Flashback Friday: September 4, 2021 vs. Columbus

With no Orlando City game to preview this weekend, and the Lions in the midst of a rough run of form at the moment, let’s take today to cast our minds back to a more pleasant time. The year was 2021, and the date was Sept. 4 — almost exactly four years ago today. OCSC was in the midst of a six-game unbeaten run in the league and was trying to stretch it to seven. In its way, stood the Columbus Crew, with then-coach Caleb Porter bringing his reigning champions to the stadium formerly known as Exploria.

The lineups could scarcely have looked more different four years ago. Oscar Pareja trotted out his traditional 4-2-3-1 with Adam Grinwis in goal and Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan in the back line. Junior Urso and Joey DeZart held sway in defensive midfield, while Silvester van der Water, Chris Mueller, and Nani played further forward behind Daryl Dike at striker.

Porter’s men came out in a 4-1-4-1 with Eloy Room in net; Waylon Francis, Aboubacar Keita, Vito Wormgoor, and Harrison Afful at the back; Darlington Nagbe as the holding midfielder; Alexandru Matan, Pedro Santos, Lucas Zelarayan, and Derrick Etienne further forward; and Miguel Berry leading the line.

Offensive action got under way after 10 minutes as Nani tried his luck from a long free kick, but it was comfortable for Room in the end. Orlando then had a couple of dangerous chances that it couldn’t quite convert on before the scoring opened in the 26th minute. Orlando’s captain was the first to a 50/50 ball in the Lions’ defensive third, and his sliding challenge sent the ball long to Dike. The striker physically dominated Keita and set off towards goal, executing some body fakes in the box before smashing a high shot past Room at his near post.

The smoke from The Wall hadn’t even cleared yet when Orlando doubled its advantage, courtesy of a rare goal from Silvester van der Water. The Dutchman only scored three league goals during his time with Orlando City, and there was an element of fortune about this particular one, but no one was complaining. Van der Water had the ball at the top of the box and played a teasing curled pass over the top of the back line, searching for the dual runs of the Money Badger and the Bear. OCSC’s resident zoo animals weren’t able to get a touch on the ball, but it didn’t matter, as Room had to wait until the last second to react to any late touches, and by the time he realized none were coming, the ball was nestling into the inside netting of his far post. Cross, shot, it doesn’t matter in the end, because they all count the same and it gave the good guys a 2-0 lead.

That was the score at halftime, with Columbus outshooting Orlando 8-7, but the Lions’ put four shots on target to just one for the Crew. Once the second half began, OCSC very nearly put the game to bed immediately. Urso pickpocketed Santos and tried to curl home a left-footed shot from the top of the box, but Room did well to get down low and tip it around the edge of the post. Just under 10 minutes later, Columbus got itself back into the game.

If van der Water’s goal was a little odd, this one was downright weird. A cross was played into the box for Matan, who tried to bring it down with his chest, only for Jansson to get a foot in and pop the ball up into the air towards goal. Antonio Carlos looked well placed to get back and make a clearance, but Berry got a body on him as he jumped to head the ball, and the center back’s header went past Grinwis and into his own net at the near post.

Goals being scored in bunches seemed to be the theme of the day, because Columbus then drew level just two minutes later. The Crew put together a tidy passing move, with Zelarayan feeding Etienne, who played a first-time ball for Berry into the space that Carlos had vacated a few seconds earlier. Berry then made no mistake with his one-time finish, as he neatly put the ball over Grinwis to tie things up.

In response, Papi threw on Mauricio Pereyra for Nani and Benji Michel for van der Water. Pereyra was wanted for his creativity and Benji for his pace, and the substitutions worked, as Orlando settled back down and started looking more comfortable in possession again. In fact, the good guys retook the lead just under 10 minutes after the changes were made, courtesy of the day’s second unlikely goal scorer.

This time it was the Lions’ turn to play some nice passes on the edge of the box, as Ruan latched onto a loose ball and played it to Dike with his first touch. The big striker’s one-time pass back to Urso was weighted perfectly, and the midfielder caught it on the half-volley and sent it into the bottom corner while Room was rooted to the spot.

That 69th-minute strike proved to be the winner, as Orlando withstood a hail of Columbus crosses, but the hosts weren’t able to grab an insurance goal to truly put the game to bed. It didn’t matter in the end though, and the Lions got the win to make it seven league games unbeaten in a row.

Notable nuggets from the game include Dike, van der Water, and Urso each scoring their third goals of the season, as well as Grinwis getting his first MLS win since 2018. It was also the team’s fifth straight win over the Crew, and it made Pareja Orlando’s winningest coach in the team’s MLS era.