A dominant second half lifted Orlando City to a 4-1 win over Charlotte FC at Inter&Co Stadium tonight, powered by a Martin Ojeda brace. The Lions (2-6-1, 7 points) played a solid first half, but the second half was the club\u2019s best of the year so far, as Orlando blasted the Eastern Conference\u2019s third-best team entering the match. Luis Otavio and Ignacio Gomez each added their first MLS goal as the Lions\u2019 previously sleepy offense exploded.<\/p>\n
Morrison Agyemang scored the lone goal for Charlotte (4-3-2, 14 points). <\/p>\n
\u201cToday, we had eight players injured out,\u201d Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said \u201cAnd I think this is our way. This is our identity. This is who we are. Again, we didn\u2019t win anything today. We didn\u2019t lose anything past games. This (season) is long. The more time we have, the better we can do things on and off the field. But in this industry, and in life in general, it\u2019s about time. So, every time we have one more session, every time we have one more game, we should be developing our team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perelman\u2019s lineup featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, Iago, and Zakaria Taifi. Braian Ojeda and Otavio started in central midfield with Ivan Angulo and Tiago on the wings with Martin Ojeda and Justin Ellis leading the attack. Tyrese Spicer missed the match due to illness.<\/p>\n
Tonight\u2019s offensive explosion could hardly have been less expected. The Lions entered with one of the worst attacks in MLS, scoring just six times in the first eight matches before unloading four on Charlotte in one game and three of those in one half. The teams played more or less evenly in the first half before the Lions charged out of the break to seize control of the game.<\/p>\n
The first 15 minutes of the match were cagey, with the two sides feeling each other out but not producing much in the final third. Ellis\u2019 spinning shot well off frame in the 12th minute was Orlando\u2019s first sight of goal, but not much of one.<\/p>\n
Charlotte\u2019s first look was a good one in the 18th minute, when Ashley Westwood fired just over the bar on the recycle of a corner kick.<\/p>\n
The Lions opened the scoring three minutes after Westwood fizzed his shot over the bar. Tiago sent in a great ball to Taifi from left to right. The Homegrown fullback attempted a volley shot but mishit it badly, sending it the other direction where Otavio collectied it outside the box. With no Charlotte player closing him down, the Brazilian took an inside-out shot that swerved inside the left post to make it 1-0. It was his first goal as a Lion.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was improvisation,\u201d Otavio said. \u201cIt was the way the ball came. Instincts took over, and I hope to do that a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aside from a Pep Biel chip off target in the 28th minute, not much happened after the goal for the game\u2019s next 10 minutes, but a foul on Braian Ojeda in the 32nd minute set up the visitors with a dangerous free kick just above the penalty area on the right. Biel sent a good back-post ball to Morrison, who discarded Braian Ojeda and headed in to make it 1-1 in the 33rd minute.<\/p>\n
The Lions had a chance to snatch that goal right back two minutes later on a good attacking move. Taifi ended up with the ball on the right with Tiago racing toward the left post. Taifi opted to shoot but didn\u2019t make good contact on the shot, allowing Kristijan Kahlina to make the save. <\/p>\n
The teams went to the break even at a goal apiece.<\/p>\n
Charlotte had the halftime advantage in possession (52.1%-47.9%), shots (8-6), and passing accuracy (89.8%-86.6%), while each team fired two shots on target and earned two corners.<\/p>\n
Orlando\u2019s second-half dominance started early, as Martin Ojeda scored just four minutes after the restart. Ellis took a pass from Tiago on the left, but he didn\u2019t have a path to goal. He spotted Ojeda\u2019s run and fed a great pass that Ojeda smashed into the upper right corner with his first touch in the 49th minute to make it 2-1. Ellis\u2019 assist was his first MLS goal contribution.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a special moment for me,\u201d Ellis said about his first assist. \u201cI think that play kind of sums my play style up, like I\u2019m a striker by trade, but you know, I like to get my teammates involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like Orlando late in the first half, Charlotte had a chance to hit back quickly in the second. Rodolfo Aloko got down the right channel in the 54th minute and sent a wicked shot toward the near post but his attempt hit the outside netting.<\/p>\n
The Lions should have extended the lead a minute later. Martin Ojeda sent a perfect pass through the defense for Angulo\u2019s run, but the Colombian made a mess of his shot, firing it well wide of the right post. <\/p>\n
Moments later, the Lions extended the lead anyway. A good switch of play found Taifi in behind on the right side. Harry Toffolo tripped up the young fullback from behind, giving up a free kick in nearly the same place from which Charlotte had scored earlier. Both Ojedas stood over the ball, but it was Martin who smashed a low, hard, curling shot just inside the right post to make it 3-1 in the 61st minute. He curled the shot around Charlotte\u2019s wall into a space that Iago had just vacated, giving Kahlina no chance to see it or stop it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal of \u2018Tincho,\u2019 the third goal, was crucial in the game, in my opinion, and I\u2019m so happy for him, because he\u2019s our DP, our number 10,\u201d Perelman said. \u201cHe worked really hard, so humble. It\u2019s amazing for our locker room, that guy, and he was able to appear in the moment we needed him. If you read the game as a story, that\u2019s the moment of the story that the game changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlotte again tried to hit back quickly, creating some chaos in Orlando\u2019s penalty area. The trouble started on Orlando\u2019s defensive right with a good cross into the area. Crepeau palmed it away but couldn\u2019t control the rebound, which fell to Biel in the box. Tiago deflected his shot and the ball cycled to Aloko, who was offside on the play, ending the threat.<\/p>\n
Martin Ojeda\u2019s best chance to complete his hat trick came in the 70th minute when Taifi collected the ball on the right and sent the ball to the back side. Ojeda, however, did not make good contact with his shot, sending it wide. Tiago then fired a weak shot from distance at Kahlina a minute later.<\/p>\n
Charlotte made multiple attacking substitutions trying to find a way back into the game late. Crepeau\u2019s teammates mostly kept him from facing much danger, but the Canadian international did well to track a back post header from Archie Goodwin in the 81st minute. Five minutes later, Wilfried Zaha sent a shot onto the roof of the net that took a slight deflection. Charlotte couldn\u2019t pay off the ensuing corner.<\/p>\n
The Lions put the game to bed just after that Charlotte set piece. Second-half sub Gomez got on the ball in the middle of the pitch and sent it to Angulo on his left, continuing his run. Angulo\u2019s return pass sent the youngster in behind the Charlotte back line and Gomez finished like a veteran, scoring his first MLS goal in the 87th minute to kill the match.<\/p>\n
Crepeau made one more save before the game concluded, doing well to move to his right and deny Kerwin Vargas\u2019 free kick in stoppage time at the post. Moments later, the whistle blew on Orlando City\u2019s second win of the season.<\/p>\n
Charlotte finished with the edge in possession (52.2%-47.8%), shots (16-13), corners (4-2), and passing accuracy (90%-86.5%). The Lions put more shots on target (6-5).<\/p>\n
\u201cHappy for the result, and happy for everyone in our club \u2014 fans, owners, managers, staff and the players, of course, because the effort the players did was amazing,\u201d Perelman said. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s the same message. We\u2019re working. The team is growing. The players are doing an amazing effort. And I think we didn\u2019t win the league today and we didn\u2019t lose the league (three) days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously we haven\u2019t been doing the best, but, you know, we always see every game as a new opportunity just get three points,\u201d Ellis said. \u201cAnd right now we don\u2019t have a lot of time to train, so just playing these games is good for us, you know? So, we\u2019re still improving. We\u2019re still getting where we want to be, where we\u2019re going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has to be one of the best games we\u2019ve played so far,\u201d Otavio added. \u201cIt just shows the depth, the strength, and the determination of the team, and we hope to continue this moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lions have another quick turnaround with a road match at D.C. United coming up Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A dominant second half lifted Orlando City to a 4-1 win over Charlotte FC at Inter&Co Stadium tonight,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242789,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":{"0":"post-242788","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-orlando","9":"tag-orlando-headlines","10":"tag-orlando-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}