Orlando City B
Orlando City B vs. Atlanta United 2: Final Score 3-2 as 10-Man OCB Completes Memorable Comeback
OCB came back from a red card and a one-goal deficit to beat Atlanta United 2.
KISSIMMEE — Orlando City B (9-7-2, 30 points) came back from a Thomas Williams red card and a one-goal deficit to beat Atlanta United 2 (6-7-5, 24 points) 3-2 tonight at Osceola County Stadium. A Noah Cobb own goal opened the scoring, but Jackson Conway equalized with a late first-half penalty. Nick Firmino gave Atlanta the lead in the second half before substitutes Cristofer Acuna and Wilfredo Rivera took advantage of a pair of bad clearances to claim all three points.
After a poor defensive performance last weekend against Huntsville City FC, OCB Head Coach Martin Perelman changed four of the team’s five defensive starters. Mason Stajduhar, Zakaria Taifi, Williams, and Moises Tablante all entered the lineup, replacing Javier Otero, Nabi Kibunguchy, Alejandro Granados, and Franco Perez. The only defender to remain in the starting lineup was right back Alex Freeman. Meanwhile, Perelman only made one attacking change, replacing Favian Loyola with Shak Mohammed.
The starting lineup consisted of Stajduhar behind a back line of Tablante, Williams, Taifi, and Freeman. Imanol Almaguer, Cristian Medina, Juninho, and Jhon Solis were in the midfield, and Mohammed partnered Jack Lynn up top.
The Young Lions dominated this game from the kickoff, controlling possession and the chances throughout the match. A late first-half red card and penalty to Atlanta looked to be a game-changer and it appeared as though the visitors would get their first win away from home when Firmino gave them the lead in the 60th minute. But OCB took advantage of some sloppy play in the back by goalkeeper Justin Garces, enabling the Young Lions to get their sixth home win of 2023.
OCB controlled possession in the opening minutes, but it took until the seventh minute to create the first chance. A throw-in into the Atlanta box was cleared out to Medina. The midfielder fired from long distance, but it was into the arms of goalkeeper Garces, who easily collected it.
The Young Lions had their second chance in the 11th minute when Conway fouled Juninho near midfield. Tablante sent the set piece long into the Atlanta box, where it found the head of Mohammed. The forward was able to redirect the ball towards goal, but put it wide.
OCB had another pair of chances in the 15th minute when Mohammed dribbled to the top of the Atlanta box. He had Freeman open on his right, but decided to take a shot himself. Erik Centeno got in front of the attempt, blocking it wide of the goal. The ensuing short corner ended up with Almaguer, who lifted the ball forward for Freeman, but his header was wide.
In the 24th minute, OCB should’ve opened the scoring when a low cross by Tablante found Mohammed just outside of the six-yard box and directly in front of the goal. Mohammed’s shot was right at Garces, who blocked it to his right. Freeman was there to collect it and put a second shot on goal, but Garces was up to the challenge again, blocking it wide for a corner kick.
The Young Lions finally broke through in the 29th minute. Tablante received the ball down the left and sent a cross into the box. Juninho was making a run, but it was too close to the goal. Cobb attempted to clear the ball with Garces right behind him, but the goalkeeper didn’t call off his center back. Cobb attempted to clear it but mishit the ball, sending it behind Garces for an own goal.
OCB had another attempt off the Atlanta kickoff, quickly pushing the other way. Almaguer sent Tablante into the box and the left back had a shot from a tight angle. Unfortunately, it hit the side netting in the last action before the first-half hydration break.
Lynn nearly took over the MLS NEXT Pro goal-scoring lead in the 38th minute when Solis sent Tablante forward into the Atlanta box. The midfielder saved the ball from going out of play and played it back for Lynn, who was wide open in front of the goal. His first touch was a shot, but Garces reacted quickly to knock it wide. The goalkeeper caught the ensuing corner kick, ending the threat.
The game took a wild turn in the 42nd minute when OCB started to fall apart. Freeman was sent behind the Atlanta defense and reached the ball before Garces, who came out of his box. The right back attempted to flick the ball over the goalkeeper, but it was blocked by Garces’ arm, but referee Emma Richards allowed play to continue. Since there’s no video review in MLS NEXT Pro, there was no review of the play.
Meanwhile, Atlanta United 2 sprinted the other way with Tyler Young sending Conway into the OCB box. Williams challenged the forward with a slide tackle and Conway went down. This time, Richards called a foul and pointed to the spot. OCB protested the call and Richards eventually issued Williams his second yellow card. Rather than Garces being sent off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity as the last man and committing a handball infraction, it was the Young Lions who had to play with 10 men for the final 48 minutes.
Conway stepped up to take the penalty, sending it past Stajduhar and into the corner to even the game at 1-1. That was the last first-half chance for either team, a disappointing ending to a dominant half by the Young Lions.
“Everybody saw what happened, right? A crazy sequence when it’s a clear red for their goalkeeper,” Perelman said after the game. “And the referee, I don’t know what did she did. Honestly, I don’t know, because it was so clear, and then from there we did the penalty and the red card, 1-1.”
After 45 minutes, OCB had more possession (57.1%-42.9%), shots (9-1), shots on target (5-1), corner kicks (5-1), and crosses (7-5), and better passing accuracy (91.6%-86.8%). The only first-half shot for Atlanta was the penalty.
Atlanta United 2 kicked off the second half and created the first chance. Jonantan Villal, who came on at halftime for Shawn Lanza, dribbled down the left and found Firmino in the box. The co-leading scorer in MLS NEXT Pro attempted to dribble through a pair of defenders, but lost control and his balance, allowing OCB to take over.
Despite being a man down, OCB created an even better chance on the other end. Juninho carried the ball down the middle and found Mohammed to his right. Lynn made a run behind Centeno and Mohammed attempted to connect with his striking partner. But the pass was a bit too far in front of the forward.
The visitors had a second chance in the 50th minute when Centeno sent a cross near the OCB penalty spot. Firmino and Kofi Twumasi both went for the ball, colliding with each other. Twumasi was the one to get his head to it, but sent the attempt over the crossbar.
In the 55th minute, Solis created another chance for OCB at the top of the Atlanta box. He used some good footwork to turn Toni Tiente, who came on for Adyn Torres in the 50th minute, opening up a shot at goal. But it was right at Garces who made the easy save.
Atlanta United 2 had a pair of chances in the 57th minute and nearly took the lead. Centeno sent a cross into the box that went just over the outstretched arm of Stajduhar and just out of the reach of Firmino. The ball ended up with Conway on the other side, and he shot on goal. It got past Stajduhar, but Medina was there to block it away.
Three minutes later, Atlanta took its first lead of the night. Luke Brennan sent a cross into the box from the right and Firmino beat a pair of OCB defenders to it. Stajduhar didn’t have a chance as the strong header flew past him to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.
Perelman began to make changes immediately after the goal. In the 61st minute, it was an attacking substitution as Rivera came on for Freeman. Three minutes later, Acuna replaced Lynn. Those changes turned out to be key as Rivera and Acuna went on to play pivotal roles in OCB’s comeback.
OCB had a chance to equalize in the 70th minute, starting with a dangerous cross through the box by Mohammed. Unfortunately, nobody was close enough to get on the end of it. The Young Lions recycled, resulting in the ball ending up with Juninho. He laid it off for Rivera for a shot, but it was just over the crossbar.
A minute later, Atlanta should’ve taken a two-goal lead and put the game away when Brennan was sent behind the OCB defense. Stajduhar came out to challenge the midfielder, but Brennan dribbled around him. Taifi caught up, forcing him to take a shot, and it was wide. It was a meaningful miss, keeping the OCB deficit at one.
In the 73rd minute, Tablante ended up with the ball on the left and sent a dangerous cross through the box. Multiple players in purple were nearby, but nobody could reach it.
The Young Lions finally found their equalizer in the 75th minute when a terrible clearance by Garces went to Rivera. It bounced off the second-half substitute to Mohammed, who sent Rivera forward. Reaching it before it went out of play, Rivera played it across for Acuna in front of goal. The forward used a nice touch to maintain possession and elude the defender, putting it past Garces to make it 2-2.
A minute later, another terrible pass by Garces gave OCB the lead. Again, it went to Rivera, but this time he went for goal himself. The attacker sent a long shot over Garces, who was well off his line, and in to give the Young Lions a shocking 3-2 lead.
“The goalkeeper obviously made a mistake and then I saw he was out of his box,” Rivera said about his goal. “And I just looked up, shot it, put it in the back of the net.”
It was the midfielder’s first goal of the season.
OCB nearly scored a fourth off of another bad giveaway by Atlanta in the 80th minute. The bad pass ended up with Acuna, who quickly took a shot at goal. This time Garces made a great diving save, tipping it wide of the post.
Right after that attempt, Perelman made his final three changes of the game. Franco Perez, Tahir Reid-Brown, and Favian Loyola came on for Tablante, Juninho, and Mohammed.
In the 87th minute, Solis used a cut and spin to beat a pair of defenders, keeping possession in the Atlanta box. He found Rivera at the top of the 18, and the first-team attacker took a shot, looking for a second-half brace. However, this time his attempt was just wide.
Brennan sent a dangerous cross into the OCB box in the 90th minute that was tipped by Stajduhar. Firmino was making a back-post run, but Rivera headed it away before Firmino could reach it.
The fourth official showed four minutes of second-half injury time, and the visitors nearly found another equalizer in the first. The initial ball into the box was punched away by Stajduhar, but went to Tiente. The substitute attempted a long shot that went over the OCB goalkeeper and off the crossbar before leaving play.
The Young Lions did well to keep possession of the ball in the corner during the final two minutes and kept winning free kicks in the Atlanta end. The opposition was unable to create any last-minute chances and OCB came away with the win.
As expected with a man advantage, Atlanta had much more possession in the second half and ended up with more in the game (53.6%-46.4%). But the visitors couldn’t turn that possession into chances as OCB had more shots (17-6), shots on target (9-3), corner kicks (6-3), and crosses (17-13). If not for some bad refereeing at the end of the first half, the Young Lions likely would’ve won by multiple goals.
“Crazy match,” Perelman said about the game. “I think we did the first half almost perfect. We controlled the whole game. We created a whole lot of situations, we scored. When we started the second half, we never lost order. We always kept organized with a good mentality, even when we received the goal. I mean, it was a great second half from our players, playing with heart and a lot of stamina. And then the subs who came in, they did really well. And the boys turned around the game and they deserve it. They deserve it because they worked really hard.”
This was OCB’s fourth comeback win of the season and its ninth victory of the year, equaling the club’s win total from 2016. The Young Lions are now only one win away from equaling the team record for wins in a season, set in 2017.
The three points moved OCB into fourth place in MLS NEXT Pro’s Eastern Conference, tied with New York Red Bulls II. The Young Lions remain second in the Central Division, four points behind Columbus Crew 2. But most importantly, they’re four points ahead of NYCFC II for the final playoff spot with 10 games remaining in the season.
The Young Lions will look to build on this win when they welcome Chicago Fire FC II to Osceola County Stadium next Sunday night.