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Orlando City vs. Inter Miami CF: Final Score 4-1 as Lions in Free Fall with Another Loss

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3 years ago

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Orlando City sank beneath the weight of bad bounces and defensive transition mistakes in an inconceivable 4-1 beatdown loss to Inter Miami CF at DRV PNK Stadium. The loss dropped the Lions below the playoff line with one match day remaining.

Starting in the game’s very first minute, awful mistakes cost the team and luck played a little bit of a role as well, as the Lions (13-14-6, 45 points) fell back below .500, fell below .500 on the road (5-6-6), and lost their fourth game in the last five since winning the U.S. Open Cup. Meanwhile, Miami (14-13-6, 48 points) climbed above .500 and clinched a postseason berth for the first time.

Leonardo Campana, Gonzalo Higuain (twice), and Ariel Lassiter did the damage on the scoreboard, but the Lions were honestly their own worst enemies in the first Tropic Thunder match that was decided by more than one goal. Ercan Kara pulled a goal back in the second half but by then the game was effectively over.

“I know what these kinds of games mean for our fans and I’m very disappointed not to perform the way we should,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “In that part, I take responsibility.”

“I want to say sorry to our fans, because they come from Orlando to Miami to to push us and today was not so good for us,” Junior Urso said.

Pareja rotated his lineup somewhat, playing Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Joao Moutinho, Rodrigo Schlegel, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Cesar Araujo played his customary stopper role next to a deep-lying Mauricio Pereyra, with an attacking midfield line of Benji Michel, Junior Urso, and Facundo Torres, with Tesho Akindele up top.

It took less than a minute for that lineup to break down. Smith somehow knocked a pass attempt off an opponent and the ball squirted in behind the Orlando center backs. Neither Carlos nor Schlegel went to get the ball so Campana ran onto it and chipped Gallese, who was off his line but not nearly far enough out to get to the ball before the Miami forward. Just over 30 seconds into the match, Orlando City trailed. (Warning: sound off is better, so you can avoid Ray Hudson’s overblown, maniacal commentary.)

The Lions didn’t respond well to going behind, despite getting a ton of possession. Orlando looked unsettled, consistently did nothing with set piece opportunities, and broke down in transition when there were chances to get numbers forward. Wayward passes from Torres, Akindele, and Urso and a couple of poor touches from Michel prevented some quality chances from materializing. The Lions did set up some half chances but did nothing with them.

“It’s normal when you start the game in the first minute just conceding the goal and then obviously, the other team with energy and with this momentum that they have, they take advantage of that situation,” Pareja said. “And then from there, our energy was doubtful and we were not precise in the movements, and then we started losing confidence.”

Akindele tried to flick a pass from Smith on target but he didn’t quite pull it off, slowing the ball too much and sending it off target. Smith sent a blistering pass through the six in the 18th minute, but there was no way Akindele could get to it in time and Michel didn’t anticipate the pass quickly enough to get to the back post for the tap-in.

Higuain nearly got in behind in the 21st minute but Carlos did just enough to force him wide and Gallese chased him into the corner and knocked it out of play. Two minutes later, Campana got in for a first-time shot but just missed wide.

Moutinho smashed a shot well wide from the top of the area when a long throw fell to him. A failure to put shots on target was a problem Sunday at New York City FC and it definitely continued into tonight.

The hosts doubled the lead in the 38th minute on a weird transition as Akindele tried to force a pass into traffic. Miami came the other way and Schlegel got caught pressing high, giving the Herons a 2-on-1 break. Ariel Lassiter crossed in early to Higuain and his first touch was a shot past Gallese to make it 2-0.

Akindele ‘s headed flick went just over the bar in the 43rd minute off a corner kick cross, which was the closest the Lions came in the opening half. In the final minute of the half, a good cross found Urso but he swung and missed at it and kicked DeAndre Yedlin instead.

Orlando City held more possession in the half (61.9%-38.1%), had more shots (7-4) and corners (2-1), and passed more accurately (87.3%-78.3%) but Miami got more shots on target (2-0) and both of those went in. It was the second consecutive first half in which Orlando failed to get a single shot on frame and the Lions had only one on target in its last three halves.

The Lions brought on offensive-minded reinforcements to start the second half as Pareja withdrew Akindele, Michel, and Smith, sending Kara, Ivan Angulo, and Ruan onto the pitch. The changes made Orlando seem more dangerous immediately. Angulo got in the box, made a good move to bypass two defenders and took a shot. The Lions screamed for a handball but Victor Rivas did not give it and a check by the video assistant referee maintained the call on the field. The only replay shown on the broadcast was inconclusive.

But Rivas wasn’t opposed to giving Miami a penalty moments later when the Lions were bit again by a bad bounce. A ball in for Lassiter skipped up off the Miami forward’s foot and hit Ruan’s arm at close range. The fullback’s arm wasn’t extended unnaturally, nor was the play intentional, but the call was upheld again and Higuain scored on the ensuing penalty to make it 3-0 in the 53rd minute.

Three minutes later, Lassiter added to Orlando’s misery with a shot just inside the right post, making it 4-0. Don’t ask me why Carlos was trailing on the play, my stream froze a few seconds earlier and started back up right where this video begins.

Things got worse for Orlando City moments after the fourth goal when Carlos was booked, meaning he’ll miss Sunday’s regular-season finale against Columbus with a suspension for yellow card accumulation.

“It’s a little bit soon to answer it but we always have to think about what’s next,” Pareja said when asked if he had formulated a plan for the back line on Sunday yet with Carlos suspended and Robin Jansson injured. “(The booking) was probably the thing that frustrated me the most. It’s the lack of common sense from the referee. It’s unbelievable. Their responsibility is to protect the game and they need to have the context of the players. And it was a very, very, very unnecessary yellow card, and that’s what disappoints me. Not a good call for me, and it affects us not having Antonio, but we have to find a different answer and see how we can set out that back four. Somebody needs to do the job.”

Kara spoiled Miami’s shutout bid in the 71st minute, taking a pass from Torres at the top of the box, then turning and firing a well-placed shot just inside the left post. It was the big Austrian’s 11th goal of the season.

Ruan had a chance to set up Kara for another moments later. With Kara running free to his left, Ruan tried to chip a pass across to him over Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite get the pass high enough and Callender caught it to prevent the easy header at the back post.

Orlando squandered a late series of corner kicks and Ruan got deep into the box but sent a pass behind both of his teammates crashing the net and that was basically the end.

As a product of chasing the game for all but a few seconds of the match, Orlando finished with more possession (60%-40%), shots (16-6), corners (8-1), and passing accuracy (89.1%-83.4%), but Miami got more shots on target (4-1). Every shot on target in the match ended up in the net. The Lions now have one shot on target in each of the last two matches, which is just two on 29 attempts.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Urso said of the lack of precision. “We had good passing, we had good combinations, but like Oscar told us we have to get more confidence in front of the target and to shoot well. I think we have to be more calm in front of the goal, but no excuses for us.”

“We’re going to leave it there, we’re going to make our corrections,” Pareja said. “We’ve got to move on. This is a quick turnaround. We have a possibility at home that nobody gave us. We fought for that one during the season and this opportunity belongs to us. We’ll see. If we don’t beat Columbus then maybe we didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs, but certainly we have a great opportunity at home to get our qualification.”

The Lions have a knockout game in the final match of the regular season on Sunday, when the Columbus Crew visit Exploria Stadium. A draw won’t be good enough unless Cincinnati somehow loses at D.C. United.

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Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Implode, Lose at Home

Once again, the Lions failed on many opportunities to score a second goal and puked up points at home in an embarrassing final few minutes.

Published

5 hours ago

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July 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

If Saturday’s 1-1 draw against bottom-feeding Montreal was embarrassing, there might not be an adjective adequate enough to describe tonight’s 2-1 home loss to New York City FC. The Lions (9-6-8, 35 points) led 1-0 late but scored an own goal and then gave up a transition game winner off their own corner kick, failing to win for the fourth straight time at Inter&Co Stadium.

NYCFC (10-8-4, 34) got a late unfortunate own goal from Kyle Smith and Alonso Martinez scored in transition off an Orlando corner kick to erase a 1-0 deficit and steal all three points. It was just the Pigeons’ second road win all season.

“The final just shows us one more time that we’re not a team that can close those games and that just gets us in such frustration at this point,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “We highlight the negativity of feeling that the game just slipped from our hands again. I’m responsible for the performance of the group, and today we’re still not finishing the games, and we need to fix that.”

Pareja put Ivan Angulo back in the starting lineup, moving Martin Ojeda back up top with Luis Muriel and sending Ramiro Enrique to the bench. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese started behind a back line of David Brekalo, Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. Cesar Araujo and Eduard Atuesta started in central midfield with wingers Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Ojeda and Muriel in the forward positions.

Inclement weather delayed the start of the match by about half an hour. Once things got going, Orlando City dominated in creating chances, but as has been the case in recent home matches, the Lions struggled to connect on the final pass or shot.

The teams traded early corners but did nothing with them. Ojeda fired the game’s first shot off of Orlando’s first corner — one of four won by Freeman in the first half — but he sent his effort well wide of goal in the fifth minute.

Angulo was active in his return to the starting lineup, nearly taking the ball from NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese in the seventh minute, but the ball skipped out of play off of his deflection.

Muriel got into the box in the 11th minute, trying a shot for the near post, but Freese made the save. Pasalic had a shot blocked high in the box in the 17th minute off an Angulo pass across the area, and three minutes later, Muriel was sent in on a lovely ball but fired his shot right at Freese. Freeman’s shot was blocked out for a corner three minutes later, as Orlando continued to pour forward.

Angulo again set up Pasalic in the 26th minute with a nifty move to get through traffic, but the Croatian’s shot was just wide of the right post. Brekalo had a soft header easily saved by Freese off a corner and Pasalic had another shot partially blocked over the next several minutes, but Orlando couldn’t quite find the last bit of quality.

That changed on another set piece in the 36th minute. Off a corner kick won by Pasalic’s deflected shot, Ojeda sent a ball into the area for Brekalo, who sent it toward goal. Jansson chested it down after being kept onside by Aiden O’Neill, and he turned and beat Freese to make it 1-0. Brekalo and Ojeda assisted on the goal, with the latter picking up a goal contribution for his eighth consecutive MLS game.

After the goal, Orlando won a few set pieces but did little with them. Pasalic had an opportunity to double the lead in the 45th minute, but he got under his left-footed blast and sent it high into The Wall. That was the last decent look of the half and Orlando took its 1-0 lead to the locker room.

At the break, NYCFC had the advantage in possession (51.9%-48.1%), but the Lions had the edge in shots (14-3), shots on target (4-0), corners (8-2), and passing accuracy (86.5%-85.8%).

Ojeda should have doubled the lead early in the second half. With a takeaway in the box, Ojeda had the ball with only Freese to beat around the penalty spot, but he sent his right-footed effort wide of the left post in the 47th minute.

“If you see the volume of the entrances and the clear chances that we had tonight, we have to mention that and say we couldn’t finish,” Pareja said. “I think we need to be more lethal and more precise on finishing those.”

Two minutes later, Ojeda was sent in behind the defense but shot right at Freese and the flag came up.

New York City FC’s Julian Fernandez got the visitors’ first shot on target in the 53rd minute, cutting in from the right and firing. Gallese got down to make the save. Moments later, former Lion Andres Perea got in behind the defense but he was offside and hit his shot at Gallese

Freeman intercepted a pass and started the break in the 58th minute. He ended up getting the ball back after continuing his run. The young fullback faked his defender to the ground, cut inside and sent a shot fizzing over the crossbar.

The visitors should have scored in the 63rd minute. Perea got down the left side and sent in a beautiful curling entry ball for Martinez, who beat Gallese but hit the left post.

Angulo cut inside and fired from just outside the area in the 71st minute, but he sent his shot wide of the right post to spoil another promising attack with a wasteful final ball.

New York City FC began to get more of a hold of the game late, pushing more players forward and getting more opportunities. Mounsef Bakrar got down the right side in the 72nd minute but sent his shot wide of the left post.

Two minutes later, Pareja sent Smith and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson into the game for Pasalic and Angulo, sacrificing some of the team’s creativity in favor of solidity.

Orlando wasted yet another great opportunity in the 79th minute, when second-half sub Ramiro Enrique fired wide of the right post from about nine yards out in front of goal.

New York City came the other way and Bakrar headed a cross straight to Gallese in the 81st minute. Six minutes later, the game turned on a terrible mistake by the Lions.

The visitors won a corner kick on their attacking right side. The cross found Perea’s head, but Gallese got a piece of it, knocking it off the left post. Schlegel swept in to clear the ball, but he smashed it off of Smith and into the net to make it a 1-1 game in the 87th minute. It was the second straight game in which a Schlegel howler proved costly.

Atuesta found space in the 89th minute and fired with his left foot, but he sent his shot well wide of the left post. Orlando won a late corner, but instead of paying it off to regain the lead, the Lions handed New York City FC a breakaway game winner.

The Pigeons cleared and broke quickly with numbers, catching Orlando completely asleep. Thorhallsson was the only player back. He swept at the loose ball and missed, giving Martinez a breakaway. Gallese came out and made himself big, but Martinez beat him and scored the game winner in the first minute of stoppage time.

“I think we obviously were searching for the win on that corner kick. Maybe we just didn’t have the counterattack in mind there, which is obviously wrong not to be cautious on that side,” Angulo said. “We just have to work through it, analyze the game, and correct that.”

Orlando City didn’t exactly fight back. The Lions created nothing in the final three minutes of stoppage time and dropped all three points.

NYCFC finished with more possession (52.1%-47.9%) and better passing accuracy (85%-83.8%). Orlando City had the advantage in shots (25-11), shots on target (7-4), and corners (9-4).

“Difficult to find the words right now,” Angulo said. “It’s a hard game, a loss that hurts us. I think it was a game that we controlled.”

“It doesn’t come from luck, and it has to come from something that we’re not doing right,” Pareja said. “And we have to be responsible for that.”

“Obviously, we conceded their corner, and then on the other side, it was on the set piece as well, just the counter attack,” Freeman said. “So I feel like, you know, those are the things that we need to be more sharp.”

The Lions are 0-3-1 in their last four home matches and have scored just one goal in each of their last five at Inter&Co Stadium. Orlando is 0-5-2 in its last seven matches against NYCFC.

Orlando City will hit the road next for an away game at Gillette Stadium against the New England Revolution on Saturday.

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Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions try to snap their winless streak against their 2015 expansion rivals.

Published

16 hours ago

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July 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Welcome to your match thread and preview for a midweek matchup between Orlando City (9-5-8, 35 points) and New York City FC (9-8-4, 31 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the second of the two scheduled meetings between the Lions and Pigeons this season.

Here is what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

The Lions are 7-10-8 in 25 meetings with NYCFC in the all-time series in MLS play and 7-10-10 including one playoff match and one U.S. Open Cup meeting (remember, games that go to penalty shootouts in knockout competitions officially count as draws). Orlando is 4-2-6 at home in regular-season games in the all-time series, 4-2-8 in all competitions at home, and 5-2-8 in matches played against NYCFC in Central Florida, which includes the MLS is Back Tournament group-stage game in 2020. Things have trended the Pigeons’ way the last few years, as the Lions are 0-4-2 in the last six meetings between the teams.

The teams last met in Orlando City’s first road game of the 2025 season, falling 2-1 at Yankee Stadium on March 8. Alonso Martinez opened the scoring in the second half, with Luis Muriel equalizing. However, just two minutes after Muriel’s goal, Hannes Wolf scored what turned out to be the game winner.

In the last meeting in Orlando, on July 20, 2024, the two 2015 expansion rivals played to a 1-1 draw. Ramiro Enrique and Wolf traded goals five minutes apart in the second half to account for all the scoring. The Lions and Pigeons met at Yankee Stadium on June 28 of last year, with New York City FC winning 4-2. An early Santiago Rodriguez goal opened the scoring and then things went horribly wrong when an obviously offside Malachi Jones collided hard with Orlando goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar. Both players left the game and both had season-ending surgery to repair broken tibias and fibulas. Javier Otero made his MLS debut in goal off the bench and the Lions allowed two goals in first-half stoppage time to let a close game get out of hand. Orlando pulled two goals back through Dagur Dan Thorhallsson and Duncan McGuire, but Mounsef Bakrar sealed the game late for NYCFC.

The teams met at Citi Field — a different baseball stadium than NYCFC’s usual one — on Sept. 20, 2023. The Pigeons were rude hosts, winning 2-0 on goals by Bakrar and Talles Magno. It snapped Orlando’s five-game unbeaten run but the Lions clinched a playoff spot that day anyway due to other results around the league.

These teams also met in Orlando on May 17, and with the Lions poised for a 1-0 win, NYCFC eked out a late 1-1 draw with an 89th-minute Gabriel Segal goal out of nowhere. Ercan Kara scored for Orlando City early on, but the Lions were wasteful with opportunities for the rest of the match.

The teams faced off at Red Bull Arena (one of NYCFC’s many homes away from home) on Oct. 2, 2022, with the Pigeons erasing a 1-0 halftime deficit that Facundo Torres provided. The “hosts” got second-half goals from Alex Callens and Magno to complete the comeback and win, 2-1. Earlier in the year at Exploria Stadium, the Lions got a Tesho Akindele goal at the death, stunning NYCFC as Orlando City won 2-1 on Aug. 28, 2022. Junior Urso and Maxi Moralez had scored early in the first and second half, respectively, to set up Akindele’s dramatic late winner.

Orlando City had a five-game unbeaten streak in the series (1-0-4) absolutely demolished on July 25, 2021 in a 5-0 OCSC loss at Yankee Stadium. The Lions started a makeshift lineup, and it showed, as the Pigeons got goals from Jesus Medina, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, Moralez, Malte Amundsen, and Valentin Castellanos. Why the makeshift lineup? That match was sandwiched between home games against Philadelphia and Atlanta, with quick turnarounds for each. The strategy was sound, as Orlando won the other two games in that nine-day span.

The teams met in Orlando on May 8, 2021 and drew 1-1. Nani smashed a golazo in the second half to put the Lions on top, but Joao Moutinho fouled Tajouri-Shradi in the box and Castellanos scored from the spot to equalize.

The last meeting of the 2020 season happened in the postseason and things got weird. Orlando City ultimately prevailed in penalties after a 1-1 postseason draw on Nov. 21, 2020. Nani put Orlando ahead from the penalty spot, only to see Maxime Chanot equalize on a set piece. Extra time couldn’t settle it, so to penalties we went, and the Lions advanced thanks to a save by defender Rodrigo Schlegel — after goalkeeper Pedro Gallese was sent off with a second yellow for coming off his line early. Benji Michel’s blast was the difference in the shootout. (Seriously, just click the above link in this paragraph and relive that madness.)

The Lions and Pigeons wrapped the 2020 season series on Oct. 14 at Exploria Stadium, playing to a 1-1 draw. Chris Mueller opened the scoring but Keaton Parks equalized just before halftime. The first meeting of 2020 also took place in Central Florida in the MLS is Back Tournament on July 14, when Mueller’s brace and a late Akindele insurance goal led Orlando to a 3-1 win. Medina scored for NYCFC. That win snapped Orlando City’s 0-4-3 streak in the previous seven competitive meetings with the Pigeons. The last match in that winless streak against NYCFC was a 1-1 draw, with the Lions then dispatching NYCFC from the U.S. Open Cup in a penalty shootout on July 10, 2019. That night has been immortalized for the running of The Wall and Adam Grinwis’ heroics in goal.

The teams drew both regular-season meetings in 2019, 1-1 on April 27 at Yankee Stadium, and 2-2 on opening day at Exploria Stadium. NYCFC took all three meetings in a dismal 2018 season series. The Lions went 2-1-0 against New York City FC in 2017, including a win to christen the stadium now known as Exploria with Cyle Larin scoring the only goal in a 1-0 OCSC win. Orlando was 3-1-2 in 2015 and 2016 in the first six meetings with NYCFC.

Overview

Orlando City is coming off Saturday’s disappointing 1-1 home draw against CF Montreal. The Lions struck first through Martin Ojeda, but a late penalty that Rodrigo Schlegel conceded allowed Prince Owusu to equalize on a night of struggles for the OCSC offense. The offense has struggled at home recently, as the Lions haven’t scored more than once in a home match in four consecutive games. May 14 was the last time City scored more than once in an MLS home match. Orlando is 0-2-1 in its last three home games but 5-3-3 at Inter&Co Stadium this season.

New York City FC is coming off a 2-0 loss Saturday in Charlotte, continuing a season of road troubles. The Pigeons are 1-5-4 away from their baseball field this season. NYCFC sits one place behind Orlando in the Eastern Conference standings, four points back but with one game in hand, so tonight’s matchup could have future playoff seeding implications should both teams reach the postseason.

The Lions must try to keep Martinez and Wolf under wraps. Both have hurt Orlando before and the duo lead tonight’s visitors in scoring. Wolf has nine goals and four assists in 2025, ranking first and second on the team in those categories, respectively. Martinez is second in goals (8). Moralez is always a dangerous provider and leads NYCFC with five assists to go along with two goals. At the other end of the pitch, USMNT goalkeeper Matt Freese is having a great season and backstopped the United States to the Concacaf Gold Cup final.

“New York City FC is normally a team that is aggressive going forward, with players who use width and create action,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the game. “They try to maintain that game model, which is a characteristic of their team, and they fight for it in each game. So that is what we normally see. We have a very strong game model as well, so it should be a good match.”

Orlando City will be without Joran Gerbet (thigh), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), Duncan McGuire (shoulder), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee). NYCFC will be without Malachi Jones (leg)
and Keaton Parks (leg).

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese

Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda.

Bench: Javier Otero, Rafael Santos, Kyle Smith, Zakaria Taifi, Colin Guske, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Gustavo Caraballo, Nico Rodriguez, Ramiro Enrique.

New York City FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Matt Freese.

Defenders: Kevin O’Toole, Thiago Martins, Justin Haak, Strahinja Tanasijevic.

Midfielders: Andres Perea, Aiden O’Neill, Maxi Moralez.

Forwards: Hannes Wolf, Alonso Martínez, Augustin Ojeda.

Bench: Tomas Romero, Nico Cavallo, Tayvon Gray, Maximo Carrizo, Jonathan Shore, Sebastiano Musu, Seymour Reid, Mounsef Bakrar, Julian Fernandez.

Referees:

Ref: Jair Marrufo.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Gianni Facchini.
4th: Elvis Osmanovic.
VAR: Kevin Stott.
AVAR: Craig Lowry.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Twitter/Bluesky: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC). We’ll also provide live updates on Bluesky Social (@TheManeLand.bsky.social).

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. New York City FC

Learn more about Orlando City’s opponents tonight from someone who knows them best.

Published

18 hours ago

on

July 16, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City has hit a bit of a bumpy patch this summer, but the Lions will have plenty of opportunities to get things back on the right track in July. Orlando’s next chance to return to winning ways comes later today when it will host New York City FC at Inter&Co Stadium.

A showdown with the Pigeons means I caught up with Matthew Mangam of the always excellent Hudson River Blue. As usual, he was very helpful in bringing us up to speed on how things have been going for NYCFC, and we appreciate his assistance. I also answered some of his questions about Orlando City, so make sure you check those out over at their place!

NYCFC and Orlando are in similar positions, hovering around the edge of the Eastern Conference playoff places. What do you make of the team’s season so far?

Matthew Mangam: It’s been extremely hot and cold. NYCFC is undefeated against the Eastern Conference’s top five teams: Philadelphia, FC Cincinnati, Nashville, Columbus, and Inter Miami, but lost twice to bottom dwellers CF Montréal. New York City is tied for the third-best team at home in MLS this season, but on the road, they’ve only won once in 10 games. I think there are plenty of positives with the team, but NYCFC needs to figure out how to get results away from New York.

With 27 goals in 21 games, scoring seems to be something that’s holding NYCFC back a little bit. What do you make of the scoring numbers, and how does the team juice its offense a little more?

MM: Once attacking midfielder Santiago Rodríguez left this winter, NYCFC lost a key secondary scorer who consistently contributed goals and stepped up when striker Alonso Martínez wasn’t producing. Martínez was New York City’s leading goal scorer for most of the season, but winger Hannes Wolf notched back-to-back braces recently and leads the team with nine goals. 

But NYCFC still needs to get more out of its other wingers. Julián Fernández hasn’t scored since May 4, while Agustín Ojeda attempted his first shot on target this season last Saturday. The two have shown potential in the past, but it hasn’t been seen as much this year. 

Who are two players that Orlando City fans should have an eye on in this match?

MM: Like I said earlier, Wolf and Martínez. They’ve combined for 17 of NYCFC’s 27 goals scored this year. I’m going to add a bonus third player for fun: Mitja Ilenič. If the Slovenian fullback starts, he’ll be a threat. In Ilenič’s last start against Toronto, he notched his second goal and assist of the season in a dominant offensive performance. I think he should start over Tayvon Gray, who hasn’t been in great form recently. 

Will any players be unavailable due to injuries, suspensions, etc.? What is your projected starting XI and score prediction?

MM: No suspensions, but I’m confident Keaton Parks and Malachi Jones will remain out due to injury. Fernández is confirmed to be out on Wednesday. I’m not sure if it’s personal or an injury.

Lineup: Matt Freese; Kevin O’Toole, Justin Haak, Thiago Martins, Mitja Ilenič; Andres Perea, Maxi Moralez, Aiden O’Neill; Hannes Wolf, Alonso Martínez, Agustin Ojeda.

I think it’ll be a 1-1 tie.

Thank you again to Matthew for helping get us caught up on NYCFC. Vamos Orlando!

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