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Tesho-Mania is runnin’ wild! Tesho Akindele gave Orlando City the win against NYCFC at Exploria Stadium. Junior Urso, Maxi Moralez and Tesho scored and Orlando, and the lions remain 5th in the east.
In the first half, Orlando City went out for the kill. Wilder Cartagena had the first shot from the game in the 2nd minute. In the 7th minute, Orlando City scored their first goal. Torres provided a phenomenal pass to Junior Urso and the Brazilian was able to throw a rocket past Sean Johnson. Urso’s goal was called out for a possible offside and went to VAR review. After VAR review, Orlando City was awarded the lead and Exploria went off.
After Orlando scored, the rain came and poured down on Exploria Stadium, making the game extremely choppy and neither squad had any relevant chances in attack. In the 12th minute NYCFC’s Gabriel Pereira had an important free kick that went straight to Gallese’s hands. In the 29th minute, Urso went for a shot from distance and Sean Johnson came up big with the save. Minutes later, Wilder Cartagena attempted a shot of his own but NYCFC’s backline was able to clear the danger.
In the second half, NYCFC started to gain momentum but still there were no clear chances in attack for the pigeons. Antonio Carlos stepped on Nicolas Acevedo and the ref immediately show the red to the Brazilian. The play went into VAR review and it was determined that there was no clear intent. The decision was overturned from red to yellow card. In the 53rd minute, NYCFC stunned Exploria Stadium. Mulraney turned over the ball, Andrade was able to pass the ball to Moralez, which caught Orlando’s backline off guard and hit a phenomenal shot past Gallese to level the score 1-1.
Coach Oscar Pareja, made the right substitutions and the subs made an immediate impact in the game. Ivan Angulo, Andres Perea, Tesho Akindele, Cesar Araujo and Kyle Smith. Fresh legs came in, energy and stamina was restored. Cesar Araujo made quite an impact. The Lions found the momentum they deserved throughout the second half and started creating chances.
In the 92nd minute, Ivan Angulo setup a beautiful cross off a corner kick, that found Tesho Akindele, who flicked his header towards the far post and scored the late game winner for the lions. Exploria erupted. Orlando City won 2-1 against NYCFC. It was Tesho’s second game winner in a row.
Tesho Akindele scored his second goal of the season in as many matches, good for his second-game winner and his 20th goal in all competitions as a Lion. The Lions’ forward now sits with four goals against NYCFC for the Club, the most by any current City player. Júnior Urso scored his fifth goal of the year in the match. Facundo Torres tallied his ninth assist of the campaign, just one shy of Mauricio Pereyra for the team lead.
Coach Oscar Pareja:
“I thought it was a great victory, well deserved by our players. I think the effort they had during the whole game today showed the character that they have brought in these last three games, so we are very proud. The first half showed a lot of courage with the rain, the fans that supported us through that rain, too. It was difficult to play, but I think we showed a lot of personality, too. We came out winning the half and in the second half New York came out with some ideas that complicated us and they took the middle of the field, but after their goal our reaction, especially with the players that came in, was phenomenal. They lifted us, they took the team on their shoulders and gave us that energy that we needed and more than the energy, the ideas, and we ended up being the best team. That feeling that you’re going to score here at Exploria [Stadium] again in front of our fans is a great feeling, so we’re very happy.”
Orlando City will face Seattle Sounders tomorrow at Exploria Stadium. See you all there. Vamos Orlando!
