Orlando City B vs. Inter Miami II: Final Score 3-1 as OCB Blows Second-Half Lead at Home

KISSIMMEE — Orlando City B (3-8-3, 14 points) squandered a 1-0 halftime lead to fall 3-1 to Inter Miami II (7-7-1, 22 points) tonight at Osceola County Stadium. Moises Tablante gave the Young Lions the lead in the 13th minute, but three unanswered second-half goals by Miami saw the visitors take all three points.

Shaan Hundal (from the spot), Shanyder Borgelin, and Romeo Beckham scored for the visitors.

OCB Head Coach Martin Perelman made three changes from the team that lost 3-2 to Rochester NY FC last weekend. Ignacio Galvan, Brandon Hackenberg, and Mauro Bravo all started the game on the bench, replaced by Erick Gunera, Nick Taylor, and Neicer Acosta.

As a result, the Young Lions displayed a back line of Alex Freeman, Andrew Forth, Gunera, Thomas Williams, and Taylor in front of goalkeeper Adam Griwnis. Acosta, Joey DeZart, Victor Yan, and Tablante made up the midfield behind striker Jack Lynn.

This was a game of two halves. OCB was unquestionably the better team in the first 45 minutes, creating most of the chances. They probably should’ve had a multi-goal lead at the break, but Miami goalkeeper CJ dos Santos made some nice saves to keep his team in it.

The second half was all Miami after the game turned on a poor penalty conceded by DeZart. The primary difference between the teams in the second 45 minutes was that Miami put all of their shots on target and OCB didn’t put any of theirs on frame.

OCB kicked off the game and created the first good chance just three minutes in. Freeman found himself with the ball on the right and sent a cross into the box. Acosta was near the penalty spot with no defenders around him, providing plenty of space for a shot. The midfielder fired on goal but dos Santos made a diving save, knocking it out of play for a corner kick.

The Young Lions had another good chance in the 11th minute when Yan won the ball back on the Miami half of the field and sent it for Tablante headed in the other direction. The midfielder was taken down by David Ruiz, setting up a free kick. Taylor stepped over the ball, allowed Acosta to send it on goal, but he put it into the arms of dos Santos.

Two minutes later, OCB took the lead. Tablante received the ball just outside the box and played a quick one-two with Acosta to beat the defender. With space inside the box and just to the right of goal, Tablante slipped it past dos Santos and into the far low corner to give the Young Lions a 1-0 lead.

“I was just trying to play forward,” Tablante said about his goal. “That was a whole job that we were trying to do the whole week, to play forward and play back. I found Neicer and he pulled the ball back and I just tried to make a stopover on the center back and I scored.”

In the 16th minute, Miami had a chance when Grinwis attempted to catch a Tyler Bagley corner kick but dropped it. Fortunately, no attackers were nearby and the OCB goalkeeper was able to dive on it.

Miami created another good opportunity in the 32nd minute when Bagley found Hundal at the top of the box. The midfielder’s second touch was to Beckham on the right. The midfielder either attempted a cross or a shot from a very tight angle. Regardless, it was blocked away by Grinwis and OCB was able to clear.

On the other end, DeZart sent Lynn in behind the Miami defense. The team’s leading scorer found enough space for a low shot, but dos Santos did well to get down to make the save.

The visitors quickly went down field and created an opportunity with four quick passes, moving the ball across the top of the box. The final pass saw Lawson Sunderland find Hundal on the right. The midfielder took a shot but sent it well high and wide of the target.

The Young Lions nearly had a second goal in the 35th minute when Tablante saw Lynn making a run into the box. He attempted to chip it for the head of Lynn, but it was just over his head.

At the half, Inter Miami II had more possession (59.4%-40.6%) and crosses (10-3), but OCB had more chances. The Young Lions led the first 45 minutes in shots (7-6) and shots on goal (5-3), and had a 1-0 lead.

The first chance of the second half came in the 53rd minute when Logan Batiste took down Acosta, resulting in a yellow card for Batiste. The free kick was sent into the box where Williams got his head to the ball but the redirection was above the target.

In the 67th minute, Miami nearly equalized, forcing Grinwis into his best save of the night. Sunderland found Braxton Taghvai-Najib at the penalty spot with no defenders in front of him. The midfielder shot on goal, forcing Grinwis into a one-handed save.

The visitors found their equalizer in the 70th minute. Williams — under pressure — misplayed a ball over the end line for a corner. On the set piece, Modesto Mendez made a back-post run and got inside of DeZart, who reached out and pulled him down. The referee pointed to the spot immediately after the obvious foul.

As Hundal approached the ball to take the spot kick, Grinwis dove to his right. Hundal sent the ball down the middle, evening the game at 1-1.

Eight minutes later, Miami took their first lead of the night. Just after coming onto the field, Borgelin received the ball from Beckham between Williams and Forth. It seemed like an innocuous position far from goal and Borgelin would hold up play until his teammates arrived. Instead, the substitute fired on goal. The ball surprisingly rolled right past Grinwis inside the post to his right, giving the visitors a 2-1 lead.

In the 83rd minute, Miami put the game away. Yan fouled Sunderland about five yards outside the box, providing an opportunity on goal. While Beckham had sent most of his free kicks into the box for a teammate’s head, he went for goal on this one. The ball beat Grinwis to his near post, making it 3-1.

With Mason Stajduhar injured, Grinwis has been backing up Pedro Gallese on the first team. Javier Otero has been the OCB starting goalkeeper for most of the season, but the club decided to get Grinwis some playing time by starting him for the reserve side. While he had some good saves in this game, he gave up a pair of very poor goals.

Perelman made a couple of changes in the 86th minute, bringing on Tahir Reid-Brown and Alejandro Granados for Yan and Taylor. It was Reid-Brown’s first appearance for OCB and he made a difference in the attack. In added time, Reid-Brown was sent into the box by Tablante and went down. The Young Lions and their fans felt the team should’ve been awarded a penalty, but the referee gave a goal kick instead.

That was the last good chance for the Young Lions as they fell to their rivals from the south, 3-1.

OCB had more possession in the second half, but it was Miami creating most of the chances. After being out-shot in the first half, the visitors had more shots (5-2) and shots on goal (5-0) than the Young Lions in the final period. As a result, Miami ended the game with more possession (54.9%-45.1%), shots (11-9), shots on goal (8-5), and crosses (13-12). OCB won more corners (8-5) and duels (50-45) but the final score was a fair result.

“It was a match that for moments we controlled. We could find the goal,” Perelman said after the game. “I think we didn’t do our best game in offensive but we still created our situations and when they had the ball controlling, they weren’t doing danger to us. But then we did three mistakes, individual mistakes. And they scored three goals. “

Despite failing to find a second goal, OCB felt that they had a hold on the game until the 70th minute when Miami found its equalizer. The visitors didn’t get their first second-half shot until the 67th minute, but had five shots on target in the final 25 minutes of play.

“We’ve got to pay attention about those last 25 minutes,” Tablante said after the game. “Because it’s not the first time that we’re winning and we ended up losing the game. So we got to get a little mature in that way. And hopefully we can start winning with a good mentality.”

The Young Lions have now lost two straight and five of their last seven (1-5-1). After a brief stay at home, they’ll head back out on the road next Sunday night when they take on Chicago Fire II in Bridgeview, IL.