Despite possession dominance early on and throughout the match by Atlanta, Orlando was able to draw first blood early in the match in the 10th minute with Dom Dwyer scoring his first goal for the club since his transfer from Sporting KC.
United wasn’t able to get a goal until the 36th minute when Josef Martinez, following up a three-goal performance last Wednesday against New England, was able to get things going for Atlanta. However, Orlando would then strike right back 3 minutes later with Dwyer again notching a goal to send the Lions into the locker-room at the half.
That bang, bang trend of goals continued early on in the second half as Martinez again put one into the back of the net in the 55th much to the elation of the Atlanta faithful. Then once again, three minutes later, Dwyer sent in a cross to the box where Cyle Larin was able to head on it to send it to the back of the net to once again put Orlando City on top, this time 3-2.
Atlanta continued to dominate the possession throughout, which gave them ample opportunities to score. Then in the 69th minute it happened, as Hector Villalba sent in a cross that Josef Martinez got a right foot on and put it past Orlando City keeper Joe Bendick in the bottom right corner. This made it to consecutive matches that Martinez was able to notch hat trick performances.
The rest of the match was filled with opportunities for each team, but none would break the tie. As the final whistle blew, the fans, 70,000+ strong erupted in approval. It was evry evident that the fan support helped play a role in Atlanta being able to answer each Orlando City goal.
“We’ve been saying it for a while but the support today was even better than usual. We’re happy to play in front of a fanbase like that. “ said Atlanta manager Gerardo Martino after the match of the fans. “It’s clear that the fans have a fervent passion for soccer here — the same passion that our players have on the field. Today, we were able to come back three times from three goals down and I like that attitude from our team.””
Atlanta finished the match dominating possession 62 to 38, along with shots 17 to 10. United was also able to acquire 11 corners to just 3 for Orlando City. Despite the draw, it was an amazing chance for the league to show their growth and competition level in front of a record crowd for the MLS.
