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Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Final Score 2-0 as Lions Get Blanked at Home Again

Orlando’s three-game unbeaten run is over, but the club’s awful poor home results continue.

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2 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Diego Rossi scored twice as the Columbus Crew handed Orlando City a 2-0 loss at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions (4-6-4, 16 points) continue to struggle at home, falling to an abysmal1-4-3 on their home patch, but this one was a controversial one, as so many meetings with the Crew (6-2-6, 24 points) are.

Referee Jair Marrufo awarded an Orlando penalty late in the first half, then went to the monitor and reviewed a play at the other end. Instead of the Lions having a spot kick, Marrufo handed the Crew a highly questionable penalty late in the first half, turning the game in the visitors’ favor. What made matters worse is that there was a seemingly obvious foul on Columbus prior to the overturned no-call on Orlando, but the penalty went the Crew’s way.

Ultimately, so did the match. The Lions saw a modest three-game unbeaten run come to an end and Orlando City hasn’t scored at home since the 37th minute against Toronto back on April 27, a span of 323 minutes.

“I thought we had the chances to define (the game) and we couldn’t score,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “But the effort was there. The first half we were very organized and conceded to them the space, and tried to use it, but we were not precise enough.”

Pareja stuck with the 3-5-2 formation, starting Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Rodrigo Schlegel, Wilder Cartagena, and David Brekalo, although Robin Jansson returned to the matchday lineup on the bench. Facundo Torres and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson played wingback outside a midfield of Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, and Nico Lodeiro, with Jack Lynn and Luis Muriel up top.

Orlando looked to keep its defensive shape against the Crew from the jump, looking for chances to win the ball and counter. It was a tactic that worked well for much of the first half but Orlando couldn’t find a breakthrough and the Crew defenders did a good job of blocking shots when the Lions did get a sight of goal.

The Lions fashioned a chance two minutes in when Angulo cut inside from the left and fed Muriel, who fired a shot that deflected wide for the game’s first corner. The Lions couldn’t pay off the short corner, however.

Araujo sent a terrific pass to send Angulo down the right in the 11th minute but he lost control of it trying to cut back in front of goal from the right and it was touched out for a corner. The Lions again went short, and this time Muriel took it, working a give-and-go, but the flag came up for offside.

Muriel won another corner in the 15th minute with a shot that was deflected wide. Lodeiro’s cross on the set piece found a wide-open Cartagena lurking at the back post but the Peruvian drove his header into the ground too far in front of goal and it bounced over.

Shortly after the water break, Lodeiro smashed a shot that sliced just wide of the left post in the 39th minute.

The Crew took the lead just when everyone thought Orlando City would be doing the same at the other end. Lodeiro sent Muriel in behind the defense and he was bundled over from behind by Steven Moreira. Marrufo pointed to the spot and then went to the monitor to check for a possible foul at the other end. There were actually two, but Marrufo only was interested in one of them. In the buildup to the foul he gave, Rossi committed a foul as the Lions cleared the ball to the left side of their box. The Crew recycled it and Araujo grabbed Adian Morris’ shirt from behind. The Crew midfielder fell forward, when a tug back would ordinarily cause a person to fall backward, but Marrufo gave that foul, wiping out an Orlando penalty and overturning his own initial call.

Rossi scored the penalty to a chorus of boos from an angry Inter&Co Stadium crowd and the Crew led 1-0 in first-half stoppage time. The goal came on the Crew’s first shot attempt of the match.

To summarize, the original person who should have committed the foul that negated any Orlando foul in the box seconds later was the one who scored the eventual penalty.

When asked about why the Rossi foul wasn’t given in the buildup to the Araujo no-call that he overturned, Marrufo passed the buck to video assistant referee (VAR) Jorge Gonzalez.

“The VAR reviewed and cleared the attacking phase of play before sending the referee to the referee review area,” Marrufo wrote in response to the question submitted by the pool reporter. Marrufo then said that the attacking phase of play w”was checked prior to the penalty kick being confirmed.”

The problem with that answer is that the penalty wasn’t confirmed, it was an overturned Marrufo no-call, which is supposed to have a higher standard of “clear and obvious” to overturn. There’s no doubt Araujo grabbed the shirt momentarily, but it was minimal and a soft penalty, but it was still an unnecessary grab and it was a costly one.

“We couldn’t understand it,” Pareja said of the decision.

“It totally changed the plan that we had going into the game, ” Muriel said. “We wanted to be more patient, choose our moments to press, so that way we could remain organized. And after that penalty, after that goal against, it totally changed the plan, because we felt that urgency. We had to press more and press immediately. And against a team like Columbus that’s so precise in taking advantage in that disorder on our part, it’s tough. I don’t think it changed the mentality as much as it did the plan.”

Neither side fashioned much after that aside from an Orlando corner kick that went nowhere, and Columbus took its lead into the break.

The Crew held the halftime advantage in possession (62.5%-37.5%) and passing accuracy (92.3%-90.5%). The Lions attempted more shots (4-1) and won more corners (4-1), while each team put one shot on target.

Chasing the game, Orlando got stretched at times in the second half and it eventually turned out to be costly. The first warning sign came in the 48th minute, when Torres was left alone to defend against Max Arfsten, who beat him badly to get inside of him and shot. Schlegel arrived just in time to make a sliding block.

Angulo got to the end line in the 55th minute down the left channel, but his cross was straight at the goalkeeper, wasting a promising counterattack. A minute later, Muriel did well to play a ball to himself behind Rudy Camacho, who pulled back the Colombian and earned a booking.

Pareja made a triple substitution in the 59th minute, sending on Ramiro Enrique, Felipe, and Rafael Santos on for Lynn, Araujo (who was on a yellow card for the penalty foul), and Thorhallsson. However, before the trio of new players could settle in, the Crew doubled their lead.

The counterattack came in the 61st minute, with Yaw Yeboah streaking down the left side. As Angulo caught up defensively, Rossi broke in between the two defenders and chipped the cross in to make it 2-0.

“We felt that urgency to go and look for the game, and there is a trade,” Pareja said. “You do that and then you have spaces (in behind the defense).”

Orlando had a flurry of half chances after the second goal. Lodeiro forced Patrick Schulte into a save in the 65th minute at the near post, while a back-post placement may have yielded a better result. Seconds later, off the ensuing corner, the ball popped out to Cartagena at the top of the area. The Peruvian didn’t get much on his shot, trying to pass the ball inside the left post. The lack of pace on the ball made for an easy save for Schulte.

Christian Ramirez should have made it 3-0 in the 68th minute, beating Gallese on the counter but sending his shot trickling just wide of the left post.

Enrique got into some good spots late but did not look sharp after his long injury layoff and was unable to beat Schulte. Torres found him with an excellent pass in the 73rd minute but a defender stuck a foot around the Argentine and knocked the ball off of his own goalkeeper. The ball died in front of the line and Schulte smothered it.

Three minutes later, sub Martin Ojeda sent Enrique a pass on the right but he took too long to get his shot away and the defense blocked it.

Muriel won a corner in the 77th minute when his shot was blocked behind by Darlington Nagbe. The cross in on the set piece found Torres on the left. The Uruguayan headed the ball into the middle of the six-yard box but no Lions could get around the Crew defense to the loose ball and the visitors cleared.

Another Crew counter could have added to the misery but Marino Hinestroza sent a left-footed effort wide of Gallese’s goal in the 88th minute. Gallese then saved a shot right at him from Yeboah in the 91st minute on a Crew set piece.

Ojeda took a shot in the 92nd minute that missed the net wide, but Schulte appeared to have it covered anyway.

Enrique had a chance to at least spoil the shutout late. Schlegel headed a corner cross into the path of the Argentine who headed the ball hard but straight at the goalkeeper from point-blank range. Just a foot or two on either side and it’s an easy goal, but the final ball was once again lacking.

That was the last action of the match as the Lions again failed to find the net.

Columbus finished with the advantage in possession (56.6%-43.4%) and passing accuracy (91.9%-88%). Orlando finished with more shots (12-8), shots on target (5-3), and corners (8-2).

Ultimately, the referee’s decision to give the Crew a penalty and a lack of precision in the final third (again) doomed City to yet another home loss.

“It’s difficult to comment on a game like that, because at one point we thought we were about to be up with a penalty, and then in the next moment we were given a penalty against us,” Muriel said. “So, I think that confused us, and we were wanting to press a team, which is difficult to do against a team that has the quality of Columbus. At the end of the day, I don’t think we were as clear. We weren’t having the luck that we needed in those moments to score goals.”

“I thought the boys played well except in the second half, when we looked unorganized and started losing our shape,” Pareja said. “Listen, the frustration is there, but this is our journey. We keep going. In the last three games we have done fantastic things. They have done things that they didn’t do before and we have to keep growing.”

The Lions have a short turnaround before a road match against the Fire in Chicago on Wednesday, with a trip to play the Red Bulls looming a week from tonight.

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Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 2-1 home win over CF Montreal.

Published

9 hours ago

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March 15, 2026

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Image of Duncan McGuire celebreating a goal with Ivan Angulo against CF Montreal.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The Martin Perelman tenure as Orlando City’s interim head coach started with a 2-1 victory over CF Montreal at Inter&Co Stadium. Perelman is known for a more attacking style, which is what we saw to start the match. Of course, in the end there was still a lot white-knuckle defending needed, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Here is what I took from Orlando City’s first win of the season.

Big Dunc Strikes

Duncan McGuire scored a goal. It’s been a long time coming as McGuire has put in the work but hasn’t been provided any decent service to start the season. It was good to see his persistence pay dividends with his first goal of the season. It was a poacher’s goal, but it scores the same. There’s nothing wrong with that type of goal. It means that he was in the right spot at the right time, which is part of what a good striker needs to do.

Good Angulo

We always get “quick” Ivan Angulo, but we don’t always get “good” Angulo. We did against Montreal. He was involved in both of Orlando City’s goals in the first half, though somewhat luckily on the first. He put Marco Pasalic’s rebound off the left post, but fortunately the ball ended up at McGuire’s feet for the easy tap-in goal.

He was much more an impactful player on the second goal. He brought the ball into the attacking half, tried an ambitious pass to McGuire that was just a hair short and touched away. However, he did well to follow up and got back on the ball, had a quick give and go with Pasalic before smartly dropping it off to Martin Ojeda for the goal. Angulo did so much to make that goal happen.

It was a good match for Angulo. He provided his usual contributions on defense, and a few of his dribbles into the opposition, but overall he was good. As we know, a mostly good Angulo is better than a bad Angulo any day.

That’ll Do Defense, That’ll Do.

Orlando City gave up an equalizer minutes after scoring the first goal, but that ended up being it on the night. There was no collapse in the second half despite Montreal having the lion’s share (no pun intended) of possession and shots. It took a full team defensive effort in the end as well as a little bit of luck. There was emergency defending, fortunate bounces, and timely clearances. To be fair, this wasn’t like dealing with Inter Miami’s offense, but all that matters in the end is the result.

Brazilian Wrecking Machine

Iago got his first start since the opener and it went better this time than against the New York Red Bulls. He did get overpowered on Prince Owusu’s header goal, but that was about the only time he was overpowered. He somehow was able to get away with accidently dropping two Montreal players when defending an attack all the way up in midfield. He also made up for allowing the goal when he cleared the ball late in the match while his teammates threw their bodies around trying to defend. It wasn’t a perfect night for the young center back, but it was his best showing so far.

Otero’s Enough

Javier Otero knew he was getting the start in this match and he was better prepared than against New York City FC. He was not at fault on CF Montreal’s goal. He made an outstanding diving save in the second half, and a few expected stops throughout. He did well to come out when needed, but unlike Maxime Crepeau, he didn’t handle the ball outside the box. He didn’t cost the Lions the match, which is something a backup keeper is expected to do. It might not seem like much, but doing just enough is still enough.

That is what I saw in Orlando City’s 2-1 win over CF Montreal. It was nice to finally see a victory. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Win First Match of 2026 Season

The Lions picked up three vital points and a much-needed win after the departure of Oscar Pareja.

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20 hours ago

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March 14, 2026

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Image of Martin Ojeda and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal against Montreal.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It was a tumultuous week for Orlando City players, coaches, fans, and the front office, but a workmanlike effort and goals by Duncan McGuire and Martin Ojeda led the Lions to their first win of the season tonight at Inter&Co Stadium. All of the scoring happened in the first half as Orlando City (1-3-0, 3 points) defeated CF Montreal (1-3-0, 3 points) 2-1 in front of an announced crowd of 18,035.

Prince Owusu scored the only goal for the visitors off a set piece, but the energy and work rate by the Lions won the day as Orlando picked up a victory in the club’s first match since parting ways with longtime head coach Oscar Pareja in the midweek.

“This game belonged to the players. And the players did an amazing effort,” said Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman after the match. “This is only because of them. They are the protagonists. They did it.”

Perelman’s first lineup in charge for what ultimately became his first MLS win featured Javier Otero in goal for the suspended Maxime Crepeau, playing behind a back line of Adrian Marin, Iago, David Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey. Braian Ojeda and Eduard Atuesta started in the central midfield between wingers Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Martin Ojeda and McGuire as the forwards.

Montreal tried to play route one soccer over the top and often ceded possession to set up the press. Orlando didn’t create much in the opening minutes of the match but controlled more of the ball, looking to work it up the flanks with diagonal balls over the first line of press when in possession.

Pasalic found some space for the game’s first shot in the fifth minute, but it deflected out for a corner off a defender. Nothing came from the set piece, but two minutes later Pasalic was set up by Martin Ojeda and fired just wide of the right post.

Montreal put together a couple of corners in the 16th and 17th minutes, but the visitors couldn’t make them pay off. That allowed Orlando to strike first a minute later.

Pasalic again shook free outside the area and blasted a shot through the traffic. The ball pinged around off multiple Montreal players and Angulo got to it first. The Colombian slipped it past goalkeeper Thomas Gillier but hit the left post. McGuire was first to the rebound, slotting home his first goal of the season in the 18th minute. It was the striker’s 31st career goal in all competitions, tying Nani for fourth on the club’s all-time list.

“I saw where Marco was, saw that he had the ball. And obviously, we all know his ability to hit the ball with with a lot of power,” Angulo said. “And so I tried to be aware of that and be in a good spot in case there was a rebound, and there was, and it fell to me. So I shot it, and unfortunately hit the post. But Duncan was there to pick up that rebound and score it.”

“Marco did a great job to cut in and draw some defenders, and then Ivan was very smart to follow the shot,” McGuire said. “And then, I mean, as a forward, you can’t ask for a better opportunity when it just bounced off the post right to you. So yeah, it was pretty simple, but it was a great team goal.”

Just minutes after the restart, Montreal won a corner and pulled the goal right back. Wikelman Carmona sent a good ball in toward the back post. Marin was knocked down in the scrum but no foul was given and Owusu slammed a free header past Otero to tie the game in the 24th minute.

“It’s definitely hard when you score a goal, and then shortly after you get scored on,” McGuire said. “You can either put your head up or down, and the boys stayed positive. And once we conceded the goal, we all talked, and we knew we were okay, and we knew we were getting the better of them. So we stayed positive. We knew we could hurt them in behind and and we were able to do that.”

The back-and-forth play continued, with Montreal winning another corner in the 30th minute but Otero caught it. The Lions went the other way with Angulo turning his man and slipping a through ball to McGuire but it was a bit soft and the defense arrived. The ball deflected back to Angulo, who continued his run to the top of the box before dishing off to Pasalic and running onto a return ball. This time Angulo fed Ojeda, who smashed it inside the right post to make it 2-1 in the 31st minute.

“With where I was in the box, I always try to potentially find a teammate that’s in a better position there, just because it was a difficult spot,” Angulo said. “And ‘Tincho’ (Ojeda) was the one that was in the better position. And so I was able to lay it off to him for the goal, but just very happy to be able to help the team.”

Both teams failed to pay off some dangerous free kicks late in the half and the Lions took their one-goal lead into the break.

At the break, Montreal held the advantage in possession (56.9%-43.1%), corners (5-2), and passing accuracy (89%-81.9%). The Lions attempted more shot (9-6) and put more on target (3-2).

Montreal created something immediately after the restart, with Hennadii Synchuk finding a pocket of space outside the area and blazing a shot over the crossbar in the 46th minute. The game settled down for a bit after that early chance, but eventually Montreal started putting on pressure. Former Lion Luca Petrasso shook free on the left but fired well wide of the left post in the 57th minute.

Orlando started generating some counter opportunities as Montreal pressed for a tying goal. A simple ball over the top sprung Martin Ojeda down the left in the 60th minute but he left his shot too close to Gillier, who made the save. A minute later, substitute Zakaria Taifi, who had just entered the game, was sent to the right by Angulo and fired a shot but it was right at the goalkeeper in the 62nd minute.

Synchuk was able to sneak in behind the back line in the 63rd minute but Marin madea great desperation tackle from behind to knock it out for a corner. The Lions cleared the danger but Ivan Jaime freed himself for a hard shot from the left five minutes later, with Otero punching it awaay

Tyrese Spicer, who subbed on for Pasalic, should have put the game away in the 75th minute, blazing behind the Montreal defense, but the Trinidadian could not beat the visiting goalkeeper, who made the save but conceded a corner. The ensuing set piece fell in the box for Braiain Ojeda, who could not steer his shot on frame.

Those could have been costly missed opportunities in another game, but in this one, Montreal couldn’t take advantage despite pressing the attack down the stretch. The visitors won multiple corners as the time wound down and nearly paid one off in the 83rd minute, when Efrain Morales got a header on frame. Otero spilled it but was fouled by Samuel Piette, ending the danger.

Perelman turned to youngsters Tahir Reid-Brown and Pedro Leao to help see out the game, subbing on the youngsters for Dorsey and Martin Ojeda. The Lions played five across the back, looking to stay compact and organized, but they sometimes weren’t.

Leao won a free kick with one of his first touches. It was a good spot for a set piece, dead center and about 25 yards out, but Spicer hit his shot attempt into Montreal’s defensive wall.

The visitors came close to equalizing in the third minute of stoppage time. Jaime got into the box and cut inside before sending a shot on goal that Taifi blocked. Brekalo’s clearance attempt on the wild goal-mouth scramble hit an opposing player and stayed in the danger area, but Iago was able to clear.

That was the last gasp for Montreal, with the Lions holding on for their first win of 2026.

As a result of pushing for an equalizer, Montreal managed to stuff the stat sheet, finishing with the advantage in possession (60.8%-39.2%), shots (22-16), corners (10-4), and passing accuracy (88.3%-77.3%). The Lions put more shots on target (6-5).

“Very difficult game. You know, it was difficult, but we’re very happy for getting the win tonight, and really happy that the team was up for it and went out there on a high,” Angulo said.

“I mean, in 48 hours, you have not much time to put a lot of information on the players, but the truth is that at the end of the day, it was more than 48 hours,” Perelman said. “We have been working hard, and we try to be pragmatic, we try to be versatile. We try to put a lot of energy in a difficult context to bring some happiness to our people. This is what the players did. This is how we embrace the situation and fight.”

“Definitely a difficult week,” McGuire said. “You know, all of us were very sad to see Oscar go. Luckily, you know, Martin is someone that we’re very comfortable with, have a relationship with, so it definitely helped this week with making it more of a smooth transition. We just said in the locker room, that tonight’s win was for Oscar, and I love the fight that we saw from the boys tonight from the first minute til the end. I think we gave it our all, and hopefully it’s the first many (wins).”

The Lions are back on the road a week from tonight to try to make it two in a row at Nashville SC.

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Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions continue to hunt for their first win in their first game under interim coach Martin Perelman.

Published

1 day ago

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March 14, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (0-3-0, 0 points) and CF Montreal (1-2-0, 3 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the first of two scheduled meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals in 2026, with the Lions set to make the return trip to the Great White North on May 9.

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

History

The Lions are 8-9-7 against Montreal in the all-time regular-season series and 10-10-7 in all competitions since they joined MLS. OCSC is 4-4-4 in home MLS games against Montreal and 6-4-4 in matchups held in the greater Orlando area — this includes wins in Leagues Cup and the MLS is Back Tournament knockout rounds.

The most recent meeting was a 1-1 draw in Orlando on July 12, 2025. Martin Ojeda gave the Lions a lead that appeared set to hold up, but Rodrigo Schlegel’s foul in the box on Prince 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 competition 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 was a good measure of 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 spoling 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 back 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 to spoil the clean sheet.

Montreal did not allow a goal against the Lions in 2018, sweeping the two-game set from Orlando, 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 a team in turmoil entering tonight’s match, having parted ways with longtime head coach Oscar Pareja in the midweek after just three games into his seventh season. The club’s winningest coach of all time seems to have been let go, to be replaced on an interim basis by assistant Martin Perelman despite no plan in place for his succession per a press conference with Orlando City General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira, who made it clear the club is going to be in an evaluation phase.

“For now, the focus is to support the team and for Martin to achieve results. Then we’ll assess what needs to be assessed in due time,” Moreira said. “If there’s a coaching search, I would assume that depending on how things go, Martin will be considered, but that’s something that we’re going to assess in due time.”

While the words “if there’s a coaching search” will not likely bring peace to any Orlando City fan, that’s where the club is right now.

Orlando City is 0-3-0 for the first time ever (0-2-0 at home) and is using a makeshift back line that has been abused by every team it’s played while captain Robin Jansson recovers from foot surgery. The Lions will play tonight’s match without starting goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, who made a below-rookie-level mistake in handling the ball outside the box to deny a goal-scoring opportunity a week ago and was sent off.

Montreal hasn’t fared much better than Orlando, but tonight’s visitors did manage to pick up their first win of the year last weekend at the New York Red Bulls — the team that started the Lions’ three-game skid on opening day. CF Montreal has yet to play at home this season, so the 1-2-0 start on the road is not necessarily a killer, but it’s not ideal either.

Midfielder Wikelman Carmona leads Montreal with two goals on the season, and both came at the Red Bulls, which is why he is the reigning MLS Player of the Matchday, making him the first to win the award this season in a week in which he did not play Orlando City. Owusu has the team’s other goal.

To get the win tonight, Orlando’s defense must show up. The OCSC offense has scored three goals in the 194 minutes the Lions have played with 11 men this season. If the defense in front of backup goalkeeper Javier Otero can somehow help him keep a clean sheet, this is a match Orlando City can win. Otherwise, it could be another ugly, lopsided loss. Perhaps the team will get a jolt from the shock of losing Pareja so early in the year. But it’s not clear how Perelman’s more attack-minded style will suit a team that should absolutely not put its back line under pressure on counterattacks.

“I’m not here to wait and the club doesn’t want me here to wait. This club deserves to always prepare the team to win, succeed, and continue the pathway we have built,” Perelman said ahead of the match. “The season has already started, but MLS is long. I know MLS well. We know how to manage the regular season and we will be ready for the playoffs too. We are here to work. We are here to make our people, our fans, and our community proud of this team and to succeed.”

Orlando City will be without Jansson (foot), Joran Gerbet (knee), Wilder Cartagena (thigh), and Crepeau (suspension), while Tiago (lower leg) is questionable. Montreal will be without Fabian Herbers (lower body) and Josh-Duc Nteziryayo (lower body).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Javier Otero.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, Iago, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Duncan McGuire.

Bench: Tristan Himes, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Nolan Miller, Colin Guske, Luis Otavio, Yutaro Tsukada, Tyrese Spicer, Pedro Leao.

CF Montreal (5-4-1)

Goalkeeper: Thomas Gillier.

Defenders: Luca Petrasso, Brayan Vera, Efrain Morales, Tomas Aviles, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

Midfielders: Hennadi Synchuk, Matty Longstaff, Victor Loturi, Wikelman Carmona.

Forward: Prince Owusu.

Bench: Sebastian Breza, Jalen Neal, Samuel Piette, Ivan Jaime, Daniel Rios, Bode Hidalgo, Noah Streit, Olger Escobar, Aleksandr Guboglo.

Referees:

REF: Jair Marrufo.
AR1: Adam Garner.
AR2: Gianni Facchini.
4TH: Tori Penso.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Christian Clerc.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

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!

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