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Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Fall at Home Again

The Lions looked lethargic and sloppy in a home loss to FC Cincinnati.

Published

11 months ago

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Image of Martin Ojeda taking a shot.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City fell behind in first-half stoppage time on an easily preventable goal and couldn’t break down FC Cincinnati to climb back into it in a 2-1 loss at Inter&Co Stadium. It wasn’t a great advertisement for the beautiful game, as the two teams looked every bit the part of sides that had played in the midweek on the road. Cincinnati (12-5-3, 39 points) was the more precise team, getting two goals from Evander to snap the two-game winning streak by Orlando City (9-5-6, 33 points).

Marco Pasalic scored a late goal to spoil the shutout, and the Lions pushed hard to try to find an equalizer, but the hole was too deep to climb out of. There was one late chance to tie it up in front of goal that was wasted, but other than that, Cincinnati kept the Lions quiet.

“It was a game that represents the efforts and the protagonism and the confidence with Cincinnati and Orlando,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “We’re going to take our responsibilities on the goals that we conceded and the goals that we couldn’t score, but a game that was well played for both teams. Very, very level.”

Pareja’s lineup featured goalkeeper Pedro Gallese behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Eduard Atuesta started in central midfield between wingers Ivan Angulo and Pasalic, with Martin Ojeda and Ramiro Enrique up top.

The first half was a tactical affair without many chances for either side. The game’s first shot didn’t happen until the 15th minute, with Araujo firing way off target from long range. Pasalic forced Roman Celentano into a scrambling save moments later.

Ojeda had a go from just outside the box on the left in the 19th minute. Celentano dove to make a good save to keep the game scoreless. Gilberto Flores blocked another Ojeda attempt a minute later.

Cincinnati’s first shot had to wait until the 25th minute. Angulo tried to pass the ball to a teammate surrounded by three Cincinnati players, and Kevin Denkey easily took the ball away in the heavy traffic. Denkey turned and fired, trying to catch Gallese off guard, but the effort was well off target. Atuesta blocked Evander’s shot four minutes later, as the visitors started settling more into the game.

Matt Miazga blocked a Pasalic shot in the 38th just inside the box.

The decisive play of the half came late in stoppage time when Araujo was called for fouling Gerardo Valenzuela. Araujo was incensed, as he obviously thought he’d gotten the ball cleanly, but referee Marco de Oliveira disagreed, giving FC Cincinnati a late free kick from long range.

Lukas Engel faked the left footed delivery. Gallese was cheating toward his right post and Evander took advantage, smashing a shot to the right. Gallese tried to recover, but there was too much pace on the shot and by the time he caught it, it had already crossed the goal line.

While it wasn’t as big a howler as the Philip Zinckernagel goal in the team’s most recent home game prior to tonight, it was a costly mistake.

Orlando City led in most of the statistical categories at halftime, finishing with more possession (53.8%-46.2%), shots (6-5), and passing accuracy (89.3%-87.9%). Each team put two shots on target and won one corner. But it was Cincinnati leading on Gallese’s gaffe.

“I thought it was very tentative for both teams,” Pareja said about the opening half. “I think both (teams) looked like we respect each other a lot, and except for the error that we had on the goal, it could end up the first half just level, and then we can reshape for the second half.”

Luis Muriel subbed on for Angulo at the half, but the first quarter of an hour of the second half was about as plodding as the bulk of the first period. Orlando had the first two looks at goal, but Pasalic and Enrique each missed the target to the left and right, respectively in the 51st and 52nd minutes.

Gallese made a terrific save in the 64th minute when Thorhallsson’s header misfired and Cincinnati broke in transition. Evander brought the ball down the left and found second-half sub Kei Kamara breaking on the right. Kamara fired from close range but Gallese fought it off to keep it a one-goal game for the moment.

Thorhallsson had an opportunity in the 68th minute, cutting inside from right to left and hitting it with his weaker left foot, but the shot didn’t curl and drifted well wide.

The Icelandic fullback again got in that position a few minutes later, but this time it was costly. The shot not only didn’t find the target, but Cincinnati broke the other way in transition with numbers. Denkey had it in the middle 3-v-1 and sent it left to Evander. Brekalo peeled off of Evander as Jansson caught up with the play, but Evander had just enough space to cut inside and beat Gallese with a curling effort just inside the right post to make it 2-0 in the 74th minute.

“I think first you have to say congratulations to to the rivals tonight. They were able to score and able to take the three points from us tonight,” Ojeda said. “They were really good in in those three or four chances that they had. They had patience. They were able to finish their chances and be dangerous in those moments.”

Orlando won a couple of corners in the minutes after the second goal, but the closest the Lions came to scoring from them was a clearance that Enrique deflected back toward goal. However, it was popped up for an easy catch for Celentano.

The Lions finally found the net in the 87th minute. Enrique hustled to keep a ball in play that was headed for the end line. Ojeda tracked the aerial ball and made a sliding effort to get a foot to it, sending it to the top of the box in the middle. Pasalic picked it up there and smashed a first-touch shot inside the left post to make it 2-1.

“I think it’s important that we occupy the box with a lot of players,” Pasalic said. “The connection is there in the offense. We play really good. It’s a question of time, when we shoot at the goal.”

“As a goal scorer, you always want to score goals. So, as soon as I saw Ramiro sending the ball back into the area, that was my first thought,” said Ojeda, who got an assist on the play, with Enrique getting a secondary assist. “So, when I saw him head the ball back my way, I wanted to move a little bit further in, but the ball was just a little bit far. And so, I had to stretch, and I was able to get my get my foot on it, but it was a little far for me to control. But thankfully, Marco was running onto it from a little deeper. And thankfully he was able to strike and score.”

Orlando must have felt fortunate when 10 minutes of injury time went up on the board, giving them time to find an equalizer. Cincinnati slowed things down whenever possible, including Corey Baird tackling Brekalo in the open field. Both players earned a yellow card after tangling up, but the Lions had a free kick from distance.

The set piece didn’t pay off, but in the aftermath, the ball was cycled in from the left to Enrique at the near post. The Argentine got his head to it but caught it a bit too flush, sending it wide of goal in the 97th minute.

Two minutes later, the Lions should have tied it up. A great buildup down the left ended up with Muriel on the ball deep in the box. The Colombian sent it in front to a wide-open Brekalo. The Slovenian defender needed only to deflect it on goal, but the ball popped up off his foot and sailed over the bar.

“It’s bad luck at the end, the miss,” Pasalic said.

The referee blew the game dead at exactly 10 minutes of stoppage time, despite a lengthy stoppage when Baird fouled Brekalo and another delay for an injury to Cincinnati.

At the end of the match, Orlando had the advantage in possession (59%-41%), shots (17-9), corners (4-2), and passing accuracy (88.3%-81.5%). Cincinnati put more attempts on target (4-3) and found the net twice. The needless goal conceded in first-half stoppage was the difference.

“I’m sad that we lost, angry, also, because we did really good the last weeks, and this game, especially at the end,” Pasalic said. “And we deserved the draw at the end, in my opinion. But it is what it is.”

Orlando City’s stay at home was a short one, as the Lions will visit Charlotte FC.

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

The Lions head north for their final match prior to Major League Soccer’s World Cup break.

Published

9 hours ago

on

May 23, 2026

By

Image of Wilder Cartagena booting the ball against FC Cincinnati.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your preview and match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (4-8-2, 14 points) and FC Cincinnati (4-5-5, 17 points) at TQL Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV) in Cincinnati. It’s the first of the two meetings between the teams this season, with FC Cincinnati scheduled to make the return trip to Orlando on Aug. 15.

Here’s what you need to know for the match.

History

Orlando City leads the all-time series, 5-4-4, with a 3-1-3 mark on the road. The teams last met on Sept. 28, 2025, with Alex Freeman’s goal late in stoppage time salvaging a 1-1 draw for Orlando City on the road, canceling out Kevin Denkey’s second-half strike.

Prior to that, the teams also met last year on June 28 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, with FC Cincinnati winning 2-1. An Evander brace, which included a poorly conceded set piece goal from distance, was enough to offset Marco Pasalic’s goal.

These two teams met at TQL Stadium on Oct. 5, 2024, with the Lions leaving southwest Ohio with a 3-1 victory in their final road match of the regular season. Ramiro Enrique scored twice and had a third chalked off for a controversial foul on a corner kick. He also assisted on a goal by Ivan Angulo in an impressive performance. Luciano Acosta scored Cincinnati’s goal.

These two sides also met on May 4 of that year in Orlando with FC Cincinnati claiming a 1-0 road win on a first-minute goal by Acosta. The Lions went down a man early in the game when Rodrigo Schlegel was called for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity on Yuya Kubo. Orlando City had a second-half goal waved off for an offside in the buildup. Cincinnati lost Bret Halsey to a second yellow card late but the Lions couldn’t take advantage.

The teams met in Ohio on Sept. 2, 2023, with the Lions claiming a 1-0 win on enemy soil, becoming the first road team to beat FC Cincinnati all season. Facundo Torres scored the game’s only goal. Orlando had to hold on down a man late when Wilder Cartagena was sent off. The teams played to a 0-0 draw in Orlando on March 4, 2023 in Orlando.

The Lions fell 1-0 at TQL Stadium on June 24, 2022. A second-half goal from Brenner represented all the offense, but it could have been worse for Orlando City as Pedro Gallese made eight saves in the match. The first meeting of 2022 took place in Orlando on March 12, with FC Cincinnati notching its first win in the all-time series, 2-1 at Exploria Stadium. The Lions were more in control but were wasteful, despite dominating the stat sheet. The visitors got a brace from Brandon Vazquez to offset Junior Urso’s goal.

The final meeting of 2021 was on Oct. 16 in Cincinnati, when Orlando City got its first road victory in the series, 1-0 on Urso’s early goal. Tesho Akindele should have scored a second off the crossbar late in the game, but the play was never reviewed, despite video evidence that the ball was completely across the line.

On Aug. 7, 2021, the match in Cincinnati ended up in a 1-1 draw. Nani’s strike rescued a point after Brenner had opened the scoring for the hosts just before halftime, taking advantage of an obviously injured Uri Rosell, who subbed off moments later. The first of the three meetings in 2021 came on May 21 in Orlando, with the Lions posting a 3-0 win. Akindele scored in the first minute and Nani and Urso each added a goal.

In Orlando’s first trip to the banks of the Ohio River, the match ended in a 1-1 draw at Nippert Stadium on Sept. 29, 2019. Benji Michel’s goal in stoppage time rescued a point for the Lions after Allan Cruz had given the hosts a lead. The draw officially eliminated Orlando City from playoff contention that year, but realistically the Lions had been out of it for a while.

The first-ever meeting between the two sides took place on May 19, 2019, when the Lions pummeled the expansion side, 5-1. Both Nani and Akindele bagged braces in the match and Dom Dwyer added a goal as well.

Overview

The Lions are coming off back-to-back matches at home against Atlanta United. Orlando City conceded a late goal a week ago, allowing the Five Stripes to snatch a point in a 1-1 draw. On Tuesday night, Orlando City ran roughshod over Atlanta in the first half on the way to a 4-0 lead at the break and a 4-1 win. The Lions are playing their fifth match in 15 days, and now they take their heavy legs with them on the road, where they are a terrible 1-5-1 on the season.

FC Cincinnati is the much better-rested side, having last played a week ago in a wild 3-3 draw at San Diego FC. That match featured two goals deep in stoppage time, with Cincy scoring the final one in the 98th minute to snatch a road point. Tonight’s hosts are 3-2-1 at home this year, but they’re also 0-1-2 in their last three games.

To win tonight, the Lions will have to play much better defense than they have throughout most of the season. Cincinnati is second in the Eastern Conference and tied for third in MLS in goals scored (30). Neither side has been good defensively, with Orlando continuing to lead Major League Soccer in goals conceded (38) and FC Cincinnati second in that category (35). Orlando City’s offense has come to life in recent weeks — at least at home — but with so many miles logged in May, the Lions can’t afford to make tonight’s match a track meet.

“We are preparing this game like it’s the most important, not because it’s more important than the previous ones, but because the next one always is the more important for us,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. “So, it’s true that this one is the last one of this semester (before the World Cup break), but for us it’s about one game at a time, so hopefully we can do a good job against Cincinnati. We know them. I think they know us as well. Both of us, we changed a little bit some things, but Cincy’s a good team and we’re going to be ready to go there and do our best in order to bring the points to Orlando.”

The Lions will be without Joran Gerbet (knee), while Tyrese Spicer (ankle) is questionable. FC Cincinnati will be without Teenage Hadebe (leg) and Alvas Powell (leg).

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forward: Martin Ojeda, Justin Ellis.

Bench: Javier Otero, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Marco Pasalic, Tyrese Spicer, Duncan McGuire.

FC Cincinnati (3-5-2)

Goalkeeper: Roman Celentano.

Defenders: Kyle Smith, Matt Miazga, Samuel Gidi.

Wingbacks/Midfielders: Bryan Ramirez, Gerardo Valenzuela, Evander, Obinna Nwobodo, Pavel Bucha.

Forwards: Kenji Mboma Dem, Kevin Denkey.

Bench: Evan Louro, Ayoub Lajhar, Gilberto Flores, Nick Hagglund, Andrei Chirila, Brian Anunga, Ender Echenique, Tom Barlow, Ayoub Jabbari.

Referees

REF: Rubiel Vazquez.
AR1: Cory Richardson.
AR2: Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho.
4TH: Allen Chapman.
VAR: Ismir Pekmic.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: TQL Stadium — Cincinnati, OH.

TV/Streaming: 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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Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati

Learn everything you need to know about this year’s FC Cincinnati team, courtesy of someone who knows it best.

Published

1 day ago

on

May 22, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It hasn’t been the easiest of 2026 seasons for Orlando City, but things have been better lately. The Lions have started to pick up a few wins and booked a place in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals, thanks to a raucous midweek win over Atlanta United. With just one match remaining before going on break for the World Cup, OCSC will try to finish the first half of the season strong when it hits the road to take on FC Cincinnati.

A bout with Cincy means I spoke to Rupesh Sharma, one of the authors over at Cincinnati Soccer Talk. He was kind enough to bring us up to speed on this season’s iteration of FCC, and we appreciate his help.

Talk me through FCC’s off-season transfer business. Who went out the door, and who came in to replace them?

Rupesh Sharma: FCC did not have an especially busy transfer season. There were two major outbound transfers at the end of the 2025 season. Brenner returned to Italy after his loan spell with FCC ended.  The club tried to work out a permanent transfer but a deal could not be reached. Luca Orellano also left FCC, joining Monterrey. 

Inbound, FCC brought in Tom Barlow via free agency as depth on the forward line.  He has scored four goals in MLS play this season, including the last-second tying goal this past weekend in San Diego. The second major player brought in was left back Bryan Ramírez from Quito. Bryan is still finding his footing in MLS but has started most of the games this season.

Like Orlando, keeping the ball out of the net seems to have been an issue for Cincy, as the club has conceded the second-most goals in the league. What has been going wrong on the back line, and how does it get fixed?

RS: In 2025, the defense overperformed its underlying expected goal numbers, allowing about 20 fewer goals than expected.  This led to a belief that the team had a stronger defense than it did. A regression to the mean should have been expected, but that does not entirely explain why the defense has been so poor. My feeling is that the defense got old and that a lot of the players the club was going to lean on have been injured this year.  Each of the top four center backs in Miles Robinson, Matt Miazga, Teenage Hadebe, and Nick Hagglund have missed significant time. FCC may have found a solution to its “old” defense in 17-year old center back Andrei Chirilâ, who has come on and played significant minutes in three matches until he got a concussion against Miami.  I do not believe this defense is going to get better until it finds some more young talent.

Aside from the headline names of Evander and Kevin Denkey, who has been the most important player for Cincinnati up to this point?

RS: The most important under the radar player to me the last two seasons has been Pavel Bucha. Last season, he was the glue in the midfield and this season, he has played wherever Coach Noonan has asked him to. Bucha has started the last five games at right back, and after a rough first few minutes at the position, he has looked pretty good. He has a goal and three assists from right back this year.

Will any players be unavailable due to injuries, suspensions, etc.? What is your projected starting XI and score prediction?

RS: Miles Robinson took a knock in the first half of Saturday’s match in San Diego and according to Laurel Pfahler of Queen City Press, he was not in training on Wednesday, so I would expect him to miss the match. 17-year-old Andrei Chirila, who has been a revelation this season, was in concussion protocol after the Miami match, but he has reportedly cleared it and could be available this week. Teenage Hadebe picked up a leg injury a few weeks ago, so I would expect him to miss this match.

I would expect the lineup to look something like this:

Roman Celentano; Kyle Smith, Matt Miazga, Nick Hagglund; Bryan Ramirez, Gerardo Valenzuela, Samuel Gidi, Pavel Bucha; Evander; Kevin Denkey, Kenji Dem.

[No score prediction provided.]

Thank you to Rupesh for the excellent primer on FC Cincinnati. Vamos Orlando!

Image of the famous "The more you know" graphic from TV.
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PawedCast Episode 534: Atlanta USOC Rewind, Cincinnati Preview, and More

The Lions advance to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals and close out the pre-World Cup schedule at FC Cincinnati.

Published

1 day ago

on

May 22, 2026

By

Image of Tiago attacking against Atlanta United.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City bounced back from conceding late in a 1-1 draw against Atlanta United at home to crush Atlanta United 4-1 at home. The rematch between the Eastern Conference rivals turned into a rout as the Lions built a 4-0 halftime lead and saw the match out in the second half to advance to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals. It was a big night for the likes of Tiago, Griffin Dorsey, Braian Ojeda, and others.

We break down the match, discuss the many goals and breakaway opportunities, and make our selections for Man of the Match.

After our game rewind, we touched on Marco Pasalic being named to Croatia’s World Cup squad. Congrats to Orlando City’s right winger!

Our mailbagbox asked us about spying. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we discussed Orlando City B’s upcoming match against Inter Miami II on Sunday. The Young Lions are much higher in the table but in a rivalry match, anything can happen — especially in an OCB rivalry match.

Finally, we looked ahead to Orlando City’s final match before the World Cup break. The Lions head north to face FC Cincinnati on Saturday. There will be a lot of heavy legs and possibly a bit of a letdown emotionally after a charged win over rival Atlanta in a knockout game. We discuss the series history, provide our key matchups, and make our final score predictions.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 534 went down:

0:15 – The Lions destroyed Atlanta United in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals. It was fun!

25:02 – Our mailbagbox is small and surveillance-related.

32:06 – OCB hosts rival Miami while the senior Lions head for Cincy in a weekend filled with Orlando soccer.

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