It was a beautiful night for soccer at Inter&Co Stadium as Orlando City faced the Vancouver Whitecaps in their last home game of the season. El Profe Oscar Pareja included Dagur Dan Thorhallson, Adrian Marin, and Nico Rodriguez in the starting lineup because Brekalo, Pasalic, and Alex Freeman were unavailable due to international duty with their respective national teams.
In the first half, the game was very choppy, with both teams creating chances, but Orlando City was more incisive in attacking, with Nico Rodriguez really coming alive in the beginning minutes of the game. In the 14th minute, a duel with one of Vancouver’s attackers caused Robin Jansson to go down with a sharp pain in his knee. Jansson was unable to continue, and Pareja was forced to change his 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2. Duncan McGuire was substituted in, and Vancouver launched an aggressive attack, trying to score their first goal of the evening. Orlando’s backline now was Schlegel, Smith, and Marin, with Dagur Dan and Ivan Angulo as wingbacks.
In the 24th minute, Martin Ojeda went on the counter and found Duncan McGuire, who then assisted Dagur Dan for Orlando’s first one of the evening. The injury to Captain Robin Jansson gave the lions a boost of momentum.
In the 35th minute, Vancouver came close to scoring; Emmanuel Sabbi’s (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) right-footed shot from the center of the box missed to the right. Édier Ocampo provided assistance.
Martin Ojeda’s outstanding transition play caught Luis Muriel offside in the 40th minute. Orlando City was playing with a heavy, resilient mindset; their momentum was not slowing down. As Vancouver pressed on them, they kept pushing back. Great first half for Nico Rodriguez, Martin Ojeda, Dagur Dan, and Pedro Gallese. El Pulpo had three key saves in the first half and even deflected a shot from the outstanding Thomas Muller. Orlando’s backline demonstrated outstanding tactical adaptability following Jansson’s exit. The ref gave 4 minutes of stoppage time. Orlando City ended the first half being one goal up.
According to the shot chart, Orlando in the first half had three shots on goal compared to Vancouver’s 8. They were effective at finishing the attacking play on their first goal and excellent defensively, especially at containing Thomas Mueller. Let’s hope this performance continues into the second half; these three points are vital for the Lions and how the playoffs look for them.
In the second half, right in the 49th minute, Adrian Marin came with a giant block after a beautiful but dangerous Mueller cross. Orlando City faced significant challenges. Vancouver came into the second half ready to score the equalizer; fortunately for the Lions, the backline was superb, containing Mueller and company.
In the 60th minute, there was a lot of tension between Berhalter and Ivan Angulo, who’s had a phenomenal game defensively as a wingback. In the first incident, Berhalter head-butted Angulo, but the referee did not issue a yellow card; in a second confrontation, he shoved the Colombian to the ground, and once again, the referee took no action. Orlando won back-to-back free kicks. It was all Vancouver after that; they dominated the most accurate attacking transition plays, and their momentum was rising. A few minutes later, Pedro Gallese made outstanding saves for the Lions, sealing the victory for El Pulpo. The result leads me to question why his contract has not been renewed yet. Does the front office want him to be snatched by another MLS team? Put some respect on his name.
In the 73rd minute, Muriel provided a magical through pass to Martin Ojeda, and the Argentinean missed horribly. This was the clearest chance they had since the half started.
In the 80th minute, Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) hits the left post with a right-footed shot from the center of the box. Then, Nelson Pierre (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) attempts from very close range to the bottom right corner and scores off a Kyle Smith clearance. After a VAR review for a potential handball, it was a goal. As the saying goes, if you do not score goals, your rival team scores on you. It was bound to happen due to the Whitecaps’ newfound momentum and Orlando’s tired legs.
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