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Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Final Score 2-1 as Tesho Akindele Scores Another Late Winner

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2 years ago

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Tesho Akindele scored deep in stoppage time on a corner kick to snap a 1-1 tie and lift Orlando City to a 2-1 win over New York City FC at Exploria Stadium. The Lions (11-10-6, 39 points) deserved all three points with a lopsided advantage in attacking stats but were seconds away from an unsatisfying draw with NYCFC (13-8-6, 45 points) after Junior Urso and Maxi Moralez scored early in the first and second half, respectively.

Orlando notched its third consecutive win — each by one goal — and finally managed to put together a good performance at home that claimed maximum points.

“I thought it was a great victory — one that was deserved by the players,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I think the effort that they did during the whole game today showed this character that they’ve brought in the last three games.”

Pareja started Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Joao Moutinho, Rodrigo Schlegel, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan. Wilder Cartagena got his first MLS start in central midfield with Urso, behind an attacking line of Jake Mulraney, Facundo Torres, and Benji Michel, with Ercan Kara up top.

Orlando came out swinging at its 2015 MLS expansion rivals. Cartagena took the game’s first shot just two minutes in but missed the net from outside the area. But five minutes later, the Lions grabbed the lead.

Torres saw space and played an aerial ball for a well-timed run by Urso, who took it down nicely with his first touch and blasted it past Sean Johnson. The flag came up immediately but the play looked good with a defender keeping him on. Referee Chris Penso went to the monitor to look at it again and ruled the goal good, giving Orlando a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.

“I was really free. And Facu, he’s so intelligent, so he gave me a nice ball,” Urso said. “The ball jumped a little bit and that was perfect (height) to shoot so, for me, it was incredible.”

Urso said the delay during the video review was nerve-wracking.

“I almost died on the field,” Urso said with a laugh. “I was like praying to God, please, I’m not off. So, it was OK.”

NYCFC got a long-distance free kick in the 12th minute but Gabriel Pereira sent the set piece kick right at Gallese for the easy catch.

A few minutes later, the skies opened up over Exploria Stadium, with rains so heavy and so prolonged that puddles began forming on the normally quick-draining pitch and creating issues. Passes stopped dead if they hit a watery patch and the game got sloppy for both sides. The Lions seemed to handle it better but couldn’t string together passes in the slop.

“In the first half it was a lot of courage (by the players) with this rain,” Pareja said. “Congratulations to the fans that suffered that rain too. It was difficult to play but I think we showed a lot of personality too and we came out winning the half.”

Urso sent a shot from outside the box wide in the 28th minute off a recycled corner kick. A minute later, the Bear came close to adding a second goal. Urso smashed a shot on target but Johnson made a spectacular diving save to keep his team’s deficit at one goal.

Cartagena fired another shot wide off the ensuing corner kick after the visitors cleared it out of the area.

The rain diminished late in the first half and the drainage was able to do a better job of keeping up with the extra moisture.

Late in the half, Torres put in a good cross for Kara but Maxime Chanot did well in defense to make the chance difficult and Kara could only hit his shot wide.

Talles Magno fired wide from distance late in first-half stoppage time and the Lions took their 1-0 lead into the break.

NYCFC held the advantage in possession (57%-43%) and passed more accurately (81.8%-74.6%), while Orlando fired more shots (7-1) and shots on target (3-1), and earned more corners (5-0).

Two minutes after the restart, it appeared the game was about to swing in the visitors’ favor. Carlos won a tackle just outside his area and dribbled up the field. As he was dribbling past New York City FC’s Nicolas Acevedo, the defender stepped on his opponent’s foot and Penso went straight to the red card. Again the referee went to the monitor but he quickly changed his mind upon seeing the replay and changed the card to yellow, much to the relief of Orlando City players and fans.

The game changed moments later anyway. Mulraney turned the ball over near midfield and New York City FC broke the other way in transition. The ball ended up with Thiago Andrade on the left and he did well to slip in a perfect pass for Moralez, who split the defense with his run and slotted a shot past Gallese to make it 1-1 in the 53rd minute.

The goal was NYCFC’s only shot on target in the match. Moralez got into a decent position to give his team the lead in the 56th minute but fired his shot into the outside netting from the right side.

Pareja chased the game by bringing on Ivan Angulo and Andres Perea for Cartagena, who put in a solid shift for Araujo, and Mulraney. Araujo came on in the second half but the plan was to rest him in this match after the young midfielder experienced tightness after playing on the turf last week at Charlotte.

Angulo, Araujo, and Perea were joined a little later by fellow second-half subs Akindele and Kyle Smith, and those players were crucial in changing the energy of the game over the final half hour. Schlegel and Torres both fired over the crossbar as the game entered its final 20 minutes, as the Lions continued to get into scoring positions.

The Lions nearly went ahead in the 80th minute when Angulo sent in a good cross to the back post for Smith, but the fullback couldn’t keep his volley shot under the crossbar with Johnson out of position to make a save.

Torres tried to send Akindele through on goal in the 88th but the two were on different pages on where the ball placement should be and the pass skipped harmlessly out for a goal kick.

But the Lions kept coming, winning set pieces. In the 91st minute, a corner kick cross was headed across the box but NYCFC cleared. A minute later, Angulo unleashed a hard shot on goal that Johnson fought off.

Angulo won the Lions a late corner when his cross was deflected out by Anton Tinnerholm and Orlando had one more chance as time wound down. Angulo took the set piece himself and sent in a good cross that found Akindele at the near post. The forward flicked his header toward the far post and it found its way through traffic and nestled in the back of the net.

It was the second late winner in consecutive games for Akindele, who scored the winner at Charlotte in the 89th minute a week ago.

“The call (on the set piece) was just get in the box,” Akindele said. “I was just thinking that I had seen (Angulo) hit some near post. I was like, ‘I’m just going to guess near post.’ That’s what you do a lot of times. You just guess. Our set piece coach won’t want to hear me saying that, but that’s what I do sometimes — just guess. So I just thought, ‘Maybe Ivan’s going to hit it near post,’ and he did, luckily. And then I hit it and then I didn’t even know if it went in but then I heard everybody screaming and I said, ‘Oh dang, it went in.’”

“The situation with Tesho is a good example for all,” Pareja said. “Generosity on our team is non-negotiable. We may lack of things sometimes but when you see a team that is giving what they have, then you can sleep — happy, sad, but you can sleep — thinking you’ve done your best.”

Orlando cut into NYCFC’s possession lead in the second half, but the visitors finished with a slight edge in that category (50.8%-49.2%). The Pigeons also passed more accurately on the night (83.6%-79.3%) but had a slimmer advantage at full time than at the break. Orlando City had far more shots (17-5), shots on target (5-1), and corners (7-0).

“The second half, New York came up with some other ideas that complicated us and I thought they took the middle of the field,” Pareja said. “And then, after their goal, our reaction — especially with the players that came in — it was phenomenal. I think they lifted us, they took the team on their shoulders and gave us that energy that we needed. More than the energy, just the ideas, and we ended up being the best team.”

“Honestly, I think our team played a great game. And I think we deserved the win,” Akindele said. “So it was good for us to get it. I’m glad I was the one to be able to provide it for us.”

The Lions have a quick turnaround as the Seattle Sounders visit Exploria Stadium on Wednesday night.

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Orlando City

Orlando City at Philadelphia Union: Three Keys to Victory

What does Orlando City need to do to earn all three points on the road at Philadelphia?

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19 hours ago

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May 9, 2024

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City travels to the City of Brotherly Love hoping to get back on the winning track against the Philadelphia Union. The Union are currently in eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 14 points, and have a 3-2-5 record overall. However, the Union are 1-2-1 at home. Subaru Park hasn’t been the fortress it was in 2023 — though Orlando City did give them their first home loss last season.

Of course, the Lions are riding a two-match losing streak heading into this match. What does Orlando City need to do to take all three points from the Union on the road?

Defense, Defense, Defense

The Union have scored 19 goals so far this season and over half of them have come from Daniel Gazdag (6), and Julian Carranza (4). Obviously, stopping those two is a priority. However, the Union also have excellent midfielders in Alejandro Bedoya and Jack McGlynn — the two players that scored in the Union’s last match against DC United.

I feel like a broken record, but Orlando City’s defense needs to stop making the dumb mistakes that have resulted in way too many goals this season. Philadelphia’s attackers will punish the Lions if that is allowed to happen yet again. So please, for the sake of my sanity, stop giving up the stupid goals.

Score Some *%$#ing Goals

The Union have given up 16 goals so far this season. Philadelphia is not some impenetrable defense, meaning the Lions should have chances to score against the Union. The bigger questions is: Will Orlando City find the back of the net? The dearth of goals so far this season is a great source of frustration for all who support this club. It’s not necessarily the shots that go in — though that does stink — but the missed opportunities.

Orlando City has had more passes/crosses just past a toe or just over a head, and more bobbled balls at a player’s feet than I care to count this season. The missed opportunities are a good reason for the results we’ve seen. I’ve spent plenty of time wishing for Facundo Torres, Luis Muriel, and Martin Ojeda to start scoring. Now, I’ll be happy with any player putting it in the back of the net. Robin Jansson header? Yes, please. Michael Halliday deflects it in with his face? I’ll take it. Own goal by the opposition? Bring it on. Just score some darn goals.

Find the Formula

I’m not certain why it’s taking Oscar Pareja so long to figure out the balance for this club. Most of the players from last season are there, but for some reason the recipe is off. There are a few new players and there have been some injuries to deal with, but the switch needs to be flipped. Pareja needs to figure out which players can turn it around.

It might be the players who haven’t made the necessary adjustments. Perhaps it’s just bad luck. Regardless, every coach and player needs to pull it together to get the ship righted. Preseason expectations might need to be adjusted, but we can still hold out hope for a turnaround. This weekend against the Union is a perfect time for that to start.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/9/24

Get to know Wilder Cartagena, Orlando Pride get ready for Bay FC, Orlando City B wins, and more.

Published

23 hours ago

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May 9, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope this week hasn’t been too hectic for you. There’s been plenty of soccer to enjoy over the past few days and I’m looking forward to the weekend slate of games as well. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Learning More About Wilder Cartagena

Orlando City midfielder Wilder Cartagena was the latest Lion to field questions for fans to learn more about the players. The 29-year-old discussed growing up playing soccer in Peru as a child, as well as having to spend time away from family and friends to fulfill his dreams as a professional player. Cartagena also talked about how important his friendship with Pedro Gallese is, as the two have played together at both the club level and internationally with Peru. It’s a fun interview and I’m glad we have Cartagena here in Orlando.

Pride Prepare to Host Bay FC

The Orlando Pride are on a five-game win streak and will look to make it six when they take on Bay FC for the first time ever on Saturday. Pride Head Coach Seb Hines spoke on the difficulty of the team’s past few matches, along with the importance of getting wins in those games. Bay FC is in 12th in the standings, but Hines noted how this week’s opponent has plenty of talented attackers. Saturday’s match could be a tough one for Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse, and she talked about the team’s grit and determination to close out games for points this season. Moorhouse also credited her back line for the Pride’s three shutouts this season.

OCB Secures First Win at Home

It took a few games, but Orlando City B won at Osceola Heritage Park for the first time this season after a 3-1 win over New York Red Bulls II. The Young Lions didn’t make it easy on themselves, but ultimately held on for the win after scoring twice early on. It’s nice for OCB to put another tally in the win column to climb up the conference standings. The Young Lions will be back in action next Wednesday with a road match against Columbus Crew 2.

Champions League Final is Set

The semifinal matchup between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich lived up to expectations, with Real Madrid advancing after a dramatic finish. Bayern was up to the task on the road and took the lead in the second half thanks to a goal from Alphonso Davies. But Real Madrid did what it always does, with Joselu scoring two late goals in quick succession. Bayern nearly had an equalizer, but a player was ruled offside and it couldn’t be checked as the flag was raised and whistle blown before the attack fully played out. It all sets up for a final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund on June 1 at Wembley Stadium. Dortmund will be the clear underdog, but the German club has proven capable of taking down some of Europe’s best this tournament.

Free Kicks

  • St. Louis City is reportedly interested in signing Marco Reus once his contract with Dortmund ends this summer, although talks are just in the preliminary stage at this point.
  • Not a single Pride player was named to the NWSL’s Best XI of the Month for the months of April and May. While I can see the reasoning behind each inclusion, it’s crazy that Angelina, Marta, Summer Yates, or Emily Sams didn’t earn a spot in the eyes of the league’s voters.
  • American midfielder Keyrol Figueroa has signed with Liverpool’s first team. The 17-year-old has risen through the ranks of Liverpool’s youth system and scored seven goals for the U.S. in the 2023 Concacaf U-17 Championship.
  • Luis Rubiales will face trial for one count of sexual assault for kissing Jenni Hermoso and a count of coercion for his actions in the aftermath. The former head coach of the Spanish women’s national team, Jorge Vilda, is also accused of coercion, along with Sporting Director Albert Luque and the federation’s head of marketing, Ruben Rivera.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/8/24

Orlando Pride move up in power rankings, OCSC will celebrate Pride Month, Orlando City B plays tonight, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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May 8, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. We’re halfway through the week and I hope you’re doing well. Personally, I love Wednesdays, because in my job they are effectively my “Friday,” as my day off is on Thursday. So, as such, I love bringing you the news to start out your midweek morning. Let’s get to the links.

Orlando Pride Nearly Top Power Rankings

The Orlando Pride are at the top of the NWSL standings with 18 points, and are riding a five-match winning streak while staying undefeated so far this season. If you thought that would be enough for the team to top ESPN‘s NWSL power rankings, you’d be wrong. The Pride actually came in at second despite all the factors I listed above, with the Kansas City Current ranked above them. Even more shocking is that the writer admits he doesn’t have much of a reason for not ranking the Pride first. I’m not sure what to do with my hands.

Orlando Soccer Matches Will Celebrate Pride Month

Orlando City and the Orlando Pride will recognize Pride Month during a pair of matches in June at Inter&Co Stadium. The Pride are set to host the Utah Royals on June 21 and the Lions will then host the Chicago Fire on June 22. Both matches will include celebrating Orlando’s LGBTQ+ community and honoring the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. There are plenty of additional events throughout Pride Month in the Greater Orlando Area as well. I will be at those matches and I hope to see you there as well.

Orlando City B Hosts New York Red Bulls II Tonight

OCB will try to follow up a result on the road with its first result at home tonight at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee. Forwards Yutaro Tsukada and Shak Mohammed lead the attack for the Young Lions as the club plays only its third home match of the season — and only the second at its actual home field. There’s plenty to look for from OCB as it takes on New York Red Bulls II at 7 p.m. Try to make it to the match if you are able.

U.S. Soccer Doubles Down

The battle between the USWNT and U.S. Soccer over equal pay has been going on for years. Now, U.S. Soccer has reportedly employed Washington D.C. lobbying firms to provide what the organization asserts are “accurate information and factual numbers” to policy makers. Spokespersons for the players’ associations of both the USWNT and USMNT expressed disappointment regarding the move by U.S. Soccer. The issue is front and center as two congresswomen have proposed legislation to block funding for the 2026 World Cup unless equal pay is enacted.

Free Kicks

  • Were you wondering how good Barbra Banda has been since arriving in Orlando? Me neither, but here is a cool stat from OptaJack on her shot production.
  • Orlando City fans know all too well how good FC Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta is at scoring goals. Now, the striker is in the process of becoming a naturalized citizen of the U.S. and expressed a desire to play for the USMNT. It would be nice to have him score goals for a team I support.
  • Nottingham Forest’s point reduction appeal was rejected by the independent board overseeing the decision. Only three points separate Nottingham from Luton Town and the relegation zone with two matches left this season.
  • I know that some Orlando City fans were hoping to see Thiago Silva join the Lions after he left Chelsea, but that rumor never made sense financially, and the defender has chosen to rejoin his old Brazilian club, Fluminense.
  • It’s not often that someone follows up an unpopular decision with an even more unpopular explanation for that decision, but that is exactly what MLS Commissioner Don Garber did when explaining that the U.S. Open Cup didn’t offer a competition that “drives value” and that “rises to the level where fans care about it.” I’m sure everyone will now understand the decision. Well done, Commish.

That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the Orlando City and Orlando Pride matches this weekend. Vamos Orlando!

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