Orlando City vs. Tigres UANL, Concacaf Champions Cup: Final Score 0-0 as Defensive Battle Ends without a Goal

Orlando City and Tigres battled to a defensive stalemate in a 0-0 draw short on scoring chances in a Concacaf Champions Cup match in front of 10,104 fans at Inter&Co Stadium. Neither side tested the opposition goalkeeper much and Orlando will either need to win at Monterrey next week, draw a game in which it scores, or win a penalty shootout after another scoreless draw to advance.

“A very hard game for both teams,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “We thought we could have won the game. We fought and we played well, but the most remarkable (thing) for me was the personality that the team brought to day and overcame that difficult moment that we had during the weekend. I’m very proud of them. That’s a great response.”

Pareja’s lineup included Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena played central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Nico Lodeiro, and Facundo Torres with Luis Muriel up top.

The game was a cagey, defensive battle from the jump. The first chance of the match didn’t come until the 23-minute mark off an Orlando City corner. The delivery from Lodeiro was knocked out of the box by the defense and found its way to Angulo. The Colombian fired a shot that hit off a defender and caromed to Jansson. The Swedish center back fired first touch but Nahuel Guzman made a good reaction save. He also saved the rebound try from Araujo, but the Uruguayan was offside on the play anyway.

The first chance for Tigres fell for Andre-Pierre Gignac in the 28th minute but the Frenchman fired well over Gallese’s crossbar from near the top of the box.

Araujo saw his shot from outside the area blocked in the 33rd minute.

Diego Lainez was booked for a hard foul on Torres late in the first half and the Orlando Designated Player didn’t look right, favoring his shoulder. He went down moments later and the trainers came on to attend to him, but he was eventually able to finish out the half.

The best chance of the half came in the 45th minute. Muriel did well to move inside onto his right foot and blast a shot from the top of the box. Guzman got a touch on it and it deflected inches wide of the left post. However, referee Walter Lopez didn’t see the goalkeeper’s touch and awarded a goal kick.

“We were a bit unlucky not to get a goal,” Smith said. “Their goalie had a good save that was called a goal kick. That was a good save.”

That was the last look for either side in the opening period.

Tigres finished the half with more possession (58.7%-41.3%), although much of it was in the defensive half. The visitors also passed more accurately (88.8%-83.5%), while the Lions won more corners (3-1). Both teams attempted two shots in the first half and neither got one on target — officially, anyway, as Muriel’s shot probably would have gone in without the touch from the keeper that the referee missed.

“I think maybe it takes someone to do something special maybe to score a goal,” Smith said of this style of game. “I thought our attackers did that sometimes and that’s why we had some chances to score.”

Nothing much changed after halftime except the Lions saw a bit less of the ball and generated almost nothing in the attack. Once Orlando won the ball back, it was quickly given away.

After the restart, Orlando had a half chance in the 58th minute that was the only offensive point of interest between halftime and the hour mark. Lodeiro sent a ball toward the back post that skipped wide and out for a goal kick. Whether the former Sounders man was going for goal or trying to hit a cutting Muriel, it didn’t quite come off.

In the 66th minute, Araujo nearly got the ball to an open Ramiro Enrique, but the defense arrived and knocked it behind for a corner. Brekalo’s shot on the set piece was deflected up over the bar.

Gallese was called into action for the only time on the night in the 70th minute. Araujo was bundled over from behind for the fourth or fifth time in the game but for the first time, a foul wasn’t given. Instead, Tigres was given a throw-in and worked the ball to the top of the box, where Sebastian Cordova smashed a shot on target that Gallese fought off.

Duncan McGuire sent a ball forward for his fellow second-half sub Enrique in the 81st minute and Guzman raced off his line to deflect the Argentine’s shot. A minute later, Martin Ojeda chipped the ball over the defense for McGuire, who in turn tried to chip Guzman. The ball fizzed just over the bar and landed on the roof of the net.

The last look of the match came in stoppage time, when Ojeda fired a laser shot from distance that hit Guzman square in the chest.

Tigres finished the match with more possession (55.4%-44.6%) and had a slight edge in passing accuracy (86.5%-84.4%), while Orlando attempted more shots (10-6), put more on frame (3-1), and earned more corners (5-4). In the end, the teams were simply evenly matched on the stat sheet and the scoreboard.

“It was not a surprise for me to see those both teams aren’t pushing that much and not having too much open spaces, especially in the last third,” Pareja said.

“I think it was very important,” Smith said of getting a clean sheet after allowing five goals at Miami on Saturday. “I thought we defended well as a group. It was good for us to get that shutout and build confidence again.”

“It’s going to come,” Thorhallsson said of the team’s offense. “We need to start back to basics, basically. Defensively, start there and work your way up the pitch. It’s going to come eventually. It just needs to fall for us one time and then it’s going to come.”

The Lions are back in league action on Saturday at home against Minnesota United. Leg 2 of the series against Tigres moves to Monterrey, Mexico next Tuesday.