Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Final Score 3-2 as Duncan McGuire Wins it Late for Lions
Orlando City threw away a 2-0 lead after Martin Ojeda’s brace, but Duncan McGuire’s goal at the death lifted the Lions to a huge win in the playoff chase.
Orlando City built a two-goal lead in the first half, conceded two to Nashville SC, then scored late to earn a crucial 3-2 win in the Eastern Conference playoff race tonight at Inter&Co Stadium. An announced crowd of 20,516 watched Martin Ojeda score two excellent first-half goals to put Orlando (14-7-9, 51 points) ahead, only to see Hany Mukhtar and Jacob Shaffelburg score for Nashville (15-11-5, 50 points) to level the match.
Duncan McGuire called game in the fifth minute of stoppage time for the Cardiac Cats on a great run and entry ball from fellow substitute Tyrese Spicer to secure the win.
The Lions could have clinched a playoff spot had the New York Red Bulls not beaten CF Montreal, so a postseason spot will have to wait, but it was an encouraging performance to end a five-game winless skid in all competitions.
“Those last 10 minutes I felt that push that our crowd had over the players,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “Very competitive game since the first minute. I thought we started sensing the playoffs for all of us and we’ll keep pushing. There’s a bunch of things that happened during the game that we want to happen again, and I saw the boys felt it.”
Pareja’s lineup included Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. With Cesar Araujo (lower back) and Joran Gerbet (concussion protocol) out, Kyle Smith started in central midfield with Edward Atuesta inside wingers Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Ojeda and Luis Muriel up top.
The match started out with the teams cautiously probing the other’s defense, with neither side able to fashion anything for a while. The first offensive chance of the match came nine minutes in when Angulo won the game’s first corner kick on a deflected cross. Nashville cleared Ojeda’s entry ball but only out to Pasalic near the top of the area. The Croatian fired a good shot on target, but Joe Willis tipped it over the bar. On the second corner, the ball was cleared again, with Atuesta trying a shot from outside the area that the defense blocked.
Muriel set up the game’s first goal when he was fouled from behind outside the area by Edvard Tagseth, who was booked for the tactical foul. Ojeda and Muriel stood over the free kick with the Argentine taking it on a short run, blasting a left-footed rocket off the right post and in to make it 1-0 in the 30th minute.
“You always dream of having that chance and seeing it go in, and to have that opportunity was fantastic,” Ojeda said. “The conversation with Luis (before the free kick) was great. I mean, at first he wanted to take it, truth be told, but Lucho is a great person, and it was a great conversation between us. And once we came to the decision that I would take it, he gave me a lot of confidence. And then, you know, once I saw it go in, even more so. But it was a great conversation, and great to see a free kick like that go in.”
It took only two minutes for Ojeda to double the lead. Smith started the play by dispossessing Patrick Yazbek in the attacking half, knocking the ball to Muriel. The Colombian gave it back to Smith, who sent Ojeda down the left channel. Ojeda sent a pinpoint accurate shot inside the right post to make it 2-0 in the 32nd minute.
Ojeda praised Smith’s work that helped set up the second goal after the match.
“A great pass by Kyle, who’s a machine that helps us with everything,” Ojeda said. “And in that moment, he was able to assist my goal, and because of that, I was able to celebrate.”
“(Smith) is always there and such a smart and intelligent and committed player that we always use in any position,” Pareja said. “Today he played another great game.”
Ojeda moved past Facundo Torres as the club’s all-time leader in goal contributions (goals plus assists) on the free kick goal, and added to his lead with the second goal. His second goal pushed him to 30 goal contributions (16 goals, 14 assists) on the season, and he pulled within one goal of Cyle Larin’s single-season record.
Muriel nearly tripled the lead in the 41st minute. Another quick turnover in Nashville’s third led to the Colombian firing, but Willis got a fingertip to it, sending it inches wide of the left post. A minute later, Schlegel headed wide on the ensuing corner.
Nashville started turning things around late in the half. It started with Mukhtar getting loose in front on a good ball in, but Gallese did well to parry away a point-blank header with a big save in the 45th minute.
The Lions didn’t heed the warning bells, and conceded in the first of two minutes added to the end of the half. Mukhtar fired from outside the area, beating a diving Gallese but hitting the post. The Nashville star then beat everyone to the loose ball and the goalkeeper had no chance of recovering in time to do anything about it as Mukhtar scored.
“It was hard to swallow that first goal,” Pareja said. “Because we had the game so controlled and also we had a very clear play to put the game 3-0. And then we came walking off the field 2-1, again with that stress, tight. Those moments we need to be better. We need to be solid.”
Those three late Mukhtar shots were the only Nashville attempts of the entire half. That was also the last chance of the half as the Lions took their slim advantage into the break.
Orlando City held the halftime advantage in shots (7-3), shots on target (4-2), while corners (3-0). Nashville led in possession (57.3%-42.7%) and passing accuracy (91%-87.2%). The game plan for the first half was perfect, but the slip-up at the end spoiled an otherwise brilliant opening 45 minutes.
Pareja said the objective tonight, which worked well through the first 44 minutes, was to stay organized defensively, not worry about possession, and look for chances to take the ball and get players into spaces in behind, which is more typical of a road game strategy.
“We knew for the system and the structure that Nashville has, they like to have the ball, and especially in that first third of the field. So, sometimes they put six, seven players in that zone. They want us to go look for them or go and chase them. We wanted to be solid and it worked well. We wanted to fight for possession but it was not our priority, knowing that we have fast players that can take advantage of those spaces.”
Shaffelburg came on at halftime, replacing Yazbek, giving the visitors even more firepower, and it paid off nearly immediately, as Nashville won an early corner. Ojeda was able to clear, but it didn’t take much longer for the visitors to tie the match.
Nashville came forward on the left and the cross got through the area to Shaffelburg, who got goalside of his mad and tapped it in to make it 2-2 in the 51st minute.
Nashville should have made it 3-2 three minutes later. Atuesta made a poor pass in the attacking half to give up possession and Nashville countered. A good cross in from the right found Surridge at the back post, but the goal-scoring leader headed wide back across the front of goal.
Ojeda had a good opportunity to complete his hat trick in the 55th minute when Angulo got to the end line and his cross into the box deflected to the Argentine out in front. The shot for the back post was spinning and curved outside the upright, going wide.
Mukhtar got down the right channel and blasted a shot on goal from a tight angle in the 60th minute but Gallese fought it off, sending it out for a corner. The Lions cleared the ensuing set piece and sent Angulo on the break. The Colombian was all alone on goal, but his chip shot attempt hit Willis in the face, wasting the opportunity in the 61st minute.
A minute later, Muriel was set up outside the box but sent his shot high into the stands on his last involvement, as McGuire checked in for him during the stoppage in play. The substitution nearly paid dividends immediately, with Ojeda sending him in behind but the big striker couldn’t bring in the pass. Three minutes later, McGuire tried to send Ojeda in behind, but Jeisson Palacios did well to track back and knock it out for a corner.
The Lions sent several crosses around the area on the recycle of the ensuing set piece. The ball ended up with McGuire in front but he hit it wide of the right post in the 69th minute. Three minutes later, Pasalic teed up a shot outside the area with his right foot, but it deflected just wide off McGuire.
The game seemed headed for a draw as neither side was able to create much after a series of substitutions by both teams. From the 72nd minute to the game-winning goal, neither team created much, other than a Freeman shot that was blocked near the top of the area in the third minute of stoppage time.
In the 95th minute, Spicer blazed down the left flank to beat the Nashville defense. The second-half sub then sent in a good ball to the near post, where McGuire deflected it past Willis and in to make it 3-2.
“Funnily enough, like 20 seconds before the goal, there was a stop in play and Spicer told me to go to the first post, so, it’s good communication from him,” McGuire said. “He’s a quality player and when he gets the ball on the wing, I have a pretty good feeling he’s going to beat the guy, so I took a gamble, and he played a great ball.”
The game wasn’t quite over, despite the game reaching the sixth minute of stoppage time. Nashville quickly rushed forward and won a corner kick. Willis came up to give Nashville an additional attacker, and the cross found the big goalkeeper in front of the net. Willis headed the ball on target but right at Gallese who made the save and held on. After a brief scuffle in the area stopped play, the game restarted and ultimately came to an end.
Nashville finished with the advantage in possession (57.7%-42.3%) and passing accuracy (91.5%-87.5%). Orlando City fired more shots (14-8) and won more corners (4-3). Each team put six shots on target.
“Obviously it was a tough game. We went up early, but Nashville’s a very good team and battled back and didn’t make it easy for us,” McGuire said. “I feel like we had some struggles in the second half with the shaping with their buildout. They did a good job in holding possession against us, but in the end a good team win and I’m glad we got the job done.”
The Lions jumped from eighth to sixth in the Eastern Conference, holding a game in hand against most of the other playoff contenders, including Nashville, which slipped from fourth to seventh.
The Lions are on the road next weekend for a Sunday matchup at FC Cincinnati.