Flashback Friday: Aug. 6 2020, Orlando City vs. Minnesota United

With Orlando City set to take on Cruz Azul in knockout play of the Leagues Cup later today, it seemed like a good time to revisit another knockout game that took place just over four years ago. The Lions were in the semifinal of the MLS is Back Tournament, courtesy of a shootout win in the quarterfinal over LAFC. OCSC was matched up against a Minnesota United team coached by former Orlando skipper Adrian Heath, and the Lions had not beaten either the team or the coach going into the game.

In order to try to get that first win, Oscar Pareja opted for his traditional 4-2-3-1, with Pedro Gallese in goal, Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan at the back, Sebas Mendez and Uri Rosell as the defensive midfielders, Nani, Mauricio Pereyra, and Chris Mueller ahead of them, and Tesho Akindele leading the line.

The good guys had to wait a little longer to try to get that first victory though, as the game was delayed by over an hour due to lightning. Once things did get going, the extra down time seemed to have affected Orlando, as the team opened the match on the back foot. The Lions gave up a couple of corners, ceded most of the possession, and Pedro Gallese had to do a little work to defend his goal. The men in purple woke up after 15 minutes though, as Ruan provided a really nice cross to pick out Akindele, but the Canadian could only scoop the ball harmlessly over the bar.

The two teams then traded chances for the next 20 minutes, which culminated with Tesho putting the ball in the back of the net off a good feed from Pereyra, only for it to be called back for offside. Fortunately, it only took one more minute for the dam to break. Jansson played one of his patented long balls forward for Nani, who was wide on the left side of the box. The captain used a gorgeous first touch to ease the ball past Hassani Dotson, and he then showed impressive strength to hold the defender off and slide the ball past Tyler Miller for the 1-0 lead. Feast your eyes.

It didn’t stop there though, as the Lions firmly mashed the gas pedal to the floor. A mere six minutes later it was Mendez’s turn to play provider for Nani. He played nice lofted ball and picked out the Portuguese forward on the left wing. From there, it was all about his individual brilliance as he shifted the ball onto his right foot and used former Lion Jose Aja as a reference point to curl the ball into the inside netting past a helpless Miller.

Minnesota had a couple of corner kicks in stoppage time, but Orlando took care of its business and went into halftime with a 2-0 advantage. Once the restart came, the second half largely consisted of Minnesota playing in OCSC’s half, with the Lions content to absorb pressure and protect their lead. That meant the Loons had some good looks at net, with a free kick going narrowly wide in the 62nd minute, and former Orlando player Kevin Molino looking increasingly likely to do some damage to his former team.

That moment eventually came with just seven minutes to play. Molino played a ridiculous through ball for Mason Toye, who just beat the offside trap and used his first touch to slot the ball past Gallese.

A nervy finish really should have gotten even nervier in the 94th minute, but Toye couldn’t bag his brace despite being alone in roughly five acres of space in front of the net.

Fortunately, a man who eventually came to be known for icing big games with late goals did just that in order to put the game to bed. Junior Urso picked the ball up near midfield and sent Benji Michel in behind the Loons’ defense all alone. Despite having ages to think about what he wanted to do, Benji kept his cool, waited for Miller to commit himself, and then took the ball around him and slotted it into the empty net.

The referee blew the final whistle just after the Loons restarted the game, and that was all she wrote. OCSC ran out 3-1 winners and advanced to the final of the MLS is Back Tournament against the Portland Timbers. Sadly, that story didn’t have a happy ending, but there’s a case to be made that Orlando simply waited to win its first trophy as an MLS club at home in front of its fans.

With a little luck, the Lions will have similarly good fortune in knockout play later today. Vamos Orlando!