Soccer Fever hits Orlando as the Lions Earn 1-1 Draw with New York
In front of a packed house of 62,510 soccer crazy fans, Orlando City Soccer battled to a well deserved draw against New York City this afternoon.
The attendance, the second largest for an inaugural MLS match, was the largest ever for a soccer game at the Orlando Citrus Bowl, surpassing previous crowds even during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
The game started well for Orlando as they created several chances in the opening 45 minutes. Seb Hines headed wide in the first minute and Kaká shot wide in the 11th. Sandwiched in between was a good chance for New York as striker Adam Nemec was left unmarked but the best he could do was head wide of the target. Hines then had the ball in the net in the 13th minute but Referee Kelly had already blown his whistle for an infringement on Josh Saunders in the New York goal as he went to catch a cross. The keeper fell badly and cracked his head against the upright causing a slight delay in proceedings.
Orlando continued to the look the better side as the half wore on and Rafael Ramos forced a good save from Saunders as the keeper pushed the ball away for a corner in the 25th minute. The clearest chance of the first half came about in the 37th minute as Kevin Molino neatly set up Kaká who hit a thunderous swirling drive from around 25 yards that the New York keeper did well to push away.
The first half came to a conclusion and it was Orlando City head coach Adrian Heath who went into the locker room the more satisfied.
The second half saw the same pattern emerge as Molino (pictured above) found some room to send a snap shot heading to the bottom left corner in the 47th minute. Saunders responded superbly though just finger tipping the ball wide. Amobi Okugo then found himself a touch unfortunate as his powerful header from the resulting corner was cleared off the line by New York’s Ned Grabavoy (pictured below). Orlando continued to create space and work openings and the next chance came from a free kick on the 60th minute mark. A neat free kick involving a Kaká back flick saw Rivas blast his left footed free kick just wide of the post.
The game then changed in the 61st minute as New York introduced Khiry Shelton for Mehdo Ballouchy and he had an almost instant effect in changing the tide as New York then enjoyed their best spell of possession. Shelton was unfortunate to see his 67th minute shot, from a David Villa through ball, go agonizingly wide of the far post. A minute later Nemec threatened the Orlando goal but his effort sailed over the bar. New York continued to press and a neat through ball from Mix Diskeraud found Shelton who found a yard of space before Brek Shea managed to shield the ball away for a New York corner.
The subsequent 75th minute corner proved vital though as Villa found Grabavoy around the six yard box. Grabavoy then neatly turned it to Diskeraud on the edge of the penalty box. He then relayed the ball back to Villa who promptly gave it him back as Orlando completely switched off with three players appealing for an imaginary offside. Diskeraud needed no further invitation and curled a superb finish past Donovon Ricketts left hand and just inside the post. 1-0 New York.
The game became even more difficult for Orlando in the 83rd minute as Aurélien Collin was somewhat harshly sent off for a reckless challenge on David Villa with seven minutes remaining in the match. The Frenchman went in to a tackle with one boot slightly high and caught Villa on the shin. Villa went down as if pole axed but soon recovered after seeing his opponent receive the red. Villa’s subsequent free kick then went wide of the right hand post.
It seemed it wasn’t to be Orlando’s day but the big moment of the match was still arrive. Orlando City midfielder Okugo drew a foul near the top of the 18 yard box to set up the free kick into injury time. Kaká stood over the ball with the expectation of a city on his shoulders. He strode up to the ball and the rest will go down in Orlando’s folklore as he saw his curling shot deflect off of Jeb Brovsky’s chest and slowly fall into the net leaving Saunders stranded. The stadium erupted.
After the game Adrian Heath, Orlando City’s Head Coach remarked: “I didn’t want the day to end on a sour note, because it was too good a day to end like that. I’m extremely proud of everyone connected with the football club today. The staff, the players, not the least of all the supporters, who I thought were absolutely incredible. It was something to see before the game when we came out, and something I’ll remember for an awful long time.”
Orlando City now faces Houston Dynamo away on Friday, March 13. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET. Orlando’s next home game is against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at the Orlando Citrus Bowl on March 21 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC – GK Donovan Ricketts, D Rafael Ramos, Aurélien Collin, Seb Hines, Brek Shea, M Kevin Molino, Cristian Higuita, Kaká, Amobi Okugo, Lewis Neal (Bryan Róchez 80’), F Carlos Rivas (Sean St. Ledger 90’)
New York City FC – GK Josh Saunders, D Josh Williams, Jason Hernandez, Chris Wingert, Jeb Brovsky, M Mehdi Ballouchy (Khiry Shelton 61’), Mix Diskerud (Sebastian Velasquez 87’), David Villa, Ned Grabavoy, Andrew Jacobson, F Adam Nemec (Javier Calle 89’)
Disciplinary Summary:
ORL – Brek Shea (Caution) 28’
ORL – Kevin Molino (Caution) 40’
NYC – Mehdi Ballouchy (Caution) 41’
NYC – Jason Hernandez (Caution) 53’
ORL – Jeb Brovksy (Caution) 60’
ORL – Crisitan Higuita (Caution) 77’
ORL – Aurélien Collin (Red Card) 83’
Statistics
Shots:
ORL – 15
NYC – 8
Fouls:
ORL – 14
NYC – 17
Offside:
ORL – 6
NYC – 1
Corners:
ORL – 6
NYC – 1
More photos from the game at www.FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
