Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Final Score 3-1 as Lions Complete Season Sweep of Fire
The Lions roared back from 1-0 down and became just the second team to beat the Fire at Soldier Field this season.
Orlando City fell behind early in the second half but rallied to score three consecutive goals in an 18-minute span to douse the Fire 3-1 at Soldier Field. The Lions (11-6-7, 40 points) got goals from Wilder Cartagena, Ivan Angulo, and Facundo Torres — the latter from the penalty spot — to become just the second visiting team to beat Chicago (8-8-8, 32 points) this season. Two would-be Giorgios Koutsios goals for the hosts didn’t count, as the first was overturned for an offside after video review and the second was blown dead for a handball on the Chicago striker.
The Lions improved to 6-3-3 on the road this season and not only completed a season sweep of the Fire, but also completed an Orlando sweep of Chicago on the night, as the Pride had demolished the Red Stars 5-0 at home earlier this evening.
“We’re very happy with the victory, very proud of the players,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “The second half, Chicago had a reaction, and after they started leading the score, I thought our boys showed a lot of character and control again of the game, and then we scored goals.”
Pareja had mostly the usual lineup but had to make a couple of changes on the back line. Pedro Gallese started in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena played central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres, with Duncan McGuire up top.
Antonio Carlos picked up an undisclosed knock late in training late in the week.
Chicago’s defense created problems for Orlando City throughout much of the first half and when it didn’t, the Lions simply passed the ball off line or into areas without teammates. It was a disjointed-looking attack for most of the opening 45 minutes as a result, and it nearly cost Orlando at the other end on transition opportunities.
It started in the first minute when Gallese had to come well off his line to cut off a centering pass after Angulo had given the ball away in the attacking half.
Chicago came close in the 16th minute when Brian Gutierrez got his foot to a cross by former Orlando City SuperDraft pick Jonathan Dean, however, he got under the shot and put it over the bar from about 10 yards away.
The Fire appeared to open the scoring in the 25th minute. Pereyra was swarmed and gave the ball away in the attacking third and Xherdan Shaqiri sent Guitierrez forward into the attack. Schlegel gambled and lost, trying to break up the counter before it started and Gutierrez sent it to his right for Giorgios Koutsias to slip into the empty net. However, the Chicago striker didn’t check his run quite enough and after video review, the goal was overturned for offside by the slimmest margin.
McGuire had a go at goal in the 28th minute after a good long ball from Pereyra was headed on by Torres. The shot was awkward and it was blocked by the defense anyway.
In the 30th minute, Angulo again gave the ball away to ignite the Chicago counter. The defense sagged away from Shaqiri so he fired a shot that forced a diving save by Gallese.
Two minutes later, Cartagena nearly scored a worldie. The Peruvian sent a gorgeous curling ball that was headed into the upper 90 on the right side. Spencer Richey got his fingertips to it and that was just enough to send it inches wide of the top corner.
“That goalkeeper was just so impressive today, and to be able to make that save, it was incredible,” Cartagena said through a club interpeter. “I just kind of wanted to have a hit, and when I saw the way it was going, I was excited. And then he came over and he somehow pulled off that save.”
Koutsias sent a looping header right at Gallese off a Shaqiri cross in the 37th minute as the Fire continued to produce the better scoring chances.
Orlando got a foothold on the match in the dying moments of the opening half. Torres sent a shot over the bar from distance in the 38th minute. Three minutes later, Angulo got down the left side of the penalty area and fired but Richey made the save.
Koutsias embarrassingly missed a shot over the bar in the 45th minute from close range but he was offside on Shaqiri’s pass anyway.
Torres got cleaned out by Richey in the box in stoppage time but because the goalkeeper got a slight deflection to the ball after Torres got to it first, there was no penalty awarded.
Orlando City failed to do anything useful with a couple of late set pieces and the teams went into the break scoreless.
Orlando City dominated possession in the first half (56.6%-43.4%), passed more accurately (87.1%-85.4%), and won more corners (4-1). But the Lions’ sloppiness in the final third allowed Chicago to lead in shots (6-4) on counterattacking opportunities. Each team put two shots on target.
“We felt that we had control in the first half,” Pareja said. “I thought we had the volume and we created some options. But we needed to be more dangerous in the last third. The chat in the half was we can have the control we had, but we need to be dangerous in the box. And the boys started scoring those three goals, showing us that they made things happen, and it’s good because it’s not easy to come to Chicago and score three goals. It’s a very difficult place to play.”
The hosts grabbed the lead just after the restart off a foul by Thorhallsson. There wasn’t much in his challenge but the free kick set up the opening goal. The Lions were able to clear the initial ball after Gallese did well to get down and block a blistering cross/shot from Mauricio Pineda. However, the recycled ball found Pineda again on the right and he smashed an unstoppable shot past Gallese and just inside the left post to make it 1-0 in the 47th minute.
The Lions wasted no time pulling the goal back. Schlegel won Orlando City a corner, roaming forward from his center back position. Torres put in a good cross and the Fire failed to pick up Cartagena right in front. It was an easy matter of heading the cross on target and it had a ton of pace on it to give Richey no shot at robbing Cartagena a second time. It was the Peruvian’s first MLS goal.
“We went down right out of halftime with a goal that we think was kind of against the run of play, that wasn’t necessarily deserved to concede in that way,” Cartagena said. “But then Rodrigo picked his head up, and we were able to win a corner after a great play like that. And then Facu has been hitting the corners really well today, and when he crossed that ball in…obviously a little bit of luck that it just kind of fell to me in the right spot. I was able to get my head on it and get the goal, and just really kind of put confidence back into my teammates going into the rest of the game.”
The Fire tried to pull that goal back quickly, winning a corner just moments after Orlando scored. But Angulo cleared the danger and then one-upped himself moments later. Santos picked up the remnants of a Torres cross that was blocked and sent another dangerous ball into the area. Araujo rose to meet it and knocked it into the path of Angulo, who headed it home to make it 2-1 in the 54th minute.
Torres and Gaston Gimenez exchanged yellow cards over the next few minutes as the game settled down a bit.
Koutsias then thought he’d tied the game in the 60th minute. A ball into the box from Gutierrez found the foot of Angulo, who tried to clear. He knocked the ball off Cartagena, however, and it fell kindly for Koutsias, but it hit his arm as he turned and shot it into the net. The referee blew it dead and the video assistant referee’s check confirmed the call, much to Chicago’s chagrin.
Trailing, the Fire sent Kei Kamara and Fabian Herbers on for more attacking power. But instead, it was Orlando City that got the next goal.
Thorhallsson danced his way into the top of the area and Miguel Navarro got a foot in late, sending the Icelandic fullback/winger to the ground. Lukasz Szpala pointed to the spot and the VAR upheld the call.
Torres stepped up to the penalty spot and smashed a shot into the upper left corner as Richey dove the other way. It was Torres’ third goal against the Fire this season and his first since the Lions beat the Fire at home on July 1.
Herbers came within inches of pulling a goal back in the 72nd minute, sending a shot fizzing just wide of the left post after the Fire had dispossessed Pereyra.
Junior Urso made his season debut for the Lions in the 79th minute, as he and Martin Ojeda replaced Angulo and Pereyra. The Fire also sent on Kacper Przybylko for Gimenez in the same substitution window.
Despite the Fire throwing numbers forward, the best chance to score the rest of the way fell to Orlando substitute Ramiro Enrique. Fellow sub Michael Halliday sent a good ball into the area for Ojeda. The Argentine dropped it off for Enrique, who blasted a shot over the bar in the 90th minute.
Much of the rest of the game was spent with Orlando repelling the Fire before they could get the ball into any dangerous spots. After six minutes of stoppage time, the victory was secured.
With the Lions protecting the lead for much of the second half, the Fire finished with more possession (53%-47%), shots (11-10), and passing accuracy (85.5%-81.8%). Orlando City ended up with more shots on target (5-4), and corner kicks (6-3).
“We’re very happy,” Cartagena said. “We knew going into this game that it was important to get the win, especially after the hit we took in the Leagues Cup. And 15 days of really hard work with this group — I think the group came in with good energy — but it was a win that we feel like we deserved based on the work that we put in these last few weeks. Happy for the goal obviously, but even prouder of the victory as a team.”
Orlando City returns home for its first meeting ever against St. Louis City on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Exploria Stadium.