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Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Five Takeaways

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Orlando City ran its MLS regular-season unbeaten streak to seven games after Saturday night’s 3-2 win over the Columbus Crew at Exploria Stadium. Despite a lack of continuity on the pitch in terms of personnel, the Lions keep finding ways to gain points and move through the schedule toward the place they really want to be — the playoffs.

But what did we learn from the team’s fifth consecutive win over the defending MLS Cup champions? I have raised my degree of difficulty for this column by using only Loverboy song titles as my section headers.

“The Kid is Hot Tonite”

Daryl Dike’s return to the lineup last weekend against Inter Miami was an uneventful one. With only 11 touches on the ball, the big striker couldn’t impact the match. And it looked like more of the same early on Saturday night. Dike managed about three touches in the first 20 or so minutes against the Crew and two of those came on a play in the 16th minute when he flicked a Ruan pass toward goal and then had the ricochet of his blocked attempt come back and hit him in the foot, bouncing back toward goal.

But Dike found his rhythm in the game and became a problem for Columbus. He overpowered Aboubacar Keita in the 26th minute, threw a couple of fakes at Vito Wormgoor to keep him off balance, then smashed a shot into the top of the net to open the scoring. He was active the rest of the night, including getting the fans to make some noise during a video review of the Crew’s second goal, helping his team get over the shock of the sudden turnaround in momentum. His layoff to Junior Urso became his second assist of the season when the Bear sent his seeing-eye shot through traffic and inside the left post for the winner. It was an all-around solid night for Dike, who looked more like himself against the Crew.

“It’s Never Easy”

For a brief, shining moment, it looked like Orlando City might win a match comfortably. That hasn’t happened since a 5-0 shellacking of San Jose back on June 22. In fact, the Lions have only won by more than one goal twice all season. Last night’s victory was more difficult than it had to be and that started with the bizarre own goal in the 52nd minute. Robin Jansson kicked the ball up in the air trying to prevent Alexandru Matan from having a scoring chance. The ball sailed high and slightly back toward the Orlando net. With Antonio Carlos and Ruan to deal with Miguel Berry, the Lions should have been in good shape and, as such, Adam Grinwis stayed on his line. But Carlos’ header unfortunately found its way inside the right post to throw Columbus a lifeline in a game it had no business being in. Two minutes later, the Crew tied it.

After Urso scored to restore Orlando’s lead, the Lions continued to look for insurance but could never get it. Chris Mueller sliced a shot just wide in the 77th minute, but that was a difficult chance from outside the area. The game should have been put away by Tesho Akindele a few minutes later. Mauricio Pereyra sent a diagonal pass behind Wormgoor that set up a breakaway down the left side of the box. Akindele’s chance to put the game to bed went just inches wide of the far post. The Crew didn’t have any clear-cut chances the rest of the way anyway, but Orlando missed another opportunity to take the late-game drama out of a match and just couldn’t do it. The game shouldn’t have been close with Columbus getting only two shots on target all evening.

“Queen of the Broken Hearts” (or…King in this case)

Mueller couldn’t buy a break right now if he won the Powerball jackpot. It’s been a rough season for the Money Badger and Saturday night was one of the roughest. If it weren’t for bad luck, Cash would seemingly have no luck at all. Mueller still works hard, does a lot of the little things Oscar Pareja needs him to do, and gets into dangerous positions, but then…something goes wrong and opportunities seem to melt away. On his first good chance Saturday, Mueller cut in from left to right, got into space, and tried to drive a shot toward goal. But he struck the ball oddly and it flew high into the air and ended up somewhere in The Wall. On his best opportunity, he found space on the left, let loose a shot from just inside the box, and it was heading toward goal…and then it hit Dike, who had somehow strayed into the ball’s flight path. That’s just terrible luck! Then there was the rocket he sent wide in the 77th minute mentioned above. One of these nights, something’s going to go in off his neck or his rear end and maybe that’ll open the floodgates.

Oh, and then to make matters worse, he took a shot in the back late in the game and needed the trainers to come on and attend to him. Hopefully it’s nothing serious, but he did sub out shortly after that.

“Emotional”

Orlando had to feel good about seeing Grinwis get a start and a win in MLS for the first time since 2018. Grinwis was a fan favorite with his heroics in City’s 2019 U.S. Open Cup run and many were sad to see his option declined after that season ended. Then the Grinch tore his ACL after becoming the Sacramento Republic’s starter the next season. It was a long road back and although it’s tough to see Mason Stajduhar suffer an injury now that he’s finally getting some games, it was great to see Grinwis come back from his ACL, make a big save in the match, and win a game with Orlando City.

Grinwis looked excited during warmups. He made a stellar save on Lucas Zelarayan for his best stop of the night in the 36th minute. He had command of his box and perhaps his only miscue was hitting Robin Jansson in the back of the head with his follow-through of a punch in the game’s early moments. After the match, Grinwis had trouble putting his thoughts into words when discussing his road back from the injury.

Coincidentally, Grinwis’ last win in an Orlando City uniform came on Oct. 21, 2018 — also against the Columbus Crew. That 2-1 victory was his first MLS win and all of his team’s offense came from the penalty spot that night. Yoshimar Yotun and Sacha Kljestan each buried a penalty to lead Orlando back after Federico Higuain had given the Crew a 1-0 lead.

“Lovin’ Every Minute of It”

There was a lot to love for Orlando City fans on Saturday. The Lions beat the Crew for the fifth consecutive time and that win gave the club its seventh straight game in league play with either a win or a draw, dating back to a 3-2 win over Atlanta United on July 30. That win jumped Orlando back over Nashville for second in the Eastern Conference by virtue of the games won tiebreaker. All of this is very good for the Lions.

Getting back to beating Columbus on Saturday…the Crew were one of the first thorns in Orlando’s side when the Lions joined MLS. Columbus was 5-2-3 against Orlando City in the team’s first four seasons in Major League Soccer. Now the Lions have the Crew’s number, and Orlando beating them feels normal somehow. Orlando seemed the likelier team to get a third goal after Miguel Berry scored and eventually did. That’s a new thing for fans who suffered through 2015 through 2019. We’ll see if that continues when the teams meet in Columbus on Oct. 27.

One other thing to love about the win over Columbus: with his 23rd victory in all competitions, Oscar Pareja passed Jason Kreis as the club’s all-time winningest coach (in 16 fewer matches — the U.S. Open Cup hasn’t been played since Pareja has been with Orlando City). Papi also tied Kreis for another club record with 21 regular-season MLS wins with Orlando (in 18 fewer matches).


That’s what caught my attention during Orlando’s victory over the Crew. What stood out to you? Do you even like any of the Loverboy songs namechecked above? Let me know in the comments.

Orlando City

Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls

Get some inside information on the New York Red Bulls ahead of their visit to Central Florida.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Congratulations on making it through the week, and now that you have, your reward is another Orlando City matchday right around the corner. This week sees the Lions welcome the New York Red Bulls into their den, as the good guys will try to make it two wins on the bounce.

A visit from the Red Bulls means I caught up with Mark Fishkin, of the always excellent Seeing Red podcast. Mark was gracious enough to help get us caught up on how the Red Bulls have looked in the 2024 season.

Emil Forsberg was the big off-season signing for the Red Bulls. It’s early, but how has he looked so far?

Mark Fishkin: To date, Forsberg has been as advertised: the veteran, serving as the coach on the field, leading the (mostly) young Red Bulls to a 3-1-1 start. In every conversation with the press, he talks about his desire to win. While off the field he appears to be enjoying himself, a story broke earlier in the week in London’s Daily Mail saying his wife has filed for divorce. How that will impact him going forward remains to be seen.

This is Sandro Schwarz’s first season in charge of the club. How does he want this team to play? Does it differ from what we saw last year under first Gerhard Struber and then Troy Lesesne?

MF: Schwarz has evolved RBNY into a more attractive team in 2024. While the press is always part of the mix, the new New York coach has showed a flexibility to play more of a possession style or even a counter-attacking style if the game state calls for it. Against Miami last week, a lethal counterattack was the key to the Red Bulls’ 4-nil shellacking of the Herons.

Again, its still quite early, but what do you believe the expectations should be for the Red Bulls this season? 

MF: The playoffs are a given with the Red Bulls, who last missed the postseason in 2009. However, given this unexpected start, a top-four finish in the East is the marker…for now.

Are there any players who will be unavailable for selection due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting lineup and score prediction?

MF: Assuming all five Red Bulls’ starters  come back from international duty healthy, we’re looking at:

Carlos Coronel; John Tolkin, Noah Eile, Sean Nealis, Kyle Duncan; Frankie Amaya, Daniel Edelman, Emil Forsberg, Lewis Morgan; Elias Manoel, Dante Vanzeir.

Schwarz has the team set up in a 4-2-2-2 or 4-2-3-1.

Given the Red Bulls’ hot start, and Orlando’s struggles, a 2-2 draw or 2-1 New York win are surely possible.


Thank you to Mark for the insight into NYRB. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 3/29/24

Lions brace for the Red Bulls, Pride take on Chicago, OCB will play Inter Miami II in Bradenton, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! Today marks one year since we here at The Mane Land published our first story here at our new independent home. It’s a bit hard to believe that it’s already been a year. Thank you all for sticking with us or checking us out since our move. That kind of support goes farther than you might think. I joined the team back in October of 2016 as an editor and it’s only just now hitting me that I’ve been here for nearly a quarter of my entire life. Here’s hoping for another great year of independence and Orlando soccer!

Orlando City Set to Host New York Red Bulls

Orlando City’s match at home Saturday night against the New York Red Bulls was noted as one of the top matches in the league this weekend. The Lions earned their first win of the MLS season last weekend and will look to build on that momentum heading into tomorrow. The Lions will also get a boost from players returning from international duty, with Duncan McGuire, Facundo Torres, David Brekalo, and Peruvian duo Pedro Gallese and Wilder Cartagena back. They’ll have their hands full against a New York team that’s coming off of a 4-0 win over Inter Miami. Lewis Morgan had a hat trick in that match and Orlando’s defense will have to find a way to keep him and the rest of the Red Bulls from running rampant.

Orlando Pride Take On Chicago Tonight

The Orlando Pride’s third match of the NWSL season kicks off tonight at 7 p.m. when they host the Chicago Red Stars. The Pride enter this match following a gritty 1-1 draw against Angel City FC, with Brazilians Angelina and Marta linking up on a corner kick for a late equalizer. One thing to keep an eye on in tonight’s match will be how the Pride’s shorthanded defense can limit Chicago’s attack. The Pride have targeted versatile players while rebuilding, and that proved to be worth it last week as multiple players stepped up to fortify the back line. The last time these two sides squared off in Orlando was in August of last year, with the Pride coming up with a big 5-0 win. Hopefully we get to see a similar result tonight.

OCB Match Will Be Part of Generation Adidas Cup

Tuesday’s MLS NEXT Pro match between Orlando City B and Inter Miami II will take place at IMG Academy in Bradenton and will be part of this year’s Generation Adidas Cup. The participating teams of the tournament were invited to attend the match, along with their families, and fans can watch the match for free on the league website. The match will be broadcast in English, but a new AI dubbing platform will be used to instantly translate it into Spanish, French, and Portuguese. It will supposedly maintain voice and tone, so I’m morbidly curious to hear just how artificial it will sound.

Generations Adidas Cup Kicks Off Tomorrow

Speaking of the Generation Adidas Cup, the youth tournament kicks off tomorrow. All MLS academy teams will compete alongside some of the top youth teams from around the world in both the U-15 and U-17 age groups. Orlando City’s U-15 side was noted as one to watch after a strong run of form this year. Caleb Trombino has been solid defensively and Jakob Garcia has the attacking talent to light it up in this tournament. The team can make a statement when it takes on Arsenal’s U-15 squad at 10 a.m. this Sunday. That match, along with 27 others, will be broadcast on MLS Season Pass.

Free Kicks

  • The Lions received some special visitors for their training.
  • Somehow, the Seattle Reign’s Ji So-Yun beat Marta to win NWSL Goal of the Week.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls: Three Keys to Victory

What does Orlando City need to do to earn a second victory in a row at home this Saturday?

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City is coming off its first win of the MLS regular season and will look to carry that momentum into Saturday night’s Eastern Conference matchup against the New York Red Bulls. The Lions will have several players back from international duty, making Oscar Pareja’s job a bit easier, although some of them will be on short rest. What does Orlando City need to do to earn all three points against the Red Bulls?

Stop Morgan

Lewis Morgan has been on a tear this season with five goals in five matches. That is more than every Orlando City player combined so far this season. The Red Bulls were held scoreless in two matches, meaning those five goals have come in three matches, with Morgan scoring a hat trick against Inter Miami. I love that he took it to the Herons like that, but I’m going to need him to cool off a bit against the Lions.

If Orlando City is to stop Morgan it will take excellent defending from the Lions’ back line and of course Pedro Gallese, who is returning from international duty. Orlando City also gets Wilder Cartagena and David Brekalo back, meaning more of the first choice lineup will be available to keep a clean sheet. With the match at home, earning a clean sheet is all the more important.

Proper Rest and Preperation

It might seem silly to say, but having more than a few days between matches is conducive to earning points. When Orlando City was participating in the Concacaf Champions Cup, the Lions never had time to properly recover or train with a game plan for the next match. Now, the Lions are able to do so, and the result against Austin FC reflects that.

Pareja is a top level MLS coach. We know that he has a plan for about the first 20 minutes of any match, and then makes adjustments throughout the remainder of the match. Even so, many of those adjustments have been planned out prior to the match. That, paired with a more rested roster, allows the Lions to be the protagonists Pareja wants them to be.

Shots, Shots, Shots

Orlando City was able to create plenty of chances against Austin FC, and will need to do so again against the Red Bulls. The Lions took 22 shots Saturday night, with eight on target, and they put two in the back of the net against Austin. Hopefully, Orlando City can be more efficient going forward, but if you don’t create opportunities, you won’t score.

The Red Bulls have some decent defenders who Orlando City will have to deal with, including fullback John Tolkin and Carlos Coronel at keeper. If the Lions can pass even close to the way they did against Austin, the opportunities will come, and if that is the case, hopefully the goals will come. Orlando City still has a sizable goal deficit, thanks to the early part of the season, that can only be corrected with more goals on the other end.


That is what I will be looking for this Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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