ORLANDO, FL – Orlando City SC fell at the Exploria Stadium after facing NY Red Bulls. Forward Brian White opened the scoring on the first half and the visiting side protected the scoring throughout the entire second half. Orlando City SC was close to winning the match but Robles and the posts played a fundamental role.
The first clear chance was for the visiting side from a corner kick during the twelfth minute. NY defender Amro Tarek found himself without a mark during the corner. The Egyptian-born headed the ball but goalkeeper Brian Rowe caught the ball and saved Orlando.
Two minutes later, Red Bull defender, Michael Murillo, tried with a volley from outside the box. However, the ball was caught by fans at The Wall.
During the 26th minute, fans witnessed a miraculous save by Rowe after a similar header from Tarek. This time, Tarek headed closer to the goal and Rowe went down a deflected the header with his foot.
The first opportunity for Orlando took half an hour to arrive. It came by the hands of Orlando City forward and captain, Nani. The Portuguese-born dribbled a defender on the right flank and cross the ball to his fellow forward, Tesho Akindele. The 27-year-old received inside the box and passed it out to midfielder Will Johnson who took the shot at first touch. The ball left slightly wide and fans went crazy thinking Johnson had scored the first one.
However, just a minute later, NY midfielder Alejandro Romero Gamarra spotted his fellow teammate and forward, Brian White, making a run. The midfielder made a wonderful pass and White just pushed the ball into the net. Despite Rowe’s deflection, the ball still went in. The play was shortly revised by the referee for a possible offside by White.
In the 36th minute, the game saw another great chance by the visiting side. Midfielder Derrick Etienne shot a volley from outside the box that was saved by Rowe.
Orlando City had their second chance one minute later thanks to a shot from Nani from the right flank. The veteran’s shot went slightly wide from goalkeeper Luis Robles’ goal.
The Lions had the first clear chance from the second half at fifty-one minute. Akindele received the ball inside the box, turned and shot in a second. However, NY’s captain Robles showed his reflexes sending the ball to a corner kick.
Orlando’s midfielder, Carlos Ascues, was close to tying the match at the 60th minute. Defender João Moutinho sent a cross which was volleyed by the Peruvian international. The ball impacted the top bar and left the entire stadium wishing it had gone slightly lower.
Orlando City SC head coach, James O’Connor, intentions were clear after subbing in midfielder Sacha Kljestan and forward Robinho at the same time. Ascues and forward Chris Mueller were the ones sacrificed. However, Nani had to be substituted for forward Santiago Patiño after catching an injury.
The home side kept knocking on the door searching for the goal to tie the game. This time, at the 70th minute, Akindele made a beautiful shot that impacted the top bar. Even though Robles dove to his left, he still couldn’t reach the ball.
Seven minutes later, another opportunity missed by Orlando. This time Kljestan shot to the right post and followed the ball up to shot again. However, Robles made a great save from the ground. Patiño had the opportunity to net the ball after the second rebound, but the vising defenders cleared the ball. Fans could not believe another post and another opportunity missed.
The last chance for Orlando came at the 87th minute from midfielder Will Johnson. The Canadian shot from outside of the box but Robles went down and deflected the chance.
The match ended with Orlando playing with ten men on NY’s territory. However, the visiting side locked themselves down and secured three points on the road.
The match registered a total of eighteen shots (four on target) and 62% of ball possession for Orlando City SC. On the other hand, NY Red Bulls made thirteen shots (five on target) and had 38% of ball possession.
Orlando City SC starting line-up: [G] Brian Rowe; [D] Ruan, Lamine Sané, Robin Jansson, Joāo Moutinho; [M] Carlos Ascues, Sebastián Méndez, Will Johnson; [F] Chris Mueller, Tesho Akindele, Nani ©.
New York Red Bulls started with: [G] Luis Robles ©; [D] Michael Murillo, Aaron Long, Amro Tarek, Tim Parker; [M] Sean Davis, Cristian Cásseres Jr.; Derrick Etienne, Alejandro Romero Gamarra, Daniel Royer; [F] Brian White.
For the next fixture, Orlando City SC will hit the road to face the New England Revolution at the Gillette Stadium on July 27th, 2019. Meanwhile, New York Red Bulls will host Columbus Crew SC at the Red Bull Arena on July 27th, 2019.
Written by Rafael Morazzani
