of the second half looked like the last 20 minutes of the first half, with the visitors on the front foot and Orlando struggling to string passes together or win 50/50 balls. DeZart and Perea swapped positions at times but neither was effective in the attack. Rowe, meanwhile, came up with several big saves to prevent New York City from leaving Orlando with all three points.

“I’m very happy for Brian and I think we can thank him a lot today for one point,” Jansson said.

Nani forced Sean Johnson into his only save of the game in the 62nd minute, lining up a free kick from straight out in front of goal and firing a shot that was headed inside the right post if not for a diving save.

That was about it for Orlando City’s scoring chances in this game. From that point it was all about Rowe keeping NYCFC out at the other end, and the veteran goalkeeper had an outstanding night, finishing with seven saves, including several big ones down the stretch.

The first of his impressive saves came on a drive by Gary Makay-Steven in the 63rd minute and then he denied a Valentin Castellanos header in the 64th minute on the ensuing corner.

Rowe made another important stop in the 83rd minute on Ismael Tajouri-Shradi to keep things level.

Orlando’s last opportunity for a winner came in the 88th minute when Urso sent a beautiful diagonal ball to spring Ruan but the right back never looked at the goal in front of him and instead tried crossing back through traffic, wasting the opportunity.

Pareja gave Homegrown midfielder Jordan Bender his MLS debut in stoppage time. After about 10 minutes of added time, the teams had to be satisfied with the 1-1 draw.

New York City dominated the stat sheet, leading in shots (18-9), shots on goal (8-2), corners (8-1), possession (55.3%-44.7%), and passing accuracy (82%-80%).

“We are disappointed, but it’s a tight schedule and we just need to prepare for the next one,” Jansson said.

“It’s definitely a special evening for me,” Rowe said of his 100th MLS start. “A little bit bittersweet. I would have loved to have gotten the shutout and the win. It would have been great to get the three points, but I think we’re okay escaping with the draw after that performance tonight and it looks like the other results around the league went our way. So, we’ll get through this one and set our sights on this weekend, and kind of correcting course, and getting back to the football and the quality that we know we can play.”

Orlando City hits the road for a Sunday evening rematch against the New York Red Bulls at 7 p.m. at Red Bull Arena.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Atlanta United FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 1-0 win over Atlanta United?

Published

29 mins ago

on

November 25, 2024

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

It was a historic day at Inter&Co Stadium as Orlando City defeated Atlanta United 1-0 to advance to the Eastern Conference final of the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time in club history. A 39th-minute goal by Ramiro Enrique held up while the Lions defended several opposing chances in the second half. Upsets earlier in the playoffs and Minnesota United’s elimination Sunday night mean the Lions will play at home one more time this season.

Let’s take a look at how the players did individually in this memorable win.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — Atlanta didn’t put any of its eight shots on target in this game, so there wasn’t any shot stopping for Gallese. However, he made a crucial play in the 75th minute when Saba Lobjanidze played the ball into the box for a wide open Xande Silva, who had beaten Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Gallese came off his line to intercept the pass, saving an almost certain equalizer. In addition to that key interception, Gallese completed 63.2% of his 19 passes, including seven of his 14 long balls on the way to his third clean sheet of the playoffs.

D, Rafael Santos, 7 (MotM) — Santos had a team-high 83 touches in this game and completed 90% of his team-high 60 passes with two key passes. He completed two of his four crosses and six of his seven long balls. Defensively, the left back recorded a tackle, an interception, and four clearances. It was one of Santos’ best performances before he was replaced by David Brekalo in the 90th minute, and he gets my Man of the Match.

D, Robin Jansson, 7 — Making his 200th appearance for Orlando City, the club captain had 59 touches and completed 88.5% of his 52 passes, including four of his five long balls. He had a team-high three interceptions, three clearances, one block, and an aerial duel won. The center back was a major reason why Gallese didn’t have to make any saves.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 7 — Schlegel was also terrific in this game, touching the ball 64 times while completing 92.6% of his 54 passes and four of his five long balls. He recorded a team-high six clearances, blocked a shot, and won two aerial duels.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 5.5 — Thorhallsson was the least involved of the four defenders, touching the ball 38 times and completing 81% of his 21 passes. He didn’t convert either of his two crosses and only one of his four long balls. The right back recorded two tackles, an interception, and two clearances, while his only shot missed the target. He was lucky not to be at fault for an equalizer when he was beaten into the box by Silva in the 75th minute. Fortunately, Gallese made an excellent play. It was the last play by Thorhallsson, as Kyle Smith replaced him in the 79th minute.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 6.5 — It was a little surprising that Cartagena stayed out of the book in the final game against Charlotte, making him eligible for this one. The defensive midfielder didn’t disappoint, touching the ball 55 times and completing 91.1% of his 45 passes, including three of his four long balls. His one shot forced Brad Guzan into a save and he was active defensively, recording a tackle and five clearances.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — The other half of the defensive midfield was also solid in this game, touching the ball 66 times and completing 92.3% of his 52 passes, including six of his eight long balls. His only shot was off target, but he won three tackles.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — Angulo touched the ball 40 times on the left wing and completed 83.3% of his 24 passes including a key pass. However, he didn’t connect on either of his two crosses. He put one of his two shots on target, and he helped defensively with two tackles and a clearance. The midfielder was replaced by Nico Lodeiro in a 79th-minute defensive change. 

MF, Martin Ojeda, 6 — Ojeda also touched the ball 40 times, but only completed 76.9% of his 26 passes. However, he had three key passes, connecting on three of his seven crosses and three of his five long balls. His only shot was off target and he didn’t record any defensive statistics before being replaced by Duncan McGuire in the 69th minute.

MF, Facundo Torres, 6.5 — Torres was the most involved of the attacking midfielders, touching the ball 66 times. He completed 87.3% of his 55 passes, including three key passes. While he didn’t connect on either of his two crosses, he completed five of his six long balls. His only shot was off target and he recorded a clearance.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 6.5 — Enrique touched the ball 22 times while completing 88.9% of his nine passes, including a key pass. His shining moment came in the 39th minute, when a corner kick was knocked down and he was the first to react, putting it past Guzan for the winning goal. He took five shots in the game and put two on target before being replaced by Luis Muriel in the 69th minute.

Substitutes

F, Duncan McGuire (69’), 5.5 — McGuire came on for Ojeda in the 69th minute and struggled in his appearance. He touched the ball 17 times, completing 75% of his 12 passes, including a key pass. He was dispossessed once and had two unsuccessful touches in his 21 minutes, though he did win an aerial duel.

F, Luis Muriel (69’), 6 — Muriel was the better of the two attacking substitutions in the 69th minute, coming on for Enrique. The Colombian touched the ball 28 times and completed 76.2% of his 21 touches, including three of his four long balls, recording one key pass. His lone shot was off target (blocked), and he won a pair of aerial duels.

D, Kyle Smith (79’), 6 — Smith came on for Thorhallsson in the 79th minute in a defensive change. He touched the ball nine times while completing 87.5% of his eight passes, including one of his two long balls. He came on for his defensive skills and recorded a clearance in the late moments of the game.

MF, Nico Lodeiro (79’), 6 — Entering with Smith, Lodeiro replaced Angulo in another defensive change. The veteran touched the ball 12 times and completed eight of his 10 passes (80%), including his only long ball. His purpose on the field was to help the team see out the game and he recorded a tackle in that effort.

D, David Brekalo (90’), N/A — Brekalo came on in the 90th minute for Santos to add some more defense in the team. He touched the ball four times and completed two of his three passes (66.7%) while recording a clearance defensively.

That’s how I saw Orlando City’s 1-0 win over Atlanta United in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments below and don’t forget to vote on the Man of the Match.

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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s Eastern Conference semifinal win over Atlanta United.

Published

3 hours ago

on

November 25, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City exorcised its Decision Day demons on Sunday by beating Atlanta United 1-0 to advance to the Eastern Conference final. The promise of a rivalry match in an Eastern Conference semifinal fully lived up to the billing, as the atmosphere in the stadium was top-notch, and my vocal chords are a ragged shell of their normal selves. What follows are my five big thoughts on OCSC’s victory over Atlanta.

A Defensive Affair

Sometimes a scoreline can be deceiving, and a game that finishes 1-0 might have had a boatload of golden chances that one or both teams simply refused to take. That wasn’t the case Sunday, as there were probably only two really good chances aside from Ramiro Enrique’s goal — Dagur Dan Thorhallsson hitting the post (which may have proven to be offside anyway), and Duncan McGuire’s near-post flick that went just wide. Other than that, both teams did a pretty good job of muting each other in attack, although had the Lions been just a bit tidier with the ball they almost certainly could have bagged another as the game wound down and spaces opened up while Atlanta poured numbers forward.

Set Piece Supremacy

In the end it took a set piece for OCSC to find the game’s only goal. The Five Stripes got this far in part by being solid defensively, but set pieces were a problem all year as they gave up 13 goals from them during the regular season. So it was again on Sunday, as Martin Ojeda’s corner pinballed around, Ramiro Enrique was the first to react, and he slotted the ball underneath an onrushing Brad Guzan. The Lions have been less wasteful from dead ball situations this season than in years past, and Enrique’s goal was another example of making set pieces count. With Atlanta coming out happy to bunker and play for a smash-and-grab result, it was even more important to make the most of set piece opportunities, and that’s exactly what Orlando did.

A Timely Goal

As nice as it would have been for Facundo Torres or Thorhallsson to score just minutes into the game, the timing of Enrique’s goal wasn’t half bad either. The longer the match went on tied, the more likely the visitors were to pose a threat. Going into halftime with things level certainly wouldn’t have been the end of the world, but taking a lead into the break gave the Lions a tiny bit of breathing room, while forcing Atlanta to come out and open things up in the second half. Ultimately, OCSC couldn’t take advantage of the opportunities that were available on the counterattack, but the Lions’ lives were made much easier by being able to play with a lead. We saw how difficult a bunkered Atlanta team can be to deal with on Decision Day, but the 39th-minute goal turned the game into a completely different affair.

Cartagena Makes His Mark

In his Three Keys to Victory piece, David Rohe identified Wilder Cartagena having a good match as an essential ingredient to Orlando’s success. After all, he’d missed both regular-season matches against the Five Stripes, and Orlando City had lost both games. Sometimes correlation does equal causation, and so it was on Sunday, as the Peruvian midfielder put in a typically assured showing, and the Lions came away with the win. He contributed one tackle, five clearances, one shot (on target), three long balls, and 91% passing accuracy. He and Cesar Araujo helped lock down Aleksey Miranchuk, and Oscar Pareja specifically praised his efforts after the game. OCSC is simply a different team when he’s on the field, and that absolutely proved to be the case here.

Toeing the Line

It was important for OCSC to play with intensity and physicality, but not cross the line and take things too far, which is something that we’ve seen in the past. Last year’s eliminations from Leagues Cup and the MLS Cup playoffs came in part due to red cards that left the 10 men remaining on the field with an almost impossible task. Lessons from those games seemed to have been learned well on Sunday afternoon though, because while the Lions weren’t afraid to put in physical challenges and throw their bodies around a bit, they kept their heads cool and never went past the point of no return. They committed two more fouls than Atlanta (seven to five), but didn’t receive any bookings. It was exactly the sort of intense-yet-professional display that the playoffs require, and it was nice to see the team looking right at home.

There you have it folks. It may not have been the prettiest win we’ve ever seen, but sometimes a team has to be able to win ugly and Orlando City was able to do just that. The Lions will now advance to the Eastern Conference final for the first time, and it’ll be played right here at home on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Be there, be loud, and let’s ride this thing as far as we can. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 11/25/24

Orlando City advances to Eastern Conference final, Orlando Pride win NWSL Championship, MLS playoff roundup, and more.

Published

7 hours ago

on

November 25, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been busy this weekend at Under Armour, but I tried to catch some soccer when possible. Besides that, I’ll be working at Wrigley Field this Saturday for Northwestern’s college football game against Illinois. What an excellent weekend it was for Orlando’s soccer teams! We saw the Orlando Pride complete the double with an NWSL Championship title, and the Lions took out Atlanta United in the MLS playoffs. We have plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Advance to the Eastern Conference Final

Orlando City defeated Atlanta United 1-0 on Sunday at Inter&Co Stadium to advance to the Eastern Conference final of the MLS playoffs for the first time in club history. Ramiro Enrique was the only scorer in the match, with Orlando’s defense doing well to secure the shutout against Atlanta. The Lions will host the New York Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference final on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with a spot in the MLS Cup final on the line.

Orlando Pride Win First NWSL Championship Title

On Saturday, the Orlando Pride defeated the Washington Spirit 1-0 at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City to win their first NWSL Championship title. Barbra Banda scored the lone goal in the first half for the Pride. Orlando defended its lead throughout the second half, with the Spirit creating plenty of scoring opportunities but never breaking through. It was a stellar 2024 NWSL season for the Pride, as they became the first club since 2021 to complete the double by winning both the NWSL Championship and the NWSL Shield. Banda was named MVP of the game, while Marta finally got her first NWSL Championship title since joining the Pride in 2017. It was a historic season for the Pride and this match featured plenty of other milestones as well. Orlando will hold a parade for the Pride later today at 4:30 p.m. that will start on Orange Avenue and end at city hall for the celebration ceremony.

Insight Into the Prides Historic Title Run

Yahoo Sports shared an article on how the Orlando Pride went from missing the playoffs for several seasons to becoming the best team in the NWSL this year. It all started with a players meeting last winter to discuss the club’s values and goals for the 2024 season, with the team’s predictions for the season hung up in the locker room as a reminder. Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter spoke on the team’s past struggles. The club did not make the NWSL playoffs since 2017 until this season, which was the longest playoff drought in the league. The Pride broke plenty of records this season, going on a 23-match unbeaten streak and claiming both the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship. Many factors turned out to be the difference for Orlando’s success this season, including keeping many players from previous seasons like Marta, Kylie Strom, and Haley McCutcheon instead of completely overhauling the roster. That helped set the culture within the squad, with the club showing grit and resilience all season long to conclude a historic season for the Pride.

MLS Playoff Semifinal Round Recap

Over the weekend, three more teams punched their tickets to the conference finals in the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs. Let’s start with the Hudson River Derby, as the Red Bulls defeated New York City FC 2-0 at Citi Field to advance to the Eastern Conference final. The Seattle Sounders defeated LAFC 2-1 after extra time, with Jordan Morris scoring to seal the win at BMO Stadium and put Seattle into the Western Conference final. The LA Galaxy cruised past Minnesota United 6-2 as Gabriel Pec, Joseph Paintsil, and Dejan Joveljic each scored twice. The Galaxy will take on the Seattle Sounders on Saturday in the Western Conference final.

Free Kicks

  • The Orlando Pride received a shoutout on their NWSL Championship victory by some notable people, including tennis legend Billie Jean King and President Joe Biden.

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

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