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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United, 2019 U.S. Open Cup: Final Score 2-0 as Lions Bow Out of Competition in Semifinals

The Lions just weren’t sharp either in front of goal or with the final pass all night.

Published

5 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

It was billed as biggest game in Orlando City’s history, but the Lions didn’t play like it in a 2-0 U.S. Open Cup semifinal loss to Atlanta United at Exploria Stadium. A club record crowd for a U.S. Open Cup match (18,461) showed up to cheer on the Lions and see history made. But City gave the fans little to cheer about and what could have been a memorable night ended only in disappointment.

Orlando struggled to link up on several passes that could have had runners in behind the defense but they were underhit, overhit, or hit right at defenders instead of in between. When the Lions did get opportunities, they couldn’t hit the target.

With all of Atlanta’s firepower, it was Eric Remedi and Emerson Hyndman who produced the offense instead of the likes of Pity Martinez, Ezequiel Barco, or Justin Meram.

“Very disappointed to get beat,” said Head Coach James O’Connor after the match. “First half especially I thought we didn’t really play anywhere near like to our capacity. I think the occasion seemed to get to us. Second half our intent was a lot better. We were camped in their half. But we needed more quality. It was very evident.”

O’Connor sent out essentially a first-choice lineup. Quarterfinals star Adam Grinwis got the start in goal, with the back line full of regular starters, both Designated Players up top next to Tesho Akindele, and a midfield of Will Johnson, Sacha Kljestan, and Sebas Mendez.

Atlanta controlled the opening 15 minutes of the first half as the Lions struggled to get on the ball — or stay on it when they did get it. The visitors fashioned their first of six first-half corners within the first minute of the game.

Former Lion Meram and Miles Robinson each nodded off frame on set pieces in the opening minutes.

Dom Dwyer put the ball in the net in the fifth minute but he was correctly ruled offside on the play.

Martinez got in behind the defense in the 15th minute and fired into the outside netting.

Orlando’s first good chance came in the 18th minute when Nani fed a cross to Dwyer but his left-footed effort was blasted just over the bar. It was a great opportunity to take the early lead but the striker went for power and just couldn’t keep it down.

Orlando started to get more into the match after that for about the next 10 minutes. Joao Moutinho turned Atlanta over in the 21st minute and fed across for Akindele, who was bodied off the ball at the top of the area but no foul was given. Moments later, Nani appeared to get clipped by Julian Gressel, but again no foul was called.

Around the half-hour mark the visitors got back on the front foot. Remedi came up the middle and no one challenged him, so he fired a shot that forced a Grinwis save. Three minutes later, Barco scuffed a shot off a Gressel cross. Robinson sent another free header wide off a corner kick in the 34th minute.

Atlanta finally broke through in the 37th. Remedi forced a diving save from Grinwis, who knocked the ball out to his left. Gressel gathered it and sent it back in to Remedi, who had continued his run. The midfielder took the shot first time and scored.

Moutinho tried to pull the goal right back. He dispossessed Franco Escobar and fired a shot just wide of Brad Guzan’s goal in the 38th.

Johnson forced Guzan’s first save of the night in the 45th minute and after two minutes of stoppage time the teams headed to the locker rooms.

Atlanta took a 1-0 lead into the break, leading in shots (12-4), shots on target (5-1), possession (61%), and passing accuracy (85%-73%). It was the last stat that really hurt Orlando, as balls that were hit too hard or too softly in the middle of the pitch ruined several good opportunities at transition chances.

The Lions fashioned the first good chance of the second half. Ruan finally got forward and crossed a ball for Dwyer but Escobar got a foot in at the last second and deflected it out for a corner.

Five minutes later, Nani chipped a perfect back-door pass for Kljestan at the back post but the midfielder hit his shot over the bar.

“Clearly we didn’t have enough shots on target tonight to have Brad Guzan forced into saves,” Kljestan said. “That’s pretty much it. Not enough of us finished our plays on target.”

O’Connor tried subbing on fresh reinforcements in the 58th minute to get after the game, bringing on Chris Mueller and Benji Michel for Dwyer and Kljestan. It didn’t provide much help. Both players were certainly active, but the same things plagued the team after the substitutions as before — general lack of sharpness with the final ball, a hesitancy to take quick, positive actions, and just not being on the same page.

A good example of that came in the 71st minute when Michel broke down the left side and into the area. He had room and time to pick out a pass but sent a mostly hopeful cross to the top of the area, where it took a deflection and then fell between two players. Nani eventually got onto it and shot but the delay allowed Atlanta to block his shot.

Atlanta defended well all night and was content to concede possession in the game’s later stages but Orlando couldn’t take advantage. Akindele found himself with space at the top of the area in the 74th minute but fired well over the bar.

O’Connor was forced to sub off Moutinho in the 78th minute for what he said after the game was a tight hamstring. Alex De John came on, and the shape of the team changed, which may have led to the game’s second goal.

Just seconds after the sub, the visitors got forward and scored their second. Remedi played the ball to Escobar on the left, who lost Ruan and slid the ball into the middle for an onrushing Hyndman, who beat Lamine Sané and slotted home. Orlando seemed a bit out of sorts defensively just after the substitution and Atlanta pounced on that immediately to put the game away.

“They had one real chance second half and it’s a goal,” O’Connor said.

From that point on, it was a matter of watching a few more breakdowns in the final third and a weak dribbler on goal from Mueller to account for City’s second shot on target all night. Seven minutes of stoppage time produced nothing of note other than Mueller’s grass cutter and the final whistle ended Orlando’s Open Cup run.

Atlanta out-shot the Lions 15-12 (7-2 on target), held 51% of the final possession and out-passed Orlando (79%-77%).

“I don’t know if it was nerves or it was just a little bit of general tiredness. We just looked a little bit sluggish,” O’Connor said. “I don’t know whether that was just the emotion of the occasion seemed to get to us. We just looked a yard off — especially first half. We had big moments in the game. We haven’t capitalized…you can’t do that against a team like Atlanta.”

The coach got a bit agitated when it was pointed out that the Lions had yet to beat Atlanta, stating he doesn’t care about what happened before he became coach and that the team just needs to be mentally stronger to beat their neighbors to the north.

“I’m not interested in that. It’s all mentality,” he said. “We were beaten tonight because we weren’t good enough.”

Kljestan said the team can take some positives from a deep Cup run into the rest of the MLS season.

“I think we dug deep on a few of these games,” Kljestan said. “When we played NYCFC, that was a gut punch to give up a goal in the last second but we reacted well and ended up winning the game in penalties. The game against New England also an overtime game. So, it was a good journey for us and I think we learned a lot about ourselves. And also we used some rotation in those games and a lot of guys who maybe aren’t regular performers ended up being big players in the Open Cup for us. So, I think we’ve got to draw confidence from that and we’ve got to know that this cannot derail our season.”

The Lions will need to shake off the disappointment quickly, as they return to MLS action on Saturday night when they travel to Canada to take on Toronto FC at 7:30 p.m. at BMO Field.

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Orlando City

Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati

Get all the inside information you need ahead of Orlando’s match with FC Cincinnati.

Published

18 hours ago

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May 3, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Another Orlando City matchday looms large this weekend, as the Lions will try to put Saturday’s thoroughly dispiriting loss behind them. They’ll have a tough task ahead of them though, as they welcome an FC Cincinnati team to town that currently sits second in the Eastern Conference.

A match against FCC means I spoke with Justin Blair of the always excellent Cincinnati Soccer Talk. As always, Justin was very helpful in getting us all caught up on Cincy before tomorrow’s match.

The nine goals conceded by FC Cincinnati are tied for the fewest given up by any team in the league. What’s been working so well for FCC defensively so far?

Justin Blair:  In 2023, FC Cincinnati was tied for fourth in goals conceded with 39 allowed (Orlando, NYCFC, and RBNY). This season is continuing that impressive trajectory. The addition of Miles Robinson, arguably the best MLS center back, was a home run signing for FCC. Robinson joins 2023 Defensive Player of the Year Matt Miazga as the feature center back duo. But Pat Noonan’s system asks for three in the back and has been plugged with a rotation of players that have kept the defense stout. I have to mention that central defensive midfielder Obinna Nwobodo is arguably the most underrated player in all of MLS. He is an extremely skilled player that flies around and acts as a catch-all in front of the back line. 

Brandon Vazquez departed in the off-season for Monterrey. In his absence, who has Cincy turned to for goal scoring?

JB: Brandon Vazquez is a tremendous striker for FCC and has been solid for Rayados with 10 goals in 22 appearances. But his form never hit stride in 2023. He had nine goals across all MLS competitions, which was down from a career high of 18 goals in 2022. FCC had to find goals in other places last season, so they aren’t exactly in uncharted waters. So far in 2024, reigning MLS MVP Lucho Acosta has been carrying the load with four goals and five assists. Yuya Kubo, who I affectionately call FCC’s Swiss Army knife, has seen recent minutes at the forward position. Kubo’s confidence on the ball and chemistry with Acosta has seen him score three goals in a short amount of time. Surprisingly, FCC’s star Designated Player striker Aaron Boupendza has fallen in the graces of the squad and hasn’t hit consistent minutes this season.

Run me through some of the other arrivals and departures that took place during the off-season. Who are a few names to watch out for?

JB: Well FCC’s off-season was a doozy to say the least. Several departures include the previously mentioned Vazquez, along with Sanitago Arias, Yerson Mosquera (loan), Alvaro Barreal, Dominique Badji, Junior Moreno, and Ray Gaddis — all of whom played significant minutes for the orange and blue during their 2023 Supporters’ Shield season. For incoming players, GM Chris Albright brought in Robinson, Pavel Bucha, Luca Orellano, Kipp Keller, and Corey Baird during the off-season. The additions of DeAndre Yedlin and Yamil Asad have also worked their way into the matchday rotation. Every piece added has felt like an upgrade or at least a comparable replacement. This is, of course, with the exception of replacing Vazquez.

FCC (recently) announced the loan signing of target striker Kevin Kelsy from Shakhtar Donetsk. The young loanee is sure to see considerable minutes with FCC but will likely not feature in the match versus Orlando City. I would keep an eye on Orellano for FCC. The left wingback is the heir apparent to Barreal that is so critical for Cincinnati’s ability to progress the ball from the midfield into the attacking third. Orellano is clean with his touches and can serve up line-splitting through balls that are perfectly weighted.

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

JB: Unavailable players might include Yedlin (hip), goalkeeper Roman Celentano (ankle), forward Sergio Santos (leg), and center back Nick Hagglund (knee). It seems uncertain if either or all will miss minutes in the match versus Orlando but most likely to participate would be Celentano, who was a late scratch versus Colorado on Saturday. 

Starting XI (3-5-2): Roman Celentano (Alec Kann); Bret Halsey (DeAndre Yedlin), Miles Robinson, Matt Miazga, Ian Murphy, Luca Orellano; Obinna Nwobodo, Pavel Bucha, Lucho Acosta; Yuya Kubo, Corey Baird.

Score Prediction: Oscar Pareja seems to have Pat Noonan’s system figured out. FCC also struggles to find wins against Orlando City. I’m going to go with a 1-1 draw when the final whistle sounds. 

Thanks again to Justin for the great info on FCC. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 5/3/24

MLS roster profiles revealed, Marta’s best moments, Kelley O’Hara announces her retirement, and more.

Published

22 hours ago

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May 3, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

Happy Friday! We’ve reached the homestretch of the week and I couldn’t be happier. A busy weekend awaits me, but I’m hoping for some quiet, nice moments to offset some of the hustle and bustle. It’s also another weekend packed with Orlando soccer to enjoy, so make sure to plan your next couple of days accordingly. But for now, let’s get to the links!

MLS Unveils Club Roster Details

There’s a little more transparency in Major League Soccer after the league released helpful snapshots of each club that detail the composition of each roster. From Designated Players and MLS U22 Initiative Players to international roster slots and contract lengths, the graphics are easy to comprehend and give a nice look behind the curtain on each team. Using this, we can see that Orlando City midfielder Cesar Araujo no longer takes up a U22 Initiative slot and that the team also has an open international roster slot. It should be a fairly nice reference guide for fans moving forward, as well as a way to check out how other MLS teams are building their rosters.

Emily Sams Earns Recognition as Potential USWNT Player

Orlando Pride defender Emily Sams was mentioned as one of the top 20 eligible Americans who have yet to make an appearance with the United States Women’s National Team according to Pro Soccer Wire. The shout out is well deserved, as Sams has helped anchor a Pride defense that’s only given up seven goals this season. Only time will tell if Sams will earn a call-up once Emma Hayes is at the helm of the USWNT, but it does feel inevitable given how she’s been playing. Other notable players on the list include Ajax’s Lily Yohannes, Washington Spirit rookie Croix Bethune, and Angel City FC defender Sarah Gorden.

Marta’s Top Moments

All For XI compiled some of the best moments from Marta’s career into a tidy top five. Considering how prolific she has been for Brazil over the years, it was nice to see a pair of goals from her time with the Pride receive some recognition. Both of those moments were from 2018, with her free kick to equalize against the Seattle Reign placing fifth and her solo effort to stun the Spirit taking third. It’s fitting though that the top moment on the list showcases the impact she’s had off the field, as it’s Marta’s emotional speech after Brazil’s exit in the 2019 World Cup.

Kelley O’Hara Will Retire After 2024 Season

USWNT defender Kelley O’Hara announced that she will retire from professional soccer following the 2024 season. Over the course of her international career, she’s played in four World Cups, three Olympic Games, and was named to the FIFA FIFPro World XI in 2019. O’Hara has played in every NWSL season since the league’s inception, winning the title with the Spirit in 2021 and again with NJ/NY Gotham FC last year. She joined Gotham as the first free agent signing in NWSL history and she is set to close out her illustrious career there.

Free Kicks

  • Curve Fragrances was named the official fragrance partner of Orlando City. As part of the partnership, there will be giveaways and product sampling at select games this season.
  • Wrexham’s women’s squad for The Soccer Tournament this summer will include a trio of former Pride players, with Bridget Callahan, Danica Evans, and Nickolette Driesse all taking part. I can’t wait to see if Callahan will make SkoRed a rallying cry at the tournament.
  • Orlando City won’t have to contend with FC Cincinnati forward Aaron Boupendza tomorrow, as he will miss the next six to eight weeks due to a broken jaw suffered in an off-field incident.
  • The Europa League semifinals are underway and Bayer Leverkusen extended its unbeaten run to 47 games after a 2-0 road win against Roma. In the other matchup, Atalanta and Marseille drew 1-1 in France.
  • American midfielder Johnny Cardoso hasn’t been with Real Betis for long, but he’s doing well enough that Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, and Borussia Dortmund are among the clubs reportedly interested in signing the 22-year-old.
  • Lucas Hernandez suffered an ACL injury in Paris Saint-Germain’s loss to Borussia Dortmund and will miss out on this summer’s Euros with France.
  • Reims and Will Still have mutually agreed to part ways, with the coach leaving now despite just having three games left in the Ligue 1 season. It will be interesting to see where the 31-year-old coaches next, as he had a notable 19-game unbeaten stretch with Reims last season.
  • Here’s a detailed dive into the obstacles Everton has faced in recent years, as well as how the club has avoided relegation amid another difficult season.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Three Keys to Victory

What does Orlando City need to do to ensure a victory over FC Cincinnati Saturday at home?

Published

2 days ago

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May 2, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City looks to bounce back from the disappointing 2-1 loss to Toronto FC Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium. Cincinnati has twice as many points as Orlando City and more than twice as many wins. FCC has only scored one more goal than Orlando City, but with only nine goals conceded compared to Orlando City’s 17, it’s easy to see why Cincinnati is sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference.

What I’m trying to say is that the task doesn’t get any easier this weekend. What does Orlando City need to do to secure all three points at home against FC Cincinnati?

Accost Acosta

Cincinnati’s attack revolves around Luciano Acosta. The attacking midfielder has four goals and five assists so far this season. To put that into perspective, Duncan McGuire — Orlando City’s leading scorer — also has four goals but only one assist. If we look at the Lions’ attacking midfielders, Facundo Torres has one goal and one assist, Ivan Angulo and Nico Lodeiro both have one goal and two assists, and Martin Ojeda has zero goals and only one assist. Luis Muriel is still at double zeroes.

The defensive midfield and the back line must do everything possible to mark him out of the match. It’s not enough to keep him from scoring, they must also keep him from setting up chances for his teammates. Most importantly, the defense must do that for 90 minutes plus stoppage time. There is no room for the mental lapses we’ve seen throughout the first part of this season.

Break Through

Cincinnati is stingy on defense. As I mentioned above, the club has only allowed nine goals this season. The back line is formidable with the likes of Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson, and Ian Murphy. On the wings are DeAndre Yedlin and Luca Orellano. This is a tough defense, and whether it is McGuire or Muriel who gets the start, they must find the spaces in between.

Just as importantly, Torres, Angulo, Ojeda, and Lodeiro — depending on who is in at any given moment — must be able to thread the passes in for McGuire, Muriel, or each other to create quality chances. On top of that, the Lions must convert on those chances, which is not something that has been a strength so far this season. If the Orlando City defense continues to give up cheap goals, then the offense will need to one-up the competition when it comes to scoring.

Deal with an Unknown

FC Cincinnati recently signed Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy from Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk. Kelsy comes in as an MLS U22 Initiative player and is eligible to play against Orlando City. Even though Kelsy is only 19, he has 68 professional appearances, including UEFA Champions Leagues matches. At 6-foot-3, he can be a challenge for defenders, especially in the air.

Kelsy hasn’t had much time with the team, but he could be a second-half substitution for Cincinnati. Given that Orlando City just gave up two late headers against Toronto FC, the back line will need to be careful that Kelsy doesn’t hurt the Lions in the same manner — especially if he comes on late when legs and minds are tired.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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