Montreal takes the points as Orlando crashes to 7th straight loss
Orlando City suffered its seventh straight loss in MLS play losing 2-0 in front of a reported 23,498 fans on Saturday evening at Orlando City Stadium.
Interim Head Coach Bobby Murphy rolled out the same 3-4-3 formation that featured in the victory via penalties over D.C. United in the Round of 16 of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday. Amro Tarek, Lamine Sané alongside captain Jonathan Spector formed the defensive unit with Donny Toia, Uri Rosell, Sacha Kljestan and Will Johnson in midfield and Justin Meram, Dom Dwyer and Josué Colmán the attacking force.
Montreal opened the scoring in the 13th minute as they played the ball out from the back that then found Matteo Mancosu running into space on the right hand flank. The Italian cut back from the by line and level with the six yard box outside the penalty area before delivering what looked like a low cross that unfortunately hit Sané and deflected past Joe Bendik in the Lion’s goal.
The visitors sealed the points in the 84th minute when Saphir Taïder, working on the left flank, crossed low to Alejandro Silva. The midfielder controlled it neatly inside the box and passed it to Ignacio Piatti. The Impact’s leading scorer wasted no time tiptoeing his way past Bendik to put it in the back of the net. The goal was then called offside but after a quick consultation with the video assistant referee the goal was correctly awarded as the Argentine was onside.
The goal was the Designated Player’s eighth against Orlando City SC, his eighth of the season, and his third in two games. The Bleu-blanc-noir has now not conceded a goal in 252 minutes, limiting the Lions to just one shot on target, and earned a second consecutive shutout for the ninth time in team history and comes just 10 days after beating the Lions 3-0 at Stade Saputo.
After the game Orlando interim Head Coach Bobby Murphy said: “I want to apologize to the fans who came out tonight. The team selection falls on me and I chose a group that went out there and we weren’t good enough tonight.”
“The energy was not there in the first half. For the first 45 minutes, the energy wasn’t there. It was the same group of players that came out to start the second half who were much livelier. You can call it whatever you want to, energy, effort. Bottom line, whatever it was, it wasn’t good enough.”
Orlando City has now dropped to 8th place in the Eastern conference, two points below the play off zone.
“It was a great team effort,” said Impact head coach Rémi Garde. “We sacrificed ourselves for the team, and we saw how difficult it is for our opponent to put us in danger when we play like this. It’s another clean sheet, which is very important moving forward for the team’s confidence.”
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC – GK Joe Bendik, D Amro Tarek (Chris Mueller 62’), D Lamine Sané, ⓒ Jonathan Spector, M Donny Toia (PC 74’), Uri Rosell, Sacha Kljestan, Will Johnson (Scott Sutter 66’), F Josué Colmán, Dom Dwyer, Justin Meram
Substitutes Not Used: GK Earl Edwards, Jr., D Chris Schuler, M Dillon Powers, F Stéfano Pinho
Montreal Impact – GK Evan Bush, D Daniel Lovitz, Rudy Camacho, Rod Fanni, Chris Duvall (Victor Cabrera 77’), M Saphir Taider, Samuel Piette, Alejandro Silva, ⓒ Ignacio Piatti, Ken Krolicki (Shamit Shome 84’), F Matteo Mancosu (Raheem Edwards 65’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Clément Diop, D Michael Petrasso, F Anthony Jackson-Hamel
Details of the Game:
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Rainy
Date: June 23, 2018
Attendance: 23,498
