Orlando City B vs. Philadelphia Union II: Final Score 3-0 as OCB Suffers First Home Loss

Orlando City B (7-6-2, 24 points) lost 3-0 to Philadelphia Union II (5-8-3, 20 points) on a long night at Osceola County Stadium. OCB dominated most of the game, but a brace in the first half by Chris Donovan and a late goal by David Vazquez handed the Young Lions their first home loss this season.

OCB Head Coach Martin Perelman made three changes to the team that lost 1-0 to Chicago Fire II nearly two weeks ago. Goalkeeper Javier Otero and midfielder Juninho returned to OCB’s lineup after two games with the first team, and Thomas Williams started after a game out as well. They replaced Dominic Pereira, Zakaria Taifi, and Alejandro Granados, all of whom began this game on the bench.

The back line in front of Otero was Alex Freeman, Nabi Kibunguchy, Williams, and Franco Perez. Imanol Almaguer, Cristian Medina, and Juninho were in the midfield, with Shak Mohammed, Jack Lynn, and Jhon Solis up front.

The score wasn’t indicative of the performance in this game. OCB dominated the possession and chances, but didn’t put many of its shots on target. Philadelphia used a high press to cause distress for the Young Lions’ back line, forcing them into multiple mistakes that turned out to be the difference in the game.

The first chance for either team came in the fourth minute when Perez sent a dangerous cross to the top of the six-yard box. Mohammed got to the pass and attempted a first-touch shot, but it was blocked.

OCB got its second opportunity in the ninth minute from a great run by Juninho. The captain split two defenders to get inside the six and shot from a tight angle, but Union II goalkeeper Andrew Rick did well to get down and block it with his foot.

The Young Lions nearly had a third chance in the 10th minute when Lynn made a run down the left and sent a cross into the box. Mohammed was darting towards the near post, attempting to get on the end of the pass, but it was cleared away by Juan Castillo right before he could reach it.

A minute later, the visitors took the lead. Castillo received the ball near the left sideline and lifted it long behind the OCB defense. Donovan beat Williams to the ball and entered OCB’s six-yard box. Before he reached the end line, Donovan placed the ball past the sprawling Otero and into the far corner to give Philadelphia an early 1-0 lead.

In the 17th minute, OCB forced Rick into another good save when Mohammed sent a low cross towards the top of the six-yard box. Lynn redirected the ball towards goal, but Rick made a save similar to his ninth-minute stop on Juninho, getting down to kick it away.

On the other end, it was a mistake by OCB that allowed Philadelphia to double its lead. Medina received the ball back from Williams with only Otero behind him. Donovan put pressure on the midfielder, forcing him into a turnover. Otero came out in an attempt to cut down Donovan’s angle, but he easily scored his second goal of the game and put his team up 2-0.

The high temperatures in Kissimmee resulted in a 29th-minute hydration break for the players. Out of the break, Perelman made the first change of the game. Williams came out and was replaced by Granados, a surprising change since the latter is usually an attacking player.

In the 33rd minute, Perez sent a cross towards the top of the box that was left to run through. It ended up with Solis just outside of the box and the forward’s shot was heading towards the right post. It beat Rick, but bounced off the woodwork.

OCB nearly got a goal back again in the 39th minute when Mohammed made a nifty run towards the end line and sent a low cross in for Lynn. The striker got his foot to the ball before the defender, but flicked it over the crossbar.

Less than a minute later, OCB nearly gave up a third goal on another mistake in its own third. Kibunguchy was nonchalant with the ball in his own box as Jeremy Rafanello put pressure on the center back. Rafanello couldn’t get a shot off, but it went back to Carlos Rojas just outside of the box. The midfielder was aiming for the corner, but sent the ball wide.

As the game headed towards halftime and OCB searched for its first goal, the referee called the players off the field as lightning was in the area, sending the game into a weather delay. After an hour and 40 minutes, the game resumed.

The game restarted with a short free kick by Philadelphia. It resulted in a shot from a narrow angle, enabling Otero to make an easy save. Following that chance, OCB went on the attack and created multiple chances.

In the 42nd minute, Juninho received the ball outside of the box and took a long shot, but it was deflected out of play. Two minutes later, Perez found Lynn at the near post. The striker attempted to turn the ball on target, but it too was blocked.

The final chance of the first half for either team came in the final minute of stoppage time. Juninho found Solis on the opposite side of the box and the forward had plenty of space for a shot. But he took too long, allowing Brandan Craig to move over and block the attempt.

OCB dominated the first half in every way but the scoreline. The Young Lions had more possession (70.4%-29.6%), shots (15-4), shots on target (4-2), corners (9-0), and crosses (11-5). But Rick made a couple of good saves and OCB made some defensive mistakes, resulting in a 2-0 deficit at the break.

The first chance of the second half came from Philadelphia, as C.J. Olney dribbled across the box. He was kept outside of the 18 by the OCB defense and eventually turned to shoot on target, but wasn’t able to get much on it and the ball rolled to the feet of Otero.

The visitors had a second chance in the 51st minute, when Quinn Sullivan attempted a cross into the box from the right. But he sent it too close to Otero, who came out to claim it.

The first second-half chance for OCB came in the 52nd minute when Almaguer received the ball well outside of the box. The midfielder took an ambitious shot from long distance, but got under it and it sailed over the target.

Tempers flared between the teams in the 56th minute when Perez tackled Hugo Le Guennec as he attempted to dribble out of the back. It was right by the Philadelphia bench and the players didn’t take too kindly to the challenge. Perez was booked for the foul and Anton Sorenson was booked on the bench for the pushing and shoving that ensued.

In the 63rd minute, Philadelphia broke the other way through Stefan Stojanovic, who came on five minutes earlier. The substitute had space for a shot at the top of the box, but sent the ball high and wide of the target.

Freeman had a couple of chances starting in the 65th minute, when he made a long run towards the end line. He should’ve gotten a shot off, but ran out of room and dribbled out of bounds.

Two minutes later, Freeman entered the box and made a nice cut to lose his defender. It looked like he could’ve gone for the far post, but went for the near one instead. Unfortunately, he missed the target entirely.

In the 73rd minute, Lynn played a short pass from the left to the top of the six-yard box for Mohammed, but Rojas cleared it away. The ensuing short corner ended up with Juninho at the top of the box and the OCB captain shot, but sent it wide. The Young Lions appealed for a corner kick, but referee Amiel Aleman decided it went directly out of play.

Perelman made two more changes in the 81st minute, bringing on two first team attackers. Wilfredo Rivera and Favian Loyola entered the game for Mohammed and Almaguer. They were the final two changes for the Young Lions.

Philadelphia scored a third that put the game away in the 86th minute. An OCB throw went to Medina, but the midfielder took his time reaching the ball, allowing Stojanovic to take control. Kibunguchy was left in an impossible situation of taking Stojanovic or David Vazquez, the only other player around. As Kibunguchy stepped up, Stojanovic played it across for Vazquez. The substitute drew Otero off his line and slid it past him into the corner to make it 3-0.

Union II had the final chance of the game a minute into second-half stoppage time when Medina fouled Vazquez just outside of the OCB box. Craig and Castillo stood over the ball, with Craig taking the set piece. The ball was headed near the top corner, but Otero did well to make a diving stop. The ball fell right in front of the goal line, but the goalkeeper reacted quickly to knock it away.

At full time, OCB had more possession (70.3%-29.7%), shots (22-17), corners (12-3), and crosses (13-11). Philadelphia put more shots on target (8-5), which ended up being a difference in this game.

“It was sad for us because I think that we really did a great game,” Perelman said about the performance. “We controlled them completely with the situations. They brought a couple of first team players, so when we made two mistakes, we paid with a goal. And then we couldn’t score with the situations we created. We created more than 15.”

The loss is OCB’s first at home this season as it moved to 5-1-2 at Osceola County Stadium. It’s OCB’s second consecutive defeat and its third in four games as the team slides down the MLS NEXT Pro standings. The Young Lions are still in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and have a game in hand on some of the teams around them.

It’s a short break for the Young Lions as they take the field again Sunday night in Kentucky, taking on FC Cincinnati 2.