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Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Final Score 4-1 as Lions Suffer First Road Loss of 2022

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4 years ago

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For the second time in three matches, Orlando City didn’t look like it belonged on an MLS pitch. The Lions were — well, the word awful comes to mind — in a deserved 4-1 road loss to CF Montreal at Stade Saputo. Orlando (5-4-2, 17 points) lost on the road for the first time in 2022 and never seemed likely to challenge Montreal (5-3-2, 17 points) once the hosts scored their first goal.

The Lions scored a set piece goal to cut a 2-0 deficit in half against the run of play in the second half but then handed two more goals to Montreal with the poor giveaways that plagued the team all game long. CF Montreal set a club record by extending its unbeaten run to seven games (5-0-2).

Joao Moutinho provided Orlando’s only goal on one of just two shot attempts. Joel Waterman, Djordje Mihailovic, Joaquin Torres, and Zachary Brault-Guillard all chipped in goals for Montreal.

“Certainly a difficult afternoon for us (against) a team that had a lot of initiative going forward,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “And we couldn’t, first get the ball back, and second create much. The mistakes that we did allowed them to score the goals. Very fair result for Montreal and we’re just going to push forward, just keep organizing things, and being back on results.”

Pareja’s lineup included Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Moutinho, Thomas Williams — in for the suspended Robin Jansson — Rodrigo Schlegel, and Ruan. Sebas Mendez joined Cesar Araujo in central midfield to try to provide more coverage for the back line. The attacking midfield line included Facundo Torres, Mauricio Pereyra, and Benji Michel, with Alexandre Pato as the main strike threat.

Earlier in the day, OCB sent center back Brandon Hackenberg to the senior side on a short-term loan to provide coverage in central defense in Jansson’s absence. Hackenberg was on the bench along with newly acquired winger Jake Mulraney.

The opening minutes were a bit sloppy on both sides but Montreal got the first good chance to score six minutes in. Just after Schlegel blocked a Joaquin Torres shot from the top of the box, the ball cycled out wide to Montreal’s right. A cross back into the area was met by Romell Quioto, who was hardly bothered by Williams or Schlegel but he sent his free header over Gallese’s crossbar.

Two minutes later, Ruan made a sliding attempt to deny a pass and clear the ball but instead he simply set the ball up nicely for Lassi Lappalainen to run onto in the box. Lappalainen fired from the left side of Montreal’s attacking side but Gallese made a big save.

Orlando’s first foray into the attacking end didn’t take place until the 10th minute. Moutinho sent in a cross but former Lion Kamal Miller cleared it away. The Lions tried to recycle down the left wing but Michel’s left-footed cross was right at goalkeeper Sebastian Breza.

Facu Torres fired Orlando’s first shot attempt in the 14th minute after Miller failed to properly deal with a ball over the top that was intended for Pato. His shot was well off target and since Pato was behind the defense there was no option for the winger to play a through ball for the Brazilian.

A minute later, Mihailovic was nearly in for a clear shot on target but Mendez did well to break up the play at the top of the box. Just after that, Ruan coughed up the ball in his own defensive end. Pereyra committed a foul, which handed a free kick to the hosts. Mihailovic played the free kick short and received the ball back quickly and fired a shot on target. The attempt was right at Gallese, who made the easy save in the 18th minute.

Montreal’s wingbacks were pushing higher and higher and it nearly put Mihailovic in behind in the 20th minute but Schlegel did well to get back and break up the play. However, he conceded a corner, which led to Montreal’s opener. The cross into the box hit Michel and bounced toward goal. Waterman was standing there all alone and scored. The initial ruling was that the play was offside, and Waterman was well behind the defense, but after video review, the referee saw that the ball wasn’t passed by a Montreal player and instead was knocked behind to the center back by Michel, so the goal was awarded, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead.

The hosts should have doubled the lead in the 36th minute. The Lions lost the ball in the attack and Montreal quickly countered. Quioto put in a good ball across for Lappalainen in front. Ruan overran the play, giving the wingback a 1-v-1 opportunity against Gallese but he sent his shot just wide of the right post.

Gallese had to make a key save in the 40th minute after Mendez tried to play too fancy in his own end and turned it over. The ball cycled left to right and was slipped into Mihailovic down the right. He’d gotten in behind Araujo and Williams was slow to react, giving the winger an open look at goal but Gallese did well to get down and make the save.

Each side wasted a set piece late and the hosts took their deserved 1-0 lead into the break. Montreal dominated the opening half, leading in possession (56.4%43.6%), shots (8-1), shots on target (4-0), corners (2-1), and passing accuracy (89.7%-87.1%). The Lions were fortunate to be within one, offering nothing in the attack and getting bossed around by a Montreal central midfield that was missing Victor Wanyama and Ismael Kone.

Montreal picked up where it left off after the restart. Orlando turned Montreal over at midfield but poor awareness by Michel allowed the hosts to easily dispossess the winger and go the other way, where they won a corner. Miller had a free header but didn’t get all of it and Gallese collected.

Montreal doubled the lead anyway shortly afterwards. Mendez took the ball away in midfield but instead of getting forward in transition, Pato played the ball backward. Orlando worked it around but again turned it over and Montreal bombed forward in transition. Alistair Johnston got to the end line and cut the ball back across the front of goal for Mihailovic to tap in, building the lead to 2-0 in the 52nd minute.

Down two goals, Pareja made three substitutions, sending on Mulraney, Ercan Kara, and Junior Urso for Michel, Pato, and Mendez. Mulraney’s first touch nearly produced something as his dangerous cross into the box required Breza to be quick off his line to prevent a scoring chance in the 58th minute.

Moments later, Mathieu Choiniere sent a shot just inches wide of Gallese’s goal off a slight deflection. The ensuing corner kick again rattled around the area but this time Orlando cleared.

A poor header attempt by Schlegel allowed Montreal to bomb forward again and Quioto ended up on the left side. Williams did well to keep him from getting into better position and he fired a tough-angle shot that Gallese blocked in the 67th minute. Three minutes later, Gallese made another vital save.

The Lions pulled a goal back two minutes after that, when pressure from Mulraney won a corner. Pereyra’s service picked out Moutinho in the area and the left back nodded home to make it 2-1 in the 72nd minute.

With the lead cut in half and everything to play for, Orlando…didn’t. The Lions couldn’t maintain possession, string together multiple passes, deliver a single accurate ball when trying to break lines, and simply didn’t make Montreal work very hard on defense. Orlando failed to even get another shot attempt off in the final 18 minutes plus five minutes of injury time.

Instead, the Lions conceded two more goals and both were off turnovers.

In the 81st minute, Joaquin Torres restored the two-goal advantage on a play that Orlando should have dealt with. Williams did well against substitute Kei Kamara but stopped playing when he thought the ball went over the end line for a goal kick. But Kamara’s hustle allowed him to get a foot around the ball and keep it in play. Williams was standing still, looking at the assistant referee when Kamara ran back onto the field past him and kept the play going. Montreal cycled it around and it ended up on the right, where it was crossed by Brault-Guillard to Torres, who spun off of Williams and put the game away with a cannon shot past Gallese.

Three minutes later, substitute Andres Perea gave the ball away with a horrible first touch to hand Montreal another transition. Brault-Guillard had little angle to shoot at from the right side, but he made an inch-perfect back-post shot count, beating Gallese to make it 4-1.

Kamara came with inches of making it five goals for Montreal in stoppage time but that was as bad as it got. Montreal dominated the stat sheet at the end of the game, leading in possession (59%-41%), shots (20-2), shots on target (10-1), corners (7-2), and passing accuracy (88.3%-83.6%).

As comprehensive as the loss to the New York Red Bulls was two weeks ago, this one was worse. Pareja didn’t have an answer for the continued stagnation of the offense but accepted responsibilty for it after the match.

“I am responsible,” he said, “just helping out to create the sequences, helping out to be the team that we want to be. And offensively when we are not being that team that is threatening, that is creating and all those things, obviously somebody needs to give some explanation. What happened is that we need to execute. It’s easy to say, but today we looked controllable and we did not threaten much behind, but that is something I need to help them out with.”

“I have to say, they were decent,” Mulraney said of Montreal, getting on the field after just arriving with his new team a couple of days ago. “It’s hard to come on the road in this league. I’m excited about this group. I feel there’s a real togetherness. So, we’ll see.”

The Lions have just 12 shot attempts and five shots on target over the last three MLS matches, and there’s not much time between now and the U.S. Open Cup match this midweek to get the offense figured out.

“This is a short turnaround. We have to focus on the next game and see how can we grow up with a team,” Pareja said. “It’s the task to do.”

The Lions return home for a Tuesday night fourth-round match-up with the Philadelphia Union in U.S. Open Cup play before heading back to Canada to face Toronto FC next Saturday.

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Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 1-1 draw with FC Cincinnati.

Published

7 hours ago

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August 16, 2026

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Image of Luis Otavio playing the ball against FC Cincinnati.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hosted FC Cincinnati at Inter.co Stadium Saturday night in the new red third kits. This was supposed to be a high-scoring affair between two teams that like to score and also like to give up goals. Naturally, that meant it ended in a low-scoring 1-1 draw. Still, it’s hard to be too upset given Orlando City came from behind and managed to earn a point against a team higher in the standings. Here are my five takeaways from the match.

A Head Injury Goal

FC Cincinnati scored the first goal of the match, but it wasn’t without controversy. Cincinnati passed the ball to the top of the box for Evander. His shot went directly into the face of Joran Gerbet, who dropped like a sack of potatoes. That is the moment that Tori Penso should have blown the whistle to stop the play. You know, for a potential head injury. Instead, Penso allowed the play to continue as the ball rebounded off Gerbet’s head to Pavel Bucha who scored the goal. Fortunately, Gerbet was okay not that Penso was overly concerned in the moment. After the match, she stated the play was not stopped because of an immediate shot by a teammate after the deflection. It took about four seconds from hitting Gerbet in the head from point-blank range until the time Bucha shot, and perhaps four seconds is considered immediate.

Relentless Spicer

Tyrese Spicer continued his run of good form for Orlando City with a good run against the Cincinnati defense. As two defenders closed on him, Justin Ellis made a nifty flicked pass from a ball from Ivan Angulo to a streaking Spicer. The speedy winger held off Bucha shoulder to shoulder to win the ball. Bucha fell down and Spicer rounded the keeper before putting it under the crossbar for the equalizer. It was a hard-earned goal and just what Orlando City needed to get back into the match.

Justice for Brekalo

Kevin Denkey got around Maxime Crepeau and looked certain to score, but he hit the right post. The ball bounced out to Evander. David Brekalo battled to win the ball and Evander went down in the box. Penso immediately called a penalty, but the contact was very light. Then the video assistant referee suggested a call against Orlando City needed to be checked. Penso looked at the replay and rightly said no penalty. On top of that, Evander received a yellow for simulation. Do you believe in miracles? Yes!

Crepeau Continues to Crush It

Crepeau has been playing well since returning from the World Cup. He continued his good form against one of the best attacking teams in MLS. Despite only being credited with three saves, he once again made several saves on shots from offside players that would not have counted, but were still impressive. Additionally, he got better as the match went on. He had good command of the his area, coming out to get the ball, closing down the angles, and being a big contributor to the point at home.

Good Enough

Orlando City’s defense was not great despite holding Cincinnati to one goal, but it was good enough. For a team that gave up nearly three goals per match prior to the World Cup break, allowing an average of one goal per match, including in this game, is much better. On a sadder note, Bernardo Rhein went off injured in the first half. The youngster had supplanted Adrian Marin on the depth chart and now might be out for a bit depending on how bad the injury is. To his credit, Marin played better than he usually does once he came on. Again, the defense wasn’t spectacular, but it did enough to earn a point.

That is what I saw in Orlando City’s result with FC Cincinnati. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Battle Back on Spicer’s Goal

The Lions fell behind before halftime but had the final say in a hard-fought home draw vs. FC Cincinnati.

Published

19 hours ago

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August 15, 2026

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Image of Tyrese Spicer battling against FC Cincinnati.
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Tyrese Spicer’s early goal in the second half pulled Orlando City level in a 1-1 draw against normally high-scoring FC Cincinnati at Inter.co Stadium tonight. Pavel Bucha put Cincinnati (7-6-6, 27 points) in front with a goal in the first half, but Orlando City (6-10-3, 21 points) did well to fight back for a point at home.

It was surprisingly low scoring, considering the game featured two of the most porous MLS defenses and an open flow to it, but it’s a big improvement over the 6-2 loss the Lions suffered on the road at Cincinnati just before the World Cup break. While the point is good, Orlando is 0-1-2 in its last three matches in all competitions and will need to start finding the win column again to climb into the playoff places.

“It was a very tough team, tough game, as we expected against Cincinnati. It’s always like this,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “They have a really strong offense. Their team is one of the best teams in the league attacking. I think we created chances by moments. The game was very open. They had chances as well.”

Perelman’s starting XI featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey. Luis Otavio and Joran Gerbet started in central midfield between wingers Ivan Angulo and Tyrese Spicer with Justin Ellis and Antoine Griezmann leading the attack.

Much of the first 15 minutes was spent between the two penalty areas. Orlando looked to build play patiently, while Cincinnati looked for opportunities to jump passing routes and counter. The first look of the game came three minutes in off a set piece from long range that fell to Kevin Denkey in the box. The Cincy forward fired but the shot was blocked and the visitors were offside on the recycle.

Orlando City’s first look at goal was a shot that Spicer mishit badly, firing well wide of the near post on the left. Ellis put the first shot of the game on target in the 10th minute, sending in a good effort from the top of the box, but Roman Celentano made a good save to tip it over. Cincinnati cleared the initial ball on the set piece but Rhein found Spicer in the box, but again the Trinidad & Tobago international fired wide in the 11th minute. Four minutes later, Griezmann got into the box but his shot was blocked behind for another corner and the Lions could do nothing with the set piece.

Orlando was fortunate not to fall behind in the 20th minute as Evander got past Dorsey on the Lions’ defensive right side. The Cincy star man fizzed a low cross to the back post but it was just out of Tom Barlow’s reach. However, the visitors scored anyway a few minutes later.

A shot near the top of the area caught Gerbet flush in the face and he went down immediately. Despite it being an obvious head injury, referee Tori Penso allowed play to continue and Cincinnati regained possession outside the box, where Bucha slotted into the right side of the net to make it 1-0 in the 23rd minute.

“Regarding that play, since I am here in the United States, I learned that in the MLS, we take care about those situations with the players,” Perelman said. “This is why we were expecting that after that kick in his head, the game should be stopped, as it always was. But I haven’t reviewed the sequence. I don’t know if the ball effectively got in the face. I didn’t see the sequence again. Maybe I’m ignoring some rule or maybe it’s OK what the ref did. I don’t know.”

Penso’s response to the pool reporter’s question was that the ball fell to an attacking player who immediately shot and scored, and the player was checked immediately afterward.

Orlando City should have pulled the goal back in the 36th minute. Dorsey got down the right flank and pulled back a nice pass for Ellis around the penalty spot. The Homegrown forward sent a shot on target with his first touch but sent it straight at Celentano for the save. The Lions were offside after the initial shot and the attack broke down.

Rhein went down with a non-contact injury moments later and went directly to the locker room. Adrian Marin subbed on to replace the Homegrown left back.

FC Cincinnati was the more dangerous team down the stretch. Evander fired just inches wide of the right post from the left in the 43rd minute. Ellis then had an opportunity with a free header in the middle of the box in the first minute of added time but sent his effort straight at Celentano again. Ender Echineque then saw his shot blocked just wide by Marin deep in stoppage time, winning Cincinnati a corner, but the Lions cleared and the halftime whistle blew.

The Lions held the advantage at the break in possession (50.6%-49.4%), shots (7-5), shots on target (3-1), corners (5-3), and passing accuracy (89.6%-86%), but a lack of clinical finishing allowed the guests to hold the lead at halftime.

Marco Pasalic came on for Gerbet to start the second half, pushing Angulo into central midfield for a while, with Spicer joining Ellis up top and Griezmann dropping to left wing.

Cincinnati won an early corner after the restart but it was Orlando City that scored off of it. The Lions dealt with the set piece and Angulo ended up with it on the left. He darted past a defender and sent a pass forward that Ellis touched on into the attacking half. Spicer raced for the loose ball with Bucha and won the physical battle, breaking in alone when the Cincy defender fell. The Trinidad & Tobago international rounded Celentano and smashed a shot high into the net to make it 1-1 in the 48th minute.

“I know I’m going to get technical here, but like the spin that (Angulo) put on the pass was perfect for how I wanted to play the ball, you know, so I could redirect it into the path of Tyrese, Ellis said. “It counts as an assist, but the goal was all him, you know. I think he deserves all the credit.”

“(Ellis is) a creative player. He wants to flick. He loves to flick. And you know, I just read that,” Spicer said. “I thought it was going to go more in the air rather than on the ground, but I just had to turn the jets on to get there. You know, once I was one on one with the keeper, you know, I had a good feeling. He’s a good keeper. I think he would have guessed where I was gonna shoot. So I was like, let me try to go around him, and it worked out.”

Orlando tried to take the lead moments after the goal with a series of passes at the top of the area that finally got sent to Griezmann on the right. The Frenchman volleyed a shot on target but it was right at Celentano.

Cincinnati thought it had won a penalty a minute later. Denkey got in behind down the right channel, waited out Crepeau, and sent a shot off the post. Brekalo and Evander both went for the loose ball and Evander went down. Penso pointed to the spot and eventually went to the monitor for a second look. After reviewing the play again, Penso announced that Evander had initiated the contact and she booked the Cincy star for simulation. Orlando City avoided the spot kick.

Echineque rang the post for Cincinnati in the 64th minute. Cutting in from right to left, he fired a shot from near the right corner of the box that hit the left post and stayed out. Following an unsuccessful corner at the other end, Cincinnati came back on the attack and put the ball in the neet in the 71st minute, but the flag came up immediately for an obvious offside.

Former Lion Kyle Smith blocked Spicer’s shot behind for a corner in the 73rd minute. Griezmann’s service found Marin on the far side all alone in space. The Spaniard tried to head it back into the mix of players in front but it floated lazily for an eacy catch by Celentano.

Second-half sub Marco Pasalic fired wide in the 80th minute, as both teams continued looking for a go-ahead goal.

Crepeau may have made his biggest save in the match in the 87th minute, going down to deny Kenji Mboma Dem, who got inside down the right in the 87th minute.

Orlando got a couple of looks down the stretch. Pasalic saw his shot deflect over the bar for a corner early in stoppage time. Substitute Wilder Cartagena blazed a rocket shot just over the crossbar in the fourth added minute.

After the Lions defended a late Cincinnati corner, the final whistle blew, splitting the points between the sides.

At the final whistle, Orlando City held the advantage in shots (17-11), shots on target (5-3), and corners (10-5). FC Cincinnati finished with more possession (53.1%-46.9%) and passed more accurately (90.8%-87.8%).

“We knew which spaces we believe we can hurt (them), and that was the adjustment (at halftime) — try to to hurt them in those spaces and try to to neutralize as much as we can those talented players they have up front, and we we were able to tie.”

“I think it was a different looking game because we’re a different looking team in terms of how we’re playing,” Ellis said, comparing the 6-2 loss at Cincinnati to tonight’s 1-1 draw. “I think we’re a much more steady team, even though I feel today we didn’t have the control that we wanted. It was very transitional. I think we also just limited Evander. He’s, I don’t want to say he’s their whole attack, because they have amazing players, but a lot of the attack runs through him. And I want to give a special mention to Luis Otavio. I thought he was the best player on the field today.”

It’s another short turnaround for the Lions, who host the Chicago Fire on Wednesday.

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

The Lions go hunting for revenge for the 6-2 beatdown they suffered in southwest Ohio back in late May.

Published

1 day ago

on

August 15, 2026

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Image of Griffin Dorsey dribbling up the side past two FC Cincinnati defenders.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your preview and match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (6-10-2, 20 points) and FC Cincinnati (7-6-5, 26 points) at Inter.co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the last of the two scheduled matches between the teams this season.

Here’s what you need to know for the match.

History

The all-time series is tied at 5-5-4 in the MLS regular season, but Orlando City has been worse against FC Cincinnati in home matches, going just 2-3-1 in the City Beautiful against tonight’s opponents. The Lions are 0-2-1 in the last three meetings between the sides.

The teams last met on May 23 in Cincinnati in the final match before the World Cup break. How shall I put this…oh yes…the Lions had their asses handed to them by FC Cincinnati to the tune of a 6-2 brutalization that had folks calling law enforcement to report a murder. Evander scored twice and assisted on three other goals to lead the rout for FC Cincinnati, despite Orlando City’s Martin Ojeda scoring the first goal and later tying the game at 2-2 early in the second half. It was all FC Cincinnati after Ojeda’s second goal. Kenji Mboma Dem added a brace for the hosts and Kevin Denkey and Tom Barlow also scored. Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the game that “the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story,” and he was right, because it could have been worse.

A year ago, the teams played on Sept. 28, 2025, in Ohio, with Alex Freeman’s goal late in stoppage time salvaging a 1-1 draw for Orlando City, canceling out Denkey’s second-half strike. Prior to that, the teams also met last year on June 28 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, with FC Cincinnati winning 2-1. An Evander brace, which included a poorly conceded set piece goal from distance, was enough to offset Marco Pasalic’s goal.

These two teams met at TQL Stadium on Oct. 5, 2024, with the Lions leaving southwest Ohio with a 3-1 victory in their final road match of the regular season. Ramiro Enrique scored twice and had a third chalked off for a controversial foul on a corner kick. He also assisted on a goal by Ivan Angulo in an impressive performance. Luciano Acosta scored Cincinnati’s goal.

These two sides also met on May 4 of that year in Orlando with FC Cincinnati claiming a 1-0 road win on a first-minute goal by Acosta. The Lions went down a man early in the game when Rodrigo Schlegel was called for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity on Yuya Kubo. Orlando City had a second-half goal waved off for an offside in the buildup. Cincinnati lost Bret Halsey to a second yellow card late but the Lions couldn’t take advantage.

The teams met in Ohio on Sept. 2, 2023, with the Lions claiming a 1-0 win on enemy soil, becoming the first road team to beat FC Cincinnati all season. Facundo Torres scored the game’s only goal. Orlando had to hold on down a man late when Wilder Cartagena was sent off. The teams played to a 0-0 draw in Orlando on March 4, 2023 in Orlando.

The Lions fell 1-0 at TQL Stadium on June 24, 2022. A second-half goal from Brenner represented all the offense, but it could have been worse for Orlando City as Pedro Gallese made eight saves in the match. The first meeting of 2022 took place in Orlando on March 12, with FC Cincinnati notching its first win in the all-time series, 2-1 at Exploria Stadium. The Lions were more in control but were wasteful, despite dominating the stat sheet. The visitors got a brace from Brandon Vazquez to offset Junior Urso’s goal.

The final meeting of 2021 was on Oct. 16 in Cincinnati, when Orlando City got its first road victory in the series, 1-0 on Urso’s early goal. Tesho Akindele should have scored a second off the crossbar late in the game, but the play was never reviewed, despite video evidence that the ball was completely across the line.

On Aug. 7, 2021, the match in Cincinnati ended up in a 1-1 draw. Nani’s strike rescued a point after Brenner had opened the scoring for the hosts just before halftime, taking advantage of an obviously injured Uri Rosell, who subbed off moments later. The first of the three meetings in 2021 came on May 21 in Orlando, with the Lions posting a 3-0 win. Akindele scored in the first minute and Nani and Urso each added a goal.

In Orlando’s first trip to the banks of the Ohio River, the match ended in a 1-1 draw at Nippert Stadium on Sept. 29, 2019. Benji Michel’s goal in stoppage time rescued a point for the Lions after Allan Cruz had given the hosts a lead. The draw officially eliminated Orlando City from playoff contention that year, but realistically the Lions had been out of it for a while.

The first-ever meeting between the two sides took place on May 19, 2019, when the Lions pummeled the expansion side, 5-1. Both Nani and Akindele bagged braces in the match and Dom Dwyer added a goal as well.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a pair of blown halftime leads in Leagues Cup, but with rotation throughout that competition, lots of players played and at least now they can concentrate on MLS and next month’s resumption of the U.S. Open Cup. Orlando drew Atletico de San Luis 2-2 after blowing a two-goal lead from the 79th minute on, claiming the meaningless extra point in penalties (5-3) as both teams were eliminated from the knockout rounds. Daryl Dike and Justin Ellis scored Orlando’s goals. The Lions are 4-3-1 at home in MLS play this season but 3-0-1 in their last four league matches on their own patch. Orlando brings a league-worst 47 goals conceded into tonight and a conference-worst goal differential of -17.

FC Cincinnati is coming off a surprising 2-1 home loss to Atlas on Tuesday, which means it will be the better rested team for both matches against Orlando this season. The loss knocked Cincinnati out of the running for the knockout rounds and was the first time Cincinnati failed to score at least two goals in a match since July 25 on the road against rival Columbus — also in a 2-1 loss. What is surprising about that is FC Cincinnati is a scoring juggernaut, co-leading MLS in goals scored with 45 — tied with Inter Miami. Cincy’s Achilles heel this season has been road play, in which the club is 1-4-4 in MLS play. The only reason Cincinnati is as low as sixth in the Eastern Conference table at the moment is because it also ships a lot of goals — 44 so far this season, which is third worst in the Eastern Conference.

Orlando City’s back line and defensive midfield will be stressed for 90 minutes plus stoppage time tonight, as players like Evander, Denkey, Mboma Dem, Barlow, Pavel Bucha, and others will slice through the gaps between defenders and look to get onto excellent through balls. Transition attacks must be avoided, as Cincinnati can turn a takeaway into a goal in seconds. The Lions must control the ball, avoid turning it over in dangerous areas, and stay switched on for potential runners, otherwise the final score might look a lot like it did on May 23. Evander already has 22 goal contributions (11 goals, 11 assists), leading the league in the latter category while being just two goals off the Golden Boot lead. Denkey has also bagged 11 goals to go along with four assists.

The Lions will be without Eduard Atuesta (thigh), Nolan Miller (knee), Braian Ojeda (foot), and
Martín Ojeda (thigh). Cincinnati will be without Gerardo Valenzuela (suspension).

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Luis Otavio, Joran Gerbet, Tyrese Spicer.

Forward: Antoine Griezmann, Justin Ellis.

Bench: Javier Otero, Adrian Marin, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Issah Haruna, Wilder Cartagena, Tiago, Marco Pasalic, Daryl Dike.

FC Cincinnati (3-5-2)

Goalkeeper: Roman Celentano.

Defenders: Samuel Gidi, Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson.

Wingbacks/Midfielders: Bryan Ramirez, Obinna Nwobodo, Evander, Pavel Bucha, Ender Echenique.

Forwards: Kevin Denkey, Tom Barlow.

Bench: Evan Louro, Kyle Smith, Alvas Powell, Nick Hagglund, Teenage Hadebe, Brian Anunga, Kristian Fletcher, Kenji Mboma Dem, Ayoub Jabbari.

Referees

REF: Tori Penso.
AR1: Brooke Mayo.
AR2: Matthew Nelson.
4TH: Lorenzo Hernandez.
VAR: Kevin Stott.
AVAR: Fabio Tovar.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter.co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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