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Florida Cup 2021: Everton Defeats Pumas, Nacional Edges Millonarios
Florida Cup’s second and final night came to Camping World Stadium tonight with a pair of friendlies. With Everton having already won the event with a penalty-kick shootout victory over Millonarios on Sunday — following the withdrawal of Arsenal and Inter Milan from the competition before it began, due to COVID-19 concerns — the event did well to add Pumas and Nacional to the lineup to fill out the second day.
But rather than rearrange the entire event to accommodate the last-minute additions, Florida Cup merely hosted the championship match on Sunday and a pair of friendlies tonight, rather than make the late additions part of the competition.
Everton of the English Premier League took on Pumas UNAM of Mexico’s Liga MX in the opening match, with Atletico Nacional and Millonarios taking part in a Colombian first division rivalry match in the nightcap.
Everton 1, Pumas 0
In the opening match, Everton got a first-half goal and that was enough to send Pumas home with a 1-0 loss. The goal came early in the match, with Moise Kean getting in behind in the 19th minute and hitting his shot at goalkeeper Julio Gonzalez. The keeper made the initial save but spilled it and left Kean with an easy tap-in to give the Toffees a 1-0 lead.
Here is Kean’s goal!
🏴 @Everton 1 🆚 0 @PumasMX 🇲🇽 #FloridaCup pic.twitter.com/8JYWCdO6ld
— Florida Cup (@Florida_Cup) July 28, 2021
Everton should have had a chance from the penalty spot later in the half. Kean again was the danger man, trying an acrobatic shot on the volley and hitting the obviously outstretched arm of Ricardo Galindo in the penalty area. The arm was straight up and not even close to being in a natural position and may have prevented a goal. There was no penalty awarded and the Florida Cup does not have VAR.
Was that a penalty?
🏴 @Everton 1 🆚 0 @PumasMX 🇲🇽 #FloridaCup pic.twitter.com/2UYElJnMNJ
— Florida Cup (@Florida_Cup) July 28, 2021
The best chance for Pumas came in the 41st minute. Defender Nicolas Freire got his head to a corner kick cross. His shot deflected out off an Everton player and out for another corner.
Everton’s Alex Iwobi should have doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time. Iwobi broke down the right and fired a shot that skipped just inches wide of the left post.
That was it for the first half and the Toffees took their 1-0 lead into the break. Pumas had more shots (7-6) but Everton got more on target (4-2). Pumas earned more corners (3-1) but Everton held more possession (56.9%-43.1%) and passed more accurately (88.8%-81.8%).
Everton created some danger just two minutes after the restart, with Nathan Broadhead sending a cross through the box but none of his teammates could get onto it.
Three minutes later, Pumas got its first good look of the second half with Cristian Battocchio sending a shot just wide of the left post. Juan Ignacio Dinenno fired wide from the top of the area in the 58th minute for Pumas as the Mexican side continued to be wasteful with its chances.
Everton eventually got back on the front foot and finding space in the penalty area. In the 62nd minute, Anthony Gordon stung the palms of Gonzalez with a shot from the top of the area, but the keeper was able to make the save. Two minutes later, Abdoulaye Doucoure sent a shot just wide of the right post on a good opportunity.
Gonzalez then made an excellent save on James Rodriguez in the 68th minute off a cross from Gordon from the left.
Nice play from @anthonygordon24 finding @jamesdrodriguez unmarked.
Great save from González.
🏴 @Everton 1 🆚 0 @PumasMX 🇲🇽 #FloridaCup pic.twitter.com/LMStbp9FHz
— Florida Cup (@Florida_Cup) July 28, 2021
Leonel Lopez tried his luck from distance in the 74th, sending a shot in that forced a diving save from substitute goalkeeper Joao Virginia. The Portuguese keeper made an even bigger stop a minute later on a second long-range attempt.
Jonjoe Kenny got in alone in the 82nd minute for the Toffees but Gonzalez made himself big and made a point-blank save.
That was the last good opportunity for either side, as Pumas tried to get forward for the equalizer but couldn’t connect the final pass in the attacking third. Everton held on for the win.
Pumas had more shot attempts (15-14), but Everton got more on target (7-4). Pumas earned more corners (5-2), while Everton held more possession (55.7%-44.3%) and more accurate passing (85.8%-83.9%).
“We were expecting that (Pumas) would play in another way,” Everton Manager Rafa Benitez said after the match. “We were watching some games and they changed the system. And that is good news for us because we were learning how to manage another way to attack and defend against a different system. And that is a great opportunity for us to grow, to improve. And I think that we did well in the end.”
Atletico Nacional 3, Millonarios 2
In the nightcap, the Colombian rivalry got spicy early. Just six minutes into the match, Nacional was pressing forward and creating problems. Jarlan Barrera broke down the middle of the box alone and scored the opening goal for the former club of Orlando City midfielder Andres Perea.
⚽️🎯 @JarlanJBarrera
🔵 @MillosFCoficial 0 🆚 1 @nacionaloficial 🟢 #FloridaCup pic.twitter.com/A33rBi4hdh
— Florida Cup (@Florida_Cup) July 29, 2021
Four minutes later, Juan Carlos Pereira of Millonarios picked up a yellow card for a nasty-looking challenge in the center circle.
From there, the game simply exploded for the rest of the first half, with the teams trading goals and scoring chances. Millonarios sent a warning signal in the 18th minute when Fernando Uribe fired just wide from the top of the area. Seven minutes later, Millonarios leveled the match. David Silva’s shot took a deflection and the goalkeeper had no chance in the 25th minute.
David 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 Silva 🎩, ladies and gentlemen.
That’s the first one from 𝘦𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰.
🔵 @MillosFCoficial 2 🆚 2 @nacionaloficial 🟢 #FloridaCup pic.twitter.com/XcNmiKy0OQ
— Florida Cup (@Florida_Cup) July 29, 2021
Nacional nearly pulled that goal back in the 28th minute but Harrison Mojica hit the crossbar. However, his team regained the lead anyway in the 31st minute, when a through ball split the defense and Jonatan Alvez finished calmly to make it 2-1.
A minute later, Uribe smashed a header just wide for Millonarios and in the 33rd minute, Los Embajadores equalized again. Silva got his brace with another shot that took a slight deflection off a defender and beat Aldair Quintana to make it 2-2.
The teams traded chances again before Nacional went back in front. Alvez was left all alone at the back post on a corner kick and the ball deflected through and fell for him to finish in the 44th minute.
Alvez scored from a corner to put Los Verdolagas ahead once again!
🔵 @MillosFCoficial 2 🆚 3 @nacionaloficial 🟢 #FloridaCup pic.twitter.com/xAwlbkvkHE
— Florida Cup (@Florida_Cup) July 29, 2021
Alvez nearly completed a first-half hat trick in stoppage time, but Christian Vargas made a huge save on his shot from about seven yards out.
The teams finally got to take a breath and went to their locker rooms with Nacional holding a 3-2 edge. Nacional also led in shots (10-6), shots on target (5-2), corners (5-1), possession (55.1%-44.9%), and passing accuracy (87.6%-83.1%).
After such a crazy first half, it was a bit disappointing to see the match settle down in the second period, but neither team could find the net. There were a few good opportunities, but the score stayed right where it was.
Uribe sent his third shot of the game wide of the net two minutes after the restart, giving him a hat trick of near-misses for Millonarios.
In the 66th minute, Nacional nearly got an insurance goal from Baldomero Perlaza but Vargas made a massive save to keep it a one-goal game.
Millonarios created the best chance of the second half, nearly bagging an equalizer in the 85th minute. But Quintana made a fantastic diving save to keep it out and the match ended the same way the first half finished up.
Nacional led in shots (17-11), shots on target (8-3), corners (8-4), possession (55.7%-44.3%), and passing accuracy (86.4%-83.9%). Despite the statistical domination, Millonarios were inches from tying the match late and had Los Embajadores been a little sharper — especially Uribe — could have beaten their rivals from Medellin.
That will do it for the 2021 version of the Florida Cup. The event was fraught with challenges due to the pandemic and had done well to schedule a stellar lineup, only to have things go wrong practically on the eve of the tournament. Kudos to Florida Cup for making the most of a bad situation and hosting an exciting event. We’ll see if the competition returns to the winter in 2022 or remains a summer event.
Uncategorized
A Note About Hurricane Milton and The Mane Land
First of all, be safe. Second of all, be safe. Third of all, here’s what’s up regarding our upcoming schedule.
Hello, Mane Landers! With another powerful storm bearing down on the Sunshine State, it’s good to know that Orlando City and OCB are off and the Pride are on the road this weekend. We hope that everyone remains safe as Hurricane Milton passes through and near the areas in which many of you (and us) live.
As always, I hate writing these pieces but it seems to be required at least once per year, so I wanted to let everyone know that we at The Mane Land are going to do our best to continue our normal coverage and publication schedule as best we can — understanding that we are not a priority for anyone in the area at the moment. Our schedule in the coming days is not really up to us, as there are always unknown aspects to every storm, and while Hurricane Milton may or may not disrupt some or all of us personally, there are cell, internet, and electricity services that could be affected — something far beyond our control — to the point where our normal service isn’t possible. So we ask that you be aware of that and to be patient if that happens.
Hopefully our cable/satellite/electricity/internet will stay on for all the normal reasons, as well as so we can continue our coverage of Orlando’s soccer teams.
As Hurricane Milton threatens our state, we want to wish all of you the best of luck. Mother Nature is not a force to be trifled with, so we hope that everyone takes the mindset to err on the side of caution rather than take unnecessary risks. The weather is undefeated and should never be challenged.
The weather is undefeated and should never be challenged.
For those who read us throughout the Central Florida area and beyond, please let this serve as a reminder that several of our writers will be within reach of the storm, and all or some of us could find ourselves without power, internet, and/or cell service soon. Some of our staff members live in the more vulnerable areas along the Gulf Coast and Space Coast, where flooding could be severe.
When The Weather Channel sends people to your area to broadcast about the storm, you definitely take notice.
The safety of the TML staff is obviously of paramount importance to me. I urge all of our staff to take appropriate precautions, including – should they deem it necessary – evacuation. I urge everyone to be wherever they’re going to be by 5 p.m. tonight and then to stay put. As a website, we will strive to continue to function as normally as possible over the coming days.
I will personally do everything in my power (provided I have power and either the internet or cell service, or both) to maintain the site’s schedule of features with whatever breaking news we can cover over the span of the storm’s passing and beyond. However, please be aware that the site could potentially go without updates for an indeterminate period if the storm is particularly destructive and leaves us without power/internet, or with more immediate problems that must be overcome before we can even think about sitting down to write a blog post or record a podcast. This may be unavoidable, but we will do everything we can to avoid it.
I will try to provide updates from The Mane Land Twitter account (@TheManeLand) periodically to let people know that we’re OK as I get reports from our staff, and what the status of stories will be over the days (and weeks, if need be) to come. We hope the storm isn’t too disruptive to our daily functions but…this is a blog and it is infinitely less important than real life. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we’ll do what we have to do and get back to normal as quickly as we can.
Hopefully I’ll be able to look back on this post in a few days and laugh about having written it.
But this is a two-way community, so enough about us. Where are you located in relation to the storm’s path? What are you doing to prepare for the hurricane? Are you getting out of harm’s way, or are you staying put? How are you planning to pass the time? What are your best hurricane hacks? Let us know what you’re up to in the comments section below and keep us updated on how the weather is affecting your area.
Stay safe, Lion Nation.
Uncategorized
Reflecting on Eight Years with The Mane Land
A look back over my time with The Mane Land (so far).
As of last week, I have been a contributor at The Mane Land for eight years. That’s longer than I’ve ever been at any of my actual jobs in my life. There are literally only a couple of people who have been with the site longer, but I’m still amazed at how long it’s been. This is not to say I’m going anywhere, but rather I wanted to take the opportunity to look back at the past eight years, and look ahead to the future.
Unlike some, I didn’t come to be a supporter of Orlando City until it was announced that the club was joining MLS. At the time, I was contemplating picking a club to follow in MLS, but being in Tallahassee, there were no nearby options at that time. I considered FC Dallas and D.C. United, given the two were geographically closer in proximity to me than any others. Fortunately, it was literally while I was considering my options that the announcement was made regarding Orlando City’s jump to MLS. It was an easy decision.
As I do in many aspects of my life, I immediately started researching my new club, which led me to the content being produced by The Mane Land. There was also an article on the site titled “Join The Mane Land Staff.” I had often over the years internally bemoaned that I rarely used my Bachelor’s degree in English, and the desire to write welled up in me so much that I emailed the staff.
In response, one of our former editors, Andrew Marcinko, contacted me and said “I think your voice would be a great fit on TML.” He asked me to submit a Fan Post (those went away with our presence on SBN), and then another piece for review. Following that, our founder and managing editor, Michael Citro, emailed me to welcome me to the staff. I had no idea at the time how big a part of my life this blog would become.
I started out writing Monday’s Lions Links — often one of the more difficult days to write — and a feature piece. It’s been many years gone by now, but there was a time when the feature piece was “Pride Pub,” an ongoing series that paired craft beer and good food based on Orlando City’s opponent. I can tell you that the research for that was very enjoyable, and I still use some of the recipes I found to this day.
Eventually, I started contributing more match coverage and analytical pieces. Staff came and went, but I never thought to leave since I was enjoying myself. Sometime after that, I was promoted to senior columnist, for which I’m grateful. I can without reservation say that I’m a better writer thanks to my time with the site, and from working with such excellent staff.
In November of 2016, Michael asked if I wanted to give co-hosting The Mane Land PawedCast a try. My first recording was for Episode 71. We just recorded Episode 354, and with the exception of maybe two or three episodes, I have been on every single one of 283 episodes over the last six plus years. Michael and I have spent a lot of time talking on and off the podcast over the years, and I’m proud of what we have produced and to call him my friend.
We recently added an Orlando Pride-specific podcast called Skopurp: An Orlando Pride PawedCast. For years we wanted to give the Pride the time and attention the club deserves. Now, it is a reality, but one that I ask you to listen to and share. I’ll even put out that although Michael and I are the current hosts, we merely consider ourselves stewards and are hoping to get others to come onboard and eventually take it to the next level.
When I started with The Mane Land, the site had just made the move from a free WordPress site to the SBNation network. It was a big deal, and for many years it was a good partnership. Of course that all came to an end not too long ago, and our blog went the independent route thanks to the incredibly generous support of our readers and listeners. In fact, if you want to be one of those supporting our efforts, please go to our Buy Me A Coffee site to become a member. The move has allowed a flexibility we didn’t have before, but I really want others to have the same sense of joy and accomplishment that I have as a member of our staff.
At one point we had nearly twice the staff that we do now, and as you know, many hands make light work. The opposite of that is also true. I genuinely believe that there must be others out there with the same passion for Orlando City as I have — with the same desire to have their voice heard, whether through the written word or on a podcast. I promise you there is an opportunity to contribute here with us. Our internal discussions are informative, engaging, and often funny. Please consider joining us, as I did eight years ago. I haven’t regretted it and I know you won’t either.
I want to thank all of those who contributed to The Mane Land over the years. There are many that I am still in touch with, though they are no longer a part of the staff. Of course, the current staff are a pleasure to work with, and I appreciate their dedication to what we are trying to do.
Finally, I want to thank the readers and listeners over the years. From those who regularly comment on our articles, to those that I’ve personally met at matches or even randomly on the street, you are a big reason that we do all of this. You are a big reason why I’ve been doing this for the better part of a decade. it is always a genuine pleasure hearing your thoughts or simply sharing a moment of joy together — U.S. Open Cup final, anyone?
So, thank you. I look forward to many more years of this journey together.
Orlando City
The Mane Land Announces Membership Program
Maximize your Mane Land experience with our new TML membership program while supporting our independent efforts.
Hello, readers of The Mane Land and listeners of our podcasts. Before you start reading this, please note that the most important part of this post is at the end. So, don’t stop until you get to the bottom.
You may recall that when we left SBNation to become independent, we really weren’t sure the best way to go about that. Many of our readers and listeners generously offered to help us make that transition, but we still weren’t sure the best path forward, so we took a poll.
The poll was pretty much split down the middle between those who preferred a one-time, Kickstarter-style campaign (which we did, and those of you who stepped up to help completely blew us away!) and those who favored a Patreon-style, subscription-based membership with extra perks. In fact, the member subscriptions option got a few more votes in our poll.
The folks who took part in our GoFundMe fundraiser were fantastic and are now immortalized on this very site on the “Our Founders” page. But we had always planned to give folks the option to choose whichever method of support they preferred and we tried to communicate that throughout the process. It took a little longer than expected to get up and running, but our membership subscription program is now in place! (You may notice the fancy new banner ad about it on the home page, echoed below.)
Part of that delay was thinking up something that didn’t encroach on the benefits we gave our Founders. Those folks helped us get started and deserve the exclusivity of the perks they got. The other part of the delay is that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. (However, for you guys, I’m willing to be cloned.)
We have utilized the popular Buy Me a Coffee platform to run this program. You can find the basics here. The Mane Land premium membership program includes three tiers of membership, as well as the option to click on the “Support” tab for those who just want to help us out whenever, without joining the program or adding any recurring “appointment-based” payments to their budgets. We love that feature of Buy Me a Coffee (or “Buy Us a Beer” in our case…you drink what you like).
For those who do choose to become members, we hope we have provided value and we are planning to add benefits along the way, in addition to providing special giveaways, events, etc. (more on that below). We have also provided subscription options — with monthly or annual memberships. The annual cost essentially gives you 12 months for the price of 10.
Current Benefits
The current membership benefits depend on which level of support you choose — Homegrown Player, TAM Player, or Designated Player level. Each level includes all benefits from the lower tiers, with additional benefits for each higher level.
Homegrown Player: This is a basic set-it-and-forget-it level of support for The Mane Land, providing a way for our readers and podcast listeners to contribute to the success of TML‘s independence goals. We want to compensate our current volunteers, replace lost income of those who previously received small stipends from being part of the SBNation network, add photographers, attract new writers, and expand our coverage. Additionally, each Homegrown Player Level member will be recognized in a Lion Links column, which is still typically our most widely read post of each day and one of the top daily links columns among soccer sites. Homegrown Player Level members will also be included in any future prize drawings we have or events we host and may be subject to future benefits as they are added.
TAM Player: In addition to Homegrown Player benefits, TAM Players will receive a new weekly e-newsletter in their inbox (unless you opt out…some people hate email). These will be informal missives from myself, other TML writers, or a combination, discussing what’s on our mind regarding Orlando City, the Pride, OCB, or soccer in general. Think of it as an extra post from our site that may cover multiple topics. Additionally, you’ll get a 10% discount from our web shop items that we control (presently, that means everything except our listed MLS Shop items). We will definitely have more benefits coming for this level soon and will look for opportunities to include additional benefits as they become available.
Designated Player: This limited availability level of support includes all perks from the Homegrown and TAM levels, but it goes beyond. Your discount at our webshop (for items we control) will be 15% off. Additionally, we’ll send you Zoom links to watch us “make the doughnuts” whenever we record the podcast. This includes when we interview guests. You’ll see how the sausage is made behind the scenes and everything that we say, some of which will end up on the cutting room floor before the final podcast is sent out. This includes both The Mane Land PawedCast and SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast. And after two months of membership you can commission a bonus episode of either podcast simply by letting us know what topic you want us to cover. Think of this as an extended Ask Us Anything. We’ll do a whole show about your topic and you can even join us to discuss it if you wish.
The DP Level will certainly have additional benefits tacked on as we move forward. It is currently limited to 40 members but could be expanded slightly depending on demand and our Zoom attendance.
Future Benefits / Benefits Under Consideration
While we won’t be able to schedule these due to the random nature of items falling into our hands, there will be periodic prize giveaways in drawings that include all of our members, regardless of level. The catch is that you get one entry per level of support, meaning Homegrown Player Level members will get one entry per prize drawing, TAM Player Level members will get two entries per drawing, and Designated Player Level members get three entries for prize drawings. Some of the kinds of items we have come across in the past include match tickets, trinkets, posters, scarves, and so on.
We are planning to add a message board to our website, well…soon-ish is the word that comes to mind. The plan for the message board is to build our community and further the discussion about the club. As part of this, we’re planning an exclusive, members-only area of that message board that TAM and DP members can access. This will be a place our staff can share informational nuggets we can’t necessarily write stories about for various reasons and interact with our members on a daily basis.
Other things in the works include meet-and-greets/watch parties where you can chat with TML staff members and catch a road match with a bunch of like-minded Orlando City/Pride fans while we all cheer on the team together. There may also be other informal outings with one or more members of the staff, organized fantasy leagues, random Zoom calls for Q&A sessions, and perhaps even some organized group outings for Orlando City / Pride matches, national team games, etc.
The Most Important Part of This Post
Remember at the top of this post, when I said the most important part is at the bottom? Well, that seems like a long time ago, now, so it’s OK if you’ve already forgotten.
The most important part of our membership program is you. We want your feedback so we can make this program something that interests and excites you. We want to know what you like and dislike about this program. We want to know if there are some things we didn’t think of that interest you. If you like what we’re offering, tell us! If you hate what we’re offering, we want to know what you’d prefer instead or in addition. If you want to go drinking with Dave, we can probably arrange that, but it’ll be a unique tier and we’ll have to figure out the cost of that.
No idea is too crazy to suggest, even if it’s too insane for us to actually offer. Let us know what you want from your subscription and we’ll see if that’s something we can do. We’ll make it easy for you by putting the form right here below this post, which is now concluded.
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