Orlando City vs. Minnesota United: Final Score 3-3 as Lions Blow Late 2-0 Lead Then Equalize

Orlando City looked like it would win two straight, leading Minnesota United 2-0 deep into the second half at Allianz Field in Saint Paul, MN. But the OCSC defense cracked and then shattered in an awful four-minute span to concede three straight goals, going from 2-0 up to 3-2 down seemingly in the blink of an eye. Tyrese Spicer’s stoppage-time strike salvaged a point on the road that should have been three.

Daryl Dike and Antoine Griezmann scored on either side of halftime on the first two shots of the game for Orlando City (7-11-4, 25 points), but a defensive meltdown allowed the Loons (7-7-8, 29 points) to pull a goal back. Set piece defending that was rough all night gave Minnesota a second, and Robin Jansson’s pass to the wrong team in his own half set up the counterattack that came within minutes of winning Minnesota the game. Marcus Caldeira, Anthony Markanich, and Kelvin Yeboah all scored in a nightmarish four minutes that looked like would hand the Loons their first home victory in months.

But Griezmann’s ball over the top sent Spicer in alone on goal and the supersub did his thing, squaring the game at 3-3.

“Probably 60 minutes, pretty good,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “We came here, we were winning 2-0, and it’s disappointing to be losing 3-2. It’s a mistake we commit, and then the guys did a huge effort. We never stopped fighting, even though we made those mistakes. And we were able to come back to tie. Weird sensation, because we were really close to a win, but as well a point on the road is always a point. Weird sensations.”

Perelman’s starting squad featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Zakaria Taifi, Jansson, David Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey. Joran Gerbet joined Eduard Atuesta in central midfield between Ivan Angulo and Griezmann with Justin Ellis and Dike leading the attack.

The hosts came out with the better early chances. Caldeira beat Jansson early down the right channel but his tough-angle shot was off target in the second minute. A few moments later, Crepeau was indecisive on a routine back pass as Yeboah closed. Crepeau’s clearance attempt hit Yeboah and deflected just wide of the left post.

Orlando’s first good buildup came in the 16th minute when Griezmann turned down a shot outside the box to pass off to Ellis on his right and continue his run. Ellis tried a chip pass over the top but overcooked it and Drake Callender intervened for Minnesota.

Anthony Markanich fired right at Crepeau in the 19th minute as the Loons settled into the Orlando half. Crepeau then had to make a pair of huge saves in the 21st minute. Markanich had the ball on the left and faked a move toward the end line to make Dorsey commit. He then cut back to his right and sent a curling shot toward the right post that looked like it would find the back of the net, but Crepeau stopped it at full stretch, knocking it out to Minnesota’s attacking right. A second shot came in from Caldeira and Crepeau recovered to make another stop.

Kyle Duncan got over Brekalo on the corner kick but sent his shot off target.

Ellis made a fantastic move to slip a ball past his defender and ran onto it, sending Dorsey up the right flank in the 23rd minute. Dorsey had two runners, but he sent his low cross right at a defender.

Dorsey did better with his cross a few minutes later and it led to the opening goal. The fullback got down the right flank after Griezmann and Atuesta kept a play alive in the attacking third and sent a well-timed ball in front at the near post for Dike, who arrived at the same time as Callender and Minnesota defender Michael Boxall. The two Minnesota players went down, with Dike staying on his feet, locating the loose ball first, and smashing a tight-angle shot into the net from the right to make it 1-0 in the 29th minute. It was Orlando City’s first shot of the match and Dike’s first MLS goal since rejoining the Lions after the World Cup break.

“It was a good ball across, and and I attacked it, and then luckily the ball fell back down to me, and I was able to get shot off,” Dike said. “It’s a good feeling to score, of course, and to get us started in the match.”

Following the goal, Callender was shaken up but was able to continue.

Minnesota got back to winning set pieces as the first half wound down, with a Yeboah header sent wide off a corner kick cross in the 34th minute. Four minutes later, a scramble in the box required a sprawling intervention by Crepeau that hit off of Dorsey. Minnesota players wanted a handball, but there was none given on the play or from the video assistant referee.

Crepeau made another huge stop in the 41st minute with a kick save to deny Joaquin Pereyra’s shot from the left side of the attack. The Lions withstood a couple of late long throw-ins and took their slim advantage into halftime.

At the break, Orlando City held the advantage in possession (51.2%-48.8%), but the Loons led in shots (10-1), shots on target (4-1), corners (2-0), and passing accuracy (83.5%-83.4%). Despite creating only one real chance, the Lions led at halftime through Dike’s strike.

Alec Smir replaced Callender at the break, as the Loons’ goalkeeper apparently couldn’t continue. He was rarely needed, however, as Minnesota dominated territorially throughout the second half and scored three times, although Orlando was able to also hit twice in transition.

Yeboah missed the target from close range to start Minnesota’s territorial dominance after the break, and Crepeau did well moments later to save a shot from Pereyra. The Canadian stopped Duncan’s shot in the 51st minute, but the flag was up for offside anyway. The goalkeeper then kept a ricochet out of his net on a set piece that took a deflection in front.

Crepeau lost the ball off his foot near the top of the area in the 59th minute but was fortunate that a teammate was first to it. However, Atuesta turned the ball over anyway just a few yards further up the pitch. The turnover led to a header Caldeira sent weakly on target but it was no trouble for Orlando’s goalkeeper.

Harvey Sarajian and Luis Otavio subbed on for Dike and Gerbet during the stoppage in play.

After the game restarted, Brekalo drew the ire of the Loons and the fans with a light push to Markanich’s back. The Minnesota attacker went down easily and Allen Chapman saw nothing in it to either award a penalty or book Markanich for diving.

Orlando hadn’t managed a shot in the second half until it scored the second goal. Sarajian worked hard to take the ball from Boxall in Orlando’s half and that allowed the Lions to break 3-on-2 as Boxall stayed down looking for a foul call that never came.

Griezmann picked up the loose ball on the left and sent it to Ellis, who took the ball up the middle of the pitch. With Sarajian occupying the defense between the two, Ellis patiently waited for Griezmann’s run and slipped a neat pass through the back line. The French attacker calmly passed the ball into the net behind Smir to make it 2-0 in the 64th minute.

Seven minutes after Griezmann’s goal solidified Orlando’s lead, the walls caved in. Orlando City’s defense somehow got pulled out of shape to its right, with Taifi double-teaming a man with Jansson, allowing an easy diagonal switch to Duncan on the right with no one on him. Duncan had lots of room as Taifi tried to recover, picking out Yeboah in front, and the striker flicked it in front for Caldeira — who got behind Brekalo — to deflect home, making it 2-1 in the 71st minute.

Spicer came on for Ellis during the Loons’ celebration, but things continued going south. Markanich went up to beat a late-arriving Brekalo and headed in the second goal off Pereyra’s corner kick cross in the 74th minute, and the game was level at 2-2.

As if things weren’t already bad enough, Orlando gifted the Loons a third goal a minute later. The defense looked to break out and Jansson sent a pass inexplicably right at Pereyra in his own half. Pereyra, who quickly gave it to Mauricio Gonzalez. Jansson was caught flat-footed as Yeboah ran past him and Duncan got behind Angulo to pick up the diagonal ball. Crepeau did well to come off his line to stuff Duncan’s shot, but it fell behind Yeboah, who made an acrobatic bicycle kick to put his team up 3-2 in the 75th minute.

“It’s hard to explain. I don’t have an answer,” Perelman said when asked about the four-minutes that turned the game around. “I don’t know, honestly, exactly what happened. We had the game — I wouldn’t say under control. I think we were doing a good game. I truly believe we were able to control the game by moments. Of course, they are at home. They push. They played us well…I need to review the game.”

Now chasing the game, Perelman put Marco Pasalic and Martin Ojeda on in the 81st minute, replacing Taifi and Atuesta.

However, Minnesota nearly added a fourth in the 86th minute. Markanich went up and cleanly won another set piece header, but his shot hit Boxall in front, keeping it a one-goal game.

Orlando pushed for a late equalizer, with Ojeda firing right at Smir in the 87th minute and Pasalic sending a shot wide off a deflection in the first minute of stoppage time. Pasalic then had to commit a tactical foul as Minnesota looked to counterattack off the Orlando set piece.

Two minutes later, a moment of magic from Griezmann and Spicer leveled the match for the Lions. Griezmann took a pass from Angulo in his own half and as he approached midfield, he sent a beautiful, curling long ball just over Duncan’s head for Spicer down the left channel. Spicer got behind Duncan and although Jefferson Diaz tried to angle him off, the Trinidad & Tobago international sent a hard shot into top corner on the near side to make it 3-3 in the third added minute.

The Lions withstood a late corner from the Loons and escaped with a draw that probably felt like a loss before it felt like a win.

At full time, the Lions held the advantage in possession (50.8%-49.2%) and passing accuracy (84.5%-82.8%). Minnesota finished with more shots (20-6), shots on target (8-5), and corners (8-1).

“Frustrating match,” Dike said. “I think the boys, we worked really hard from minute one. I mean, it’s never easy to go anywhere away. We put ourselves in a good position and unfortunately, collectively, we made a few mistakes that they capitalized on. Frustrating. I think, at the beginning (of the game), you take a point, but knowing how the game played out and the quality and the standard that we have on ourselves, it’s a frustrating one.”

The Lions will be back home a week from tonight, hosting San Diego FC.