Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Photo Gallery

Two of the better offenses and two of the worst defenses in MLS met on Saturday night when Orlando City hosted FC Cincinnati, so logically the final result was a modest 1-1 draw. The Lions looked sharp in their new third kit, and former Orlando City defender Kyle Smith made a return to his former hunting grounds to a warm welcome.

The oppressively hot weather dampened the energy level, but both teams played an entertaining, flowing game. The teams took a few minutes to settle in, then the Lions got on a persistent attack for a while with a Justin Ellis chance in the ninth minute well saved over the bar and a good Tyrese Spicer chance in the 11th minute dragged wide. Cincinnati returned the favor with some sustained pressure of its own, barely missing a good Evander cross in the 20th minute, and finally Pavel Bucha cleaning up a blocked shot (off Joran Gerbet’s face) to break through in the 23rd minute to take the lead.

One of the best chances for the Lions fell for Ellis in the 36th minute. Antoine Griezmann played Griffin Dorsey in behind, and the fullback cut it back to Ellis at penalty spot. Ellis unfortunately left his shot too central and too close to goalkeeper Roman Celentano, who made the save. The Homegrown forward had one more headed chance from around the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time, but he put it straight at Celentano for an easy save.

After halftime, Marco Pašalić came on for Gerbet in a planned substitution. Orlando equalized quickly on the counter. Iván Angulo sprung a transition attack with a good ball to Ellis near midfield, who flicked the ball in behind for Spicer. The speedy winger did well to beat Bucha to the ball and opened space, rounded the keeper, and then finished well to avoid the recovering defender.

The Lions stayed on the front foot, with a series of shots from Spicer and Ellis blocked, with the rebound falling to Griezmann, who fired a nice volley, but right at Celentano from the right. Cincinnati then seized control of the game with Kevin Denkey hitting the post before Evander took a dive in the box trying to get to the rebound. This was initially called a penalty, but upon review, the call was reversed and Evander picked up a yellow card. Orlando spent a fair amount of time defending down the stretch but afforded Cincinnati few dangerous looks, drawing offside calls on those that might have been.

As the game wore on and the heat and short rest set in, the game moved back onto more equal footing, with no great chances for either team until the 87th minute, when Crépeau made a good save on Kenji Mboma Dem. Orlando had three more shots in stoppage time, with the best of those a long-range effort by Wilder Cartagena that just missed, and the match ended level.

We hope you enjoy these photos from a hard-fought match that saw Orlando come from behind to claim a point.