A glorious win in Miami is now very much in the rearview mirror, as Orlando City conceded two goals in stoppage time in a 2-0 road loss at CF Montreal. The Lions (3-8-1, 10 points) put up a defensive fight for 90 minutes, but could not put away their few chances. A far-from-clinical Montreal (4-7-0, 12 points) took the whole match to score, but Daniel Rios converted a penalty conceded by captain Robin Jansson and former Lion Dagur Dan Thorhallsson added a second to add insult to injury.

“We work. We work,” Orlando City interim coach Martin Perelman said after the match when asked how the team can respond to its latest road fiasco. “I can tell you that we won at the same minute against Miami and against New England, so sometimes you score, you win in the last minute, and it’s great. Sometimes the opponent does the same. This is the game, and this league particularly has this characteristic. We work.”

Perelman’s lineup featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Adrian Marin, Jansson, Iago, and Griffin Dorsey. Eduard Atuesta and Braian Ojeda started in central midfield between wingers Tyrese Spicer and Ivan Angulo. Martin Ojeda and Justin Ellis led the attack up top.

The match started with sloppy play by both teams, including a howler by Ivan Angulo when he whiffed on a lofted clearance from an early Orlando corner kick and allowed a Montreal breakaway ending with a Wikelman Carmona shot in the second minute that Crepeau saved. Atuesta made his own sloppy contribution with a giveaway near the Orlando box in the fourth minute, leading to a shot by Ivan Jaime that was blocked.

The Lions slowly began to manage some possession and decent buildup play over the next few minutes, largely due to Montreal’s lack of real pressure.

Montreal had its moments as well, but neither side created anything overly threatening.

Orlando eventually fashioned its best scoring chance of the game and should have taken the lead in the 17th minute after Iago’s excellent long ball sent Atuesta in behind. The Colombian was 1-v-1 with Montreal goalkeeper Thomas Gillier and his shot attempt went past the keeper but also went wide of the left post. Spicer followed up in the 22nd with a shot from a wide angle, but it was right into Gillier’s hands.

Both teams struggled to put together anything resembling quality buildup play, but the Lions managed a decent look, through an Iago and Justin Ellis combo, leading to a shot on goal in the 29th minute by Dorsey. However, the shot lacked power and was again right at Gillier.

Orlando’s entire game was plagued by turnovers in its own half, but Montreal failed to take advantage of them. Martin Ojeda’s giveaway in the midfield led to a quick Montreal counter and a powerful Carmona shot that went just wide of the net in the 34th minute.

The Lions compounded their giveaways with unnecessary fouls, conceding a lot of set pieces. Dorsey committed an overly aggressive challenge in the 37th which led to a Montreal free kick from outside the 18-yard box on Montreal’s attacking left, but Matty Longstaff sent it over everyone and the end line for a goal kick.

Orlando conceded another Montreal free kick from about 30 yards out in the 41st minute when Braian Ojeda roughted up Carmona, who was heading away from goal. The wall did its job though, blocking the free kick, and Montreal had to recycle.

Another Montreal corner in the 42nd minute went off the back of Iago’s head and hit the left post, nearly resulting in an own goal. Prince Owusu fouled Crepeau as he was on the ground trying to cover the loose ball, taking the relentless pressure off for the moment. It didn’t last long, however, as Orlando was firmly on the back foot for the rest of the half, with Montreal recycling the ball after every Lions turnover and continuously putting balls in the box. Longstaff missed just wide in the 44th on the last look of the first half, which ended with no stoppage time, bringing a break the Lions badly needed.

At the half, Montreal held the edge in possession (53.9%-46.1%), shots (9-3), and corners (4-1). The Lions led in passing accuracy (89.0%-87.7%) and shots on target (2-1).

Montreal almost immediately struck in the second half with an aggressive opening attack off the restart. Owusu took a pass from Jaime in front of goal but opted to pass in front of goal rather than shoot and it went across the top of the six-yard box, letting the Lions off the hook.

Orlando City eventually worked its way into the Montreal half a few times in the second half but could sustain no pressure. Most of the successful movements went through Ellis. The Homegrown forward displayed some fancy footwork, which led to a free kick from a few yards outside Montreal’s 18-yard box on the right. Martin Ojeda left his shot too low and it deflected off of the Montreal wall, and the chance went begging.

The match was opening up, and Jaime sent a shot right at Crepeau in the 51st minute. A Montreal corner kick followed and Jansson headed it away.

Angulo managed to break loose down the left side in the 54th minute but put too much on a pass intended to send Spicer in on goal, spoiling a promising attack. Some composure and an excellent pass from Ellis sent Spicer into the box in the 56th minute, but the Trinidad & Tobago international was off balance and his shot from the left was wide, hitting the back of the outside netting.

The Lions earned a corner in the 57th minute. The ball in was a good one and Iago got a head to it, but he sent the shot right at Gillier.

Montreal charged back into Orlando’s half in the 58th minute, with former Lion Luca Petrasso sending a long-range shot that appeared to be dipping under the bar. Crepeau tipped it over the net.

Orlando fought off the following corner, but failed to clear it decisively. Another shot in deflected out for yet another corner. The Lions cleared the initial ball but Victor Loturi fired over the bar after Montreal recycled the attack.

Ellis, having an excellent night, sent a through ball for Dorsey streaking down the right side, and the fullback sent in a low cross. However, Spicer couldn’t get to the cross and Montreal put it over the end line for a corner. Montreal cleared the ensuing set piece and Atuesta earned a yellow card for a high arm on Loturi trying to win it back in the air.

Atuesta blocked a Loturi shot in the 64th minute and Jansson followed with a block on Jaime’s follow-up shot. Montreal earned yet another corner in the 67th minute which nearly resulted in a goal if not for an awkward play in the box by Owusu, who missed the ball on his attempted header.

Orlando attempted to press Montreal’s defense again with a few forays into their half, but they were not really able to test Gillier. The best chance came from a long distance shot by Martin Ojeda in the 71st, but he didn’t get good contact on the soft effort that was easily saved.

Ellis sparked yet another Orlando counterattack — this time from the ground — when he went down under pressure in the 73rd minute, sending Angulo in behind with substitute Duncan McGuire and Martin Ojeda in support. Angulo made a good pass to McGuire, but the chance was broken up by the Montreal defense.

Montreal earned a corner in the 75th that Orlando defended, but only to the top of the area, where Dawid Bugaj sent in a shot off target. Orlando City immediately coughed the ball up again, leading to another corner, which was also skied over the end line, this time by Owusu.

A minute later, the Lions again gave the ball away in a bad spot, igniting a Montreal counter. Owusu was in alone on goal. Crepeau came off his line to cut down the angle, and Owusu rounded him and shot. A sliding Iago made a vital clearance, leading to another Montreal corner that Crepeau claimed.

In the 88th minute, Orlando managed a rare counterattack, with McGuire turning down a shot from a tight angle and waiting for help near the end line. With time running out and seeing no options, McGuire took his shot from about the same place as he could have made an attempt earlier, but this time Montreal’s defense had arrived and Bugaj easily blocked his effort.

Montreal responded with pressure in the Orlando half, and the Lions countered with another attack down the right side, with Dorsey and Martin Ojeda combining. Dorsey sent in another low cross that Montreal cleared away. It was only cleared as far as Martin Ojeda, though, who passed to McGuire, but McGuire took a heavy touch and couldn’t settle it, and the hosts cleared again.

As the game entered stoppage time, Petrasso came down the left and dribbled into the box. Jansson stepped to him but appeared to lose his balance. The captain made contact with Petrasso, who went down and a penalty was immediately awarded.

Rios took the kick for Montreal and roofed the ball into the net over Crepeau, who had guessed the correct direction, putting Montreal up 1-0 in stoppage time.

Despite chasing the game, Orlando continued to give the ball away cheaply and could not mount any kind of organized attack. Then, late substitute and former Orlando City favorite Thorhallsson picked up a ball outside the area and blasted a long-distance shot past a diving Crepeau, ending any hope for the Lions to take anything from the match.

At full time, Montreal led in every statistic, including possession (53.8%-46.2%), passing accuracy (87.7%-86%), corners (11-3), shots (23-9), and shots on target (5-4) .

Orlando City was not able to build on its comeback win at Miami and in fact regressed to the kind of performance that got the Lions beat by two 5-0 scorelines and one 6-0 scoreline. The only difference on this night was that Montreal lacked precision in front of goal to punish Orlando for conceding numerous set pieces.

“Consistency is what every team looks for. It’s not easy, every time we lose, we speak about that,” Perleman said. “We will continue working hard, so little by little, we continue growing, and [with] as much time [as] we have, the better [it is] for us. We will have the break for the World Cup. We will take advantage of that moment to to work, and for sure, the consistency and the results are going to come like the consistency in the performance, the way is little by little coming.”

“We just need to go on the training ground, and then just do our repetitions on and off the ball, to be sharper on and off the ball.” Spicer said. “I think that’s what will help the team. [I] think the confidence, the morale, is high in the team. I just think, unfortunately, today we just couldn’t convert.”

Orlando returns to Inter&Co Stadium on Wednesday when the Lions will host the Philadelphia Union, which is currently the only team below them in the Eastern Conference.

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday afternoon matchup between Orlando City (3-7-1, 10 points) and CF Montreal (3-7-0, 9 points) at Stade Saputo (4:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the second of two scheduled meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals in 2026, wrapping up the regular-season series early.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

The Lions are 9-9-7 against Montreal in the all-time regular-season series and 11-10-7 in all competitions since they joined MLS. OCSC is 4-5-3 in MLS road games against Montreal in the regular season and 4-6-3 in all matches played away to Montreal (this includes a “road” match at Red Bull Arena during pandemic protocols).

The teams met earlier this season on March 14, with Orlando City winning 2-1 — the club’s first win of the season and its first victory in interim head coach Martin Perelman’s inaugural match at the helm. Duncan McGuire and Martin Ojeda scored on either side of a Prince Owusu goal with all of the scoring coming in the first half.

Prior to the start of the 2026 season, the most recent meeting was a 1-1 draw in Orlando on July 12, 2025. Ojeda gave the Lions a lead that appeared set to hold up, but Rodrigo Schlegel’s foul in the box on Owusu allowed the Montreal forward to level the match late from the spot. That was the second of two matches that failed to find a winner last year. The teams played to a scoreless draw in Montreal on April 19. The Lions’ efforts at bringing home a road win took a hit in the second half when Rafael Santos was sent off.

The teams met in Orlando in the 2024 Leagues Cup on July 26, with the Lions running rampant in a 4-1 home victory. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Facundo Torres, Ramiro Enrique, and Ojeda staked Orlando to a 4-0 lead. Josef Martinez scored for Montreal, although his bid for a brace was denied when Pedro Gallese stopped his penalty kick attempt.

The two sides met in Montreal on April 20, 2024 trading goals in a 2-2 draw at Stade Saputo. Mason Toye opened the scoring early, but Torres equalized from the spot a few minutes later. Ariel Lassiter appeared to win it late in normal time for the hosts, but Ivan Angulo struck in stoppage time to earn Orlando City a road point. These teams opened the 2024 season against each other in Orlando and played to a 0-0 draw. The Lions dominated the stat sheet but had a goal waved off for offside and simply weren’t lethal enough.

The teams met twice in 2023, completing the season series on Sept. 30, 2023, with Orlando winning 3-0 in dominant fashion. Jonathan Sirois’ own goal opened the scoring, and Thorhallsson and Torres added strikes for Orlando City. That revenge for OCSC, after Montreal defeated Orlando City 2-0 on May 6 at Stade Saputo. A Robin Jansson own goal got Montreal started in the second half and Romell Quioto added a second goal four minutes later.

These two sides played their biggest game against each other in the 2022 MLS playoffs, with CF Montreal knocking Orlando City out of the postseason by a 2-0 scoreline on Oct. 16, with goals by Ismael Kone and Djordje Mihailovic — the latter coming deep in stoppage time from the penalty spot.

Each team won at home in the two-game, regular-season series in 2022, with Montreal thumping Orlando 4-1 on May 7. Joel Waterman, Mihailovic, Joaquin Torres, and Zachary Brault-Guillard did the damage on the scoreboard and Orlando City managed just two shot attempts, with Joao Moutinho’s goal on a set piece spoiling the shutout. Orlando City did not have either starting center back for that match, and it showed. The teams also met on opening day of the 2022 season, when Orlando City captured a 2-0 home win behind second-half goals from Alexandre Pato and Benji Michel.

In 2021, the teams met in Montreal with the Lions earning a 2-0 road victory on Decision Day to clinch a playoff spot. Sebas Mendez and Daryl Dike provided the goals. That season’s matchup in Orlando came on Oct. 20, 2021, with the visitors managing a 1-1 draw. Chris Mueller struck for the Lions just before halftime, but Rudy Camacho answered on a corner kick header shortly after the restart. The first meeting of 2021 took place Sept. 15 in Orlando with the Lions falling 4-2 and finishing the game with just nine men after both Nani and Andres Perea were sent off. Quioto led Montreal with a goal and two assists. Mathieu Choiniere and Quioto put Montreal up 2-0, but despite already being down one man, Jansson and Ruan tied things up. The visitors got two more from Lassi Lappalainen and Sunusi Ibrahim.

The teams met at Red Bull Arena in late 2020, as the team then known as the Montreal Impact played home games in New Jersey due to the pandemic. Orlando City got a Dike goal in the 39th minute to win 1-0 on Nov. 1, 2020. It was the second meeting of the 2020 season, with Orlando also beating Montreal 1-0 in the MLS is Back Tournament knockout rounds on July 25 to advance to the quarterfinals. Tesho Akindele scored the game’s only goal on a Montreal defensive mistake.

Orlando City snapped a six-game winless streak against Montreal (0-5-1) in MLS regular-season play dating back to 2016 when the Lions put the Impact to the sword in a 3-0 drubbing at Stade Saputo on June 1, 2019. Nani (penalty), Akindele, and Will Johnson supplied the offense that day. The Lions fell 3-1 at Exploria Stadium on March 16, 2019, and Ignacio Piatti was a big reason why, scoring his ninth and 10th career goals against Orlando, adding to a strike by Orji Okwonkwo. Dom Dwyer added a cosmetic goal late for Orlando City.

Montreal did not allow a goal against the Lions in 2018, sweeping the two-game set, and the Impact shut out Orlando City in three of the six meetings in that 5-0-1 run. The lone draw in that time frame was a 3-3 shootout in Orlando in 2017, in which the Impact led deep in stoppage time, only to see Jonathan Spector’s well-placed header steal the Lions a point.

Orlando won the first two meetings in 2016 by a combined score of 6-2. The teams split three meetings in 2015, with each going 1-1-1.

Overview

Orlando City is heading into its fourth consecutive road game in all competitions and is coming off a dramatic 4-3 comeback win over rival Inter Miami a week ago. Trailing 3-0, the Lions rallied behind Ojeda’s hat trick and Tyrese Spicer’s late winner to stun the Herons and become the first team to record an MLS win at Nu Stadium. Having a full week off between games for the first time since the second week of April might mitigate the natural tendency for a team to suffer a letdown after an emotional win, but the Lions have quietly won three of their last four matches in all competitions despite conceding nine goals in that span, because they’ve scored 14 of their own. Ojeda has scored five of his seven goals this season over that set of matches, climbing into the Golden Boot race, while Homegrown Justin Ellis has a four-match point streak in all competitions.

The Lions are still just 1-4-1 away from home in MLS play this season, so despite winning the first meeting back in March, they’ll need to stay focused for 90 minutes to get a result in Quebec.

Montreal, meanwhile, has gotten off to a rougher start than Orlando City this season. While the Lions sit 13th in the Eastern Conference with 10 points, Montreal is in 14th on nine points, but has a game in hand, is 2-1-0 in its three home matches this season, and has won its last two at Stade Saputo in league play and its last three on its home ground in all competitions. Tonight’s hosts are coming off a 5-0 home win over Alberta Premier League side Calgary Blizzard SC in the Canadian Championship on Wednesday using a mixed lineup of regulars and rotational players. CF Montreal last played an MLS match a week ago, lowing 3-1 at Atlanta United.

Owusu, who scored in the first meeting this season, is easily the biggest threat on the Canadian side, with six goals and four assists in 10 appearances. Wikelman Carmona has added three goals and two assists from the Montreal midfield.

To get the win tonight, Orlando’s defense must show up. The Lions can’t count on putting three or four goals in the net each game, especially as these consecutive road matches continue to add up. A better showing from the defense is needed, as the team continues to bleed goals and has surrendered a league-worst 32 in 2026. Montreal’s defense is fourth worst in the Eastern Conference having conceded 23 times in 10 games but held the Lions to two in Orlando in March.

“They changed their coach, so that changed a lot of things for them that we’ve analyzed, just like they’ve analyzed us,” Perelman said ahead of the match. “We’re going to prepare for the game like we always do, knowing they’re at home. We want to go there with a lot of energy, fighting as always for the points, because at the end of the day, that’s what we want.”

Orlando City will be without Joran Gerbet (knee), while Nolan Miller (knee) and Marco Pasalic (thigh) are listed as questionable. Montreal will be without Fabian Herbers (lower body), Owen Graham-Roache (lower body), Bode Hidalgo (lower body), Hennadii Synchuk (lower Body), Josh-Duc Nteziryayo (lower body), and Brayan Vera (suspension).

Match Content

• Our most recent episode of The Mane Land PawedCast features our key match-ups and score predictions for tonight’s game.
• Our David Rohe provided his three keys to an Orlando City victory over Montreal.

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, Iago, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tyrese Spicer.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Justin Ellis.

Bench: Javier Otero, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, David Brekalo, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tiago, Duncan McGuire.

CF Montreal (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Thomas Gillier.

Defenders: Luca Petrasso, Efrain Morales, Brandan Craig, Dawid Bugaj.

Midfielders: Matty Longstaff, Samuel Piette, Victor Loturi.

Forward: Ivan Jaime, Prince Owusu, Wikelman Carmona.

Bench: Sebastian Breza, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Olger Escobar, Aleksandr Guboglo, Tomas Aviles, Frankie Amaya, Kwadwo Opoku, Noah Streit, Daniel Rios.

Referees:

REF: Marcos DeOliveira II.
AR1: Jeffrey Greeson.
AR2: Stefan Tanaka-Freundt.
4TH: Pierre-Luc Lauziere.
VAR: David Barrie.
AVAR: Mike Kampmeinert.

How to Watch

Match Time: 4:30 p.m.

Venue: Stade Saputo — Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

TV/Live Stream: 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!

Orlando City only has four more league games to play before Major League Soccer takes a break until late July to accommodate the World Cup. While the Lions have started to move in the right direction with two wins in their last three league games, the good guys still sit 13th in the Eastern Conference table. Fortunately, Orlando has a good opportunity to make up some ground in the standings before the league goes on its summer sabbatical. Let’s take a look at why.

For one thing, despite the rough start to Orlando’s season, the Eastern Conference as a whole hasn’t had a particularly strong go of things either. Nashville SC is atop the standings with 23 points, but no other team has eclipsed the 20-point mark, and Orlando is just five points behind fifth place D.C. United. Contrast that to the Western Conference, where the San Jose Earthquakes have 28 points at the top of the table, five teams have 20 or more points, and Orlando would be 10 points out of fifth place.

Another factor in OCSC’s favor is who it’ll play in its next four games. The Lions will only face one team currently above the playoff line, while they’ll also take on the two teams directly below them, and the team directly above them in the standings.

First up is Saturday”s road match against CF Montreal — a team the Lions have beaten already this year — which currently sits one point and one place below Orlando in the table. After that, Orlando gets a midweek game on Wednesday when it hosts the Philadelphia Union. Philly is currently last in the East with six points, and while the Union’s 17 goals conceded is actually sixth best in the conference, the total of nine goals the team has scored is comfortably the worst.

A few days after hosting Philly at home, Orlando will welcome Atlanta United to Inter&Co Stadium on Saturday, May16. The Five Stripes are currently level with OCSC on points but sit one spot ahead of the Lions in the standings due to a superior goal difference. The toughest test, at least on paper, will come in the final game before the break when the Lions travel to face sixth-place FC Cincinnati. Anything can obviously happen once the games are being played, but in theory this stretch of the schedule is a more welcoming one than the period that saw Orlando play New York City FC, Nashville, and LAFC on the road in quick succession.

Then there’s the state of the Lions themselves. The defense admittedly still needs some work, as Orlando is yet to keep a clean sheet in the league and has conceded fewer than two goals in only four of its 11 games. Thankfully, the offense is improving though. Orlando has scored 10 goals in its last three league games, and bagged an additional four against a heavily rotated New England Revolution side in the U.S. Open Cup.

Outside of the actual product on the field, OCSC is slowly but surely starting to get healthier. Eduard Atuesta and Wilder Cartagena have both made returns from injury, Robin Jansson has been back in the starting lineup for a few games now, and Duncan McGuire also made an appearance from the bench in the 4-3 win over Inter Miami. Injuries haven’t been the only thing that have hampered Orlando this year, but they certainly haven’t made life any easier either, and having key players back is never going to be a bad thing.

Given how topsy turvy this season has been so far, it’s anyone’s guess as to how these next four games will play out on the field. But given the middling state of the Eastern Conference, the quality of the upcoming opponents, Orlando’s improved offense, and an increasing pool of healthy players, the Lions have a good opportunity to start digging themselves out of the hole they find themselves in at the bottom of the standings. The games still need to be played, but given how hopeless things looked in March, it’s just nice to have some reasons to be hopeful. Now all the Lions need to do is take advantage of the chance in front of them. Vamos Orlando!