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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Final Score 2-1 as Martinez Breaks the Record with Game Winner

Atlanta once again breaks Orlando hearts with a second-half goal.

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6 years ago

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City put in a good performance for 45 minutes but could not maintain it for the full 90. Atlanta United (16-4-6, 54 points) got a second-half goal from Josef Martinez — his record-breaking 28th of the season — to snap a 1-1 deadlock and win, 2-1, in front of 25,058 fans at Orlando City Stadium. The Lions (7-16-2, 23 points) dropped to 0-4-2 in the all-time series and are now winless in six (0-5-1).

It was a workmanlike effort from Orlando City, which was missing midfielders Yoshimar Yotún and Cristian Higuita due to suspension, but the defensive shape throughout the match was mostly good and Atlanta didn’t get its usual number of great scoring chances, despite a final shot advantage of 19-6.

“Obviously very disappointed. It was a game we wanted to try and win for the supporters,” Head Coach James O’Connor said after the match. “When you look at the level of the performance, I think it wasn’t good enough. We need to be honest with ourselves. For where we want to get to and where we’re going to get to, we need levels of performance that are higher.”

O’Connor’s lineup included the return of Jonathan Spector from a hamstring injury and the debut of Carlos Ascues. Sacha Kljestan (ankle) and Mohamed El-Munir (coach’s decision) were not in the 18.

The Lions got the first good look at goal three minutes into the match. Chris Mueller took the ball up the left side and faked his way past three defenders across the top of the box before Atlanta closed on him. The ball deflected wide to Will Johnson, who fired a blast that forced a diving save by Brad Guzan.

Atlanta’s first decent effort came two minutes later when Jeff Larentowicz was left in space above the penalty area. The midfielder smashed a shot that forced Joe Bendik into a diving stop. Four minutes later, Bendik made a comfortable save on Hector Villalba, who cut inside of PC and fired from the top of the area.

Josue Colmán fired wide after a nice buildup play in the 13th minute. Dom Dwyer sprayed the ball wide for Mueller, who found Colmán just inside the area. Two minutes later, PC blasted a shot from the left that Guzan tipped over the net for a corner.

Atlanta broke the scoreless deadlock in the 21st minute after Uri Rosell was whistled for a foul in the defensive third, handing the visitors a free kick. Rosell tried to play a 50/50 ball and extended his leg, which Chris McCann ran into from the side. Ezequiel Barco took the set piece and fired a one-hopper right at Bendik. The Orlando keeper misplayed the hop and it deflected straight to Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, who bundled it in off of Bendik to make it 1-0.

The game slowed down a bit for the next 10 minutes or so before the next good opportunity. Miguel Almiron tried his luck from long range and Bendik didn’t seem to pick it up right away, eventually diving to keep the score at 1-0 in the 35th minute.

Orlando leveled the match four minutes later. As the attack switched from left to right, the ball found its way to Ascues, who gave it to Mueller. Mueller found Johnson, who flicked a backheel into the path of Scott Sutter. The fullback smashed a knuckling shot past Guzan to tie the game in the 39th minute.

“It was a good play by the guys,” Sutter said. “We knew that they were quite vulnerable if you switch the side quickly and I think we did that. I think it was Chris who played the ball inside and Will laid it off perfectly. I took it in my stride and closed my eyes and struck the ball. It was one of my better goals I’ve scored in my career but it all led to nothing, unfortunately.”

Atlanta nearly pulled that goal right back after the restart. An attack down the right managed to get in behind the defense and a pass to Martinez seemed to set him up for an easy goal to set the all-time MLS goal-scoring mark for a single season. Spector got back and did just enough to throw Martinez off and the shot trickled just wide of the right post. That was the last good opportunity for either team in the half and the teams went to their locker rooms all even at 1-1.

Atlanta led in shots (9-4), shots on target (6-3), possession (60%-40%), and passing accuracy (91%-88%), but if not for a big miscue by Bendik, the Lions would have led at the half.

The second half largely consisted of long spells of Atlanta possession above the Orlando City penalty area but not a lot of dangerous attacking movements.

Atlanta got the first dangerous chances of the second half, with Almiron firing a shot over the bar in the 47th minute and Gonzalez Pirez sending a header wide off a free kick two minutes later. In the 55th minute, Bendik made a vital save to deny Villalba and Spector cleared the rebound out of harm’s way. Martinez got onto a cross in the 58th but sent his shot right at Bendik.

Bendik then made back-to-back saves in the 61st minute to keep the game stalemated.

The visitors finally broke through on the counter in the 74th minute after Mueller lost the ball at the top of Atlanta’s penalty area. The ball was cleared out to Villalba, who found Gressel on the right side. Gressel slipped a ball past Rosell, who mistimed his challenge, allowing Martinez to get in behind, where he patiently waited for Bendik to commit and scored the game winner.

Orlando City’s best opportunity to pull a goal back came in the 79th minute. Second-half sub Pierre Da Silva — seeing only his second MLS game action ever — won a corner kick and Johnson delivered an excellent near-post cross to Dwyer, who flicked a header on target. Guzan stuck out a hand to get just enough of it to keep it out and preserve Atlanta’s lead.

From that point on, Orlando continued to try to throw numbers forward and Atlanta seemed destined to get a third on the counter but nothing materialized for either team and the Lions simply couldn’t maintain possession long enough to create anything on the offensive end.

Atlanta led the stat sheet in shots (19-6), shots on target (10-4), possession (62%-38%), and passing accuracy (91%-85%). Orlando managed only a measly two shots after halftime.

“They pinned us in and they were keeping the ball, so for us it needs to be better,” O’Connor said. “When we had the ball we were giving the ball away in needless areas. Our decision making was really poor and we’ve got guys who are better than they showed tonight. That’s the really frustrating thing.”

“Today I don’t think it was good enough,” Sutter said. “James let us know that at the end of the game. I think we just need to improve in every which way.”

One of the bright spots for Orlando City was Ascues, who played 67 minutes in his debut and looked solid after only a week of training with his new team.

“I thought to be fair to him, I thought he battled away,” O’Connor said. “I think all things considered he can be pleased. He gave a very encouraging performance for sure.”

“I feel very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the starting (lineup) today,” Ascues said through a club translator. “I think that I had a good debut but I’m not happy that we weren’t able to get the result.”

The Lions are back in action next Saturday when the Philadelphia Union visit Orlando City Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

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Orlando City

How Orlando City’s Offense Stacks Up Against What Atlanta Does Defensively

How Orlando City has performed against teams playing with three or four defenders, and how that may influence the playoff game against Atlanta United.

Published

8 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The most famous quote about real estate is that “there are three things that matter in property: location, location, location.” Soccer coaches also like to think in threes, especially when it comes to points, but for a soccer coach, the three things that matter might be the rhyming triplet “formation, formation, formation,” as that is where they will have the biggest influence on every game that their team plays.

Throughout his tenure as head coach, Óscar Pareja has preferred to use a 4-2-3-1 as his formation (fbref.com’s lineup data shows that the Lions primarily played a 4-2-3-1 in 65% of their MLS matches this season, and 79% of their MLS matches during the last three seasons). The Lions have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 during each of their last 14 games, and my confidence level is strong to quite strong (can you believe Meet the Parents came out 24 years ago?) that they will do so once again on Sunday when they host Atlanta United.

Atlanta United also prefers to deploy a 4-2-3-1, but was less consistent than Orlando City this season during MLS play, as evidenced by the chart below that shows how Atlanta lined up this season:

The purpose of this image is a table to show how Atlanta United lined up in 2024 (mostly in a 4-2-3-1 but also in one of six other formations).

I am relying on the coders at Opta for their evaluation of the formation, as I do not watch a lot of Atlanta United matches (sounds terrible), but though Atlanta primarily played with four defenders in more than two-thirds of its matches, during the last two matches it played a 3-5-2, the only two matches all season in which interim coach Rob Valentino rolled out that formation. I suspect that the formation change was related partially to playing Inter Miami and trying to defend the Herons’ dynamic offense and partially due to an injury suffered by defender Brooks Lennon in the first game of that series. So, while Atlanta primarily played four in the back for most of the season, there is a good chance it will roll with what worked against Florida’s second-best MLS team when it plays Florida’s best MLS team this weekend.

Now, if you want to read more about Atlanta, then you can read our match preview, which will drop Sunday morning, but I want to look at how Orlando did against teams that play similar styles. Looking only at MLS games, the table below shows how Orlando City performed against different back line structures this season (the left side is how the Lions’ opponents lined up, the right side is how Orlando City performed against opponents in those formations):

Table embedded as an image showing Orlando City doing best in goal differential in 12 games against three-man back lines, second best against four-man back lines, and having played once against a five-man back line (a 1-1 draw).

Orlando City earned slightly more points per game — the stat that matters most — against teams that played four in the back, but the Lions had a better average goal differential when teams played three in the back. Atlanta will likely deploy one of those two formations. In both games against Orlando City this season, Sunday’s visitors went with a 4-2-3-1, but as mentioned earlier, they used three in the back in each of their last two matches, so it really could be either.

Soccer is not like baseball, where players primarily stay in the same spot throughout the game, so some of these stats have to be taken with a grain of salt, as players are not always rigidly in the same position throughout a match. A team may also primarily play with four in the back but switch to three when chasing a game, or five when trying to protect against a late goal.

That said, using the data around Orlando City’s opponents’ general formations, here are the attacking groups who played the most frequently against four defenders during the 24 MLS games where Opta coded the opponents as using a defensive group of four:

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy four defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus eight goal differential for the season.

It is a little ominous that the main starting group, shown in row one, has played 666 MLS minutes against back lines of four this season, but do I like that green goal differential of +8 in those minutes, which is a strong +1.08 per 90 minutes. I like that goal differential more than I like all the things that Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin like on their song that is creatively named “I Like It.” Coincidentally, when people ask me what I think about that song, I say, “I like it.” I am very creative.

If we look at the lineups that Orlando City has used against back lines of three defenders then there are some pretty major differences in personnel groupings, but it must be noted that more than half of the games against teams playing three in the back came early in the season, when Ramiro Enrique was unavailable to play. Enrique, my presumed starter at striker, has played fewer than three games’ worth of minutes (265 total) against back lines of three this season, and only 28 minutes with the main starting group, which ranks 13th among all the attacking lineups for minutes played against three defenders. That group scored one goal in their 28 minutes together though, for a robust 3.21 goals-scored-per-90-minutes average.

While the team as a whole has been successful against three-man back lines, I do not expect any of the lineups shown in the table below to play more than a few minutes together this weekend, though the first row and the last row are strong groups and had a lot of success.

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy three defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus three goal differential for the season.

I am sure that all week long the Orlando City coaching staff has been going back and forth on whether it is more likely that Atlanta reverts to its most commonly used four in the back, or if the Five Stripes try for three wins in a row with three in the back. I would prefer that Atlanta plays with zero defenders and goalkeeper Brad Guzan wears a blindfold, but I think that is unlikely to be the case.

Even though Atlanta defeated Orlando City both times while in a 4-2-3-1, based on available personnel and recent results, I believe that the team will come out in a 3-5-2 in Inter&Co Stadium in the conference semifinal. Good things come in threes, and Orlando City’s best offensive production this season has been against three defenders, so I am going to be hoping that this continues, and in the third game against Atlanta the Lions grab the three points. Three’s company!

Well, it is a playoff game, so there are no actual points at stake, but you know what I meant.

Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to get a victory to advance to the Eastern Conference final?

Published

10 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City continues its playoff journey against Atlanta United Sunday at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions are coming off an emotional penalty shootout win over Charlotte FC in their best-of-three, first-round series. Likewise, Atlanta United stunned everyone by taking out Inter Miami to advance in its own best-of-three matchup. Now, the rivals meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

What does Orlando City need to do to get past Atlanta United to advance to the Easter Conference final?

Beat Guzan

Brad Guzan made 16 saves over Atlanta’s three matches against Inter Miami, including seven in the 3-2 win on the road in Game 3. The 40-year-old former USMNT keeper is in excellent form and is a big reason why the Five Stripes are facing Orlando City. Converting chances against Guzan will be crucial to earning a result. There have been times this season when the Lions have struggled to convert their chances. Despite that, the team has done enough offensively to get to this point. Facundo Torres, Martin Ojeda, Duncan McGuire, Ramiro Enrique, and others have contributed and will need to do so this weekend.

Cartagena is Essential

Orlando City lost twice to Atlanta United during the regular season. What is interesting, and perhaps relevant, is that Wilder Cartagena was out for both of those matches. Cartagena was shown a straight red in the match against Minnesota United prior to the first match against Atlanta way back in March. He was shown a yellow card in the match against FC Cincinnati and then served a yellow card accumulation suspension for the final match of the season against Atlanta. Fortunately for Orlando City, Cartagena will be available for the match this weekend. I’ve mentioned before the importance of Cartagena to Orlando City’s success. When he and Cesar Araujo are on the field together, the defense is simply better. Cartagena is frankly one of the better defensive midfielders in MLS. Atlanta scored five goals in the series against Miami, and Orlando will need to keep the visitors from having that kind of offensive success.

Overcome the Past

That darn international break in the middle of the playoffs is something I don’t love. More precisely, I don’t like it because Orlando City often struggles after a break. It would have been nice if Orlando City could have ridden the momentum from the penalty kick victory into the Atlanta match, but that’s not to be. Now is the time for Orlando City to break some bad habits, including turning around its historical lack of success against Atlanta, and tendency to struggle in the first match after a break. Oscar Pareja needs to have the players in the right frame of mind, and the players need to execute the plan. A full house of supporters can also make a difference. Given it’s a Sunday afternoon match, there’s no reason not to pack the house.

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

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Lion Links: 11/21/24

Marta’s chance to shine in NWSL Championship, NWSL and MLS award winners announced, 2025 SheBelieves Cup details, and more.

Published

14 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I’ve been spending most of this week plotting out some holiday shopping to make things a little less stressful for myself over the next few weeks. A big weekend filled with Orlando soccer awaits us, so make sure to get any errands or obligations out of the way sooner rather than later. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Spotlight Falls On Marta in NWSL Championship

There are plenty of storylines heading into Saturday’s NWSL Championship between the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit, including Marta’s opportunity to put an exclamation point on what has been an excellent season for the Pride. Orlando has been enjoying the fruits of its labor this season after a rebuild over the past few years that’s included plenty of change in the City Beautiful. Marta has been a constant, however, enduring some difficult seasons since joining the Pride and adapting her game She’s scored in both of the Pride’s playoff games so far and has a chance to author a storybook ending on Saturday.

Ann-Katrin Berger Named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year

NJ/NY Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was named 2024 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year, beating out the Pride’s Anna Moorhouse and Utah Royals FC’s Mandy Haught for the honor. It was Berger’s first year in the NWSL and she’s the first European player to win the award. She only conceded 16 goals across her 22 matches for Gotham this season and was a key reason behind her team’s success. I’m not too surprised that Moorhouse did not win, considering how solid the Pride’s defense was as a whole, but this won’t take anything away from a record-breaking season for her.

Wilfried Nancy Named MLS Coach of the Year

Columbus Crew Head Coach Wilfried Nancy was voted 2024 MLS Coach of the Year after a historic season in which the Crew set club records in both points and goals. The Crew also won the Leagues Cup this summer and their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup campaign included advancing past Tigres and Monterrey en route to the final. This is Nancy’s first time being named Coach of the Year and he has been a finalist for the award every year since 2021. The Frenchman received 40.02% of the vote, winning the award over Inter Miami’s Gerardo Martino and Colorado Rapids Head Coach Chris Armas.

2025 SheBelieves Cup Details Unveiled

The 10th annual SheBelieves Cup will take place next year and the tournament will return to its usual format where each of the four teams plays each other once. The United States Women’s National Team will host Japan, Colombia, and Australia in February in what should be an exciting tournament. The U.S. will take on Colombia on Feb. 20 in Houston before facing Australia in Arizona on Feb. 23 and finishing the tournament on Feb. 26 against Japan at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. These games will also be the first domestic games of 2025 for the USWNT as it prepares to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

Eric Quill Named FC Dallas Head Coach

FC Dallas announced that Eric Quill will become the team’s next head coach. Quill joins Dallas after a great year with New Mexico United that included trips to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals and USL Championship Western Conference semifinals. It’s also a reunion of sorts for Quill, as he previously coached North Texas SC and was named USL League One Coach of the Year with the club in 2019. Dallas missed out on the playoffs this season, with Peter Luccin coaching the team on an interim basis after the firing of Nico Estevez in June.

Free Kicks

  • District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser challenged Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to a bet involving this weekend’s NWSL Championship, with embarrassing lightshows on the line.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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