ORLANDO, Fla. (September 17, 2016) ā In its first match back from a two game, coast-to-coast road trip, Orlando City SC (7-9-13, 34 points) controlled the run of play and dominated scoring chances against Columbus Crew SC (6-11-11, 29 points), but ultimately fell 4-1. Cyle Larin scored his 14th goal of the season, ending Columbusā bid for a shutout.
āThereās going to be nights where things donāt particularly go your way. Even in the first half we had several really good looks at goal. If one of those goes our way, maybe weāre getting a little bit of momentum and continuing to catch somewhat of a positive result,ā Lions Head Coach Jason Kreis said. āIām pleased with the way the team responded in the second half. It wouldāve been very easy to close up shop and everybody rest themselves for next week and they didnāt do that. They pushed on and fought. I think we can all be proud of that.ā
Columbus got out to an early lead in the sixth minute when Ethan Finlay got on the end of Ola Kamaraās through ball. The two connected twice more, first in the 44th minute when Finlay found Kamara and again in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
The Lions pushed hard to earn points in front of over 30,000 purple clad fans and out-chanced Crew SC by a wide margin. City controlled over 55 percent of possession and outshot Columbus 20-8 while completing nearly 150 passes in the attacking third.
Larin got the Lions on the board in the 79th minute when he ripped a shot from distance into the back of the net. Servando Carrasco held stopped a Columbus clearance as the Lions out on steady pressure and passed up to Larin. The young Canadian turned and fired a right-footed shot that flew past Columbus goalkeeper Steve Clark.
The match featured the return of forward Pedro Ribeiro to the 18-man lineup after the Brazilian underwent back surgery this summer. Joining him was right back Rafael Ramos, who worked his way back from a hamstring injury. Ramos played two matches with Orlando City B in August to regain match fitness.
It also saw midfielder Tony Rocha make his second MLS start. The 22-year-old played well in the first half, keeping several attacking spells alive while displaying strong defensive prowess in the holding midfield. Left back Mikey Ambrose entered the match in the second half and immediately made himself a threat going forward. The two were signed to MLS contracts from OCB on Aug. 4.
The Lions head to Washington, D.C. for a critical match against D.C. United on Sunday, Sept. 24. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET. City then visits Toronto FC on Wednesday, Sept. 28 before returning to Camping World Stadium to host the Montreal Impact on Sunday, Oct. 2. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
First Half
6ā Joe Bendik lands a powerful punch on a Columbus corner delivery for the clearance.
6ā Ethan Finlay taps home a pass from Ola Kamara for the opening goal.
9ā Kevin Molino lofts a ball for Cyle Larin, who runs onto it down the right wing and centers the ball for a corner kick.
12ā MatĆas PĆ©rez GarcĆa flips the play and gets it to KakĆ” on the left wing. The Brazilian dribbles into the box and curls a shot just wide of the far post.
13ā PĆ©rez GarcĆa drills a shot from 25 yards out that Steve Clark catches.
18ā Molino fires a right-footed shot from distance that nearly bounces its way to the far post. Larin quickly closes in on Clark for the rebound.
21ā Bendik quickly charges out to swallow a Columbus through ball on the edge of the area.
22ā Tommy Redding heroically dives in front of a cross through the box to clear it away for a corner before Ola Kamara can tap it home.
22ā Seb Hines inadvertently knocks a corner kick into his own goal.
30ā Kevin Alston lofts a ball into the box that Molino acrobatically flicks over the target.
37ā KakĆ” gets a pass from Molino and one-touches a header to Seb Hines, whose header is caught by Clark.
38ā Bendik makes a good save on a powerful shot from Mohammed Saeid from inside the box.
38ā KakĆ” flicks a ball to Perez Garcia on the rush. The Argentinian rips a shot that is partially blocked on its way to goal.
42ā Perez Garcia drives a left-footed corner into the box for Hines but Clark snatches it out of the air.
44ā Kamara and Finlay connect again to make it 3-0.
45ā After zero minutes of added time, the referee ends the first half. Orlando City 0, Columbus Crew 3.
Second Half:
46ā Mikey Ambrose and Carlos Rivas enter the match in place of Luke Boden and Tony Rocha, respectively.
46ā Alston drills a cross into the box that is barely out of the reach of Rivas.
50ā PĆ©rez GarcĆa drives another corner to Hines, whose header is blocked in front. Appeals for a handball are made but the referee rules play on.
60ā PĆ©rez GarcĆa finds KakĆ” in the box. The Brazilian quickly fires a shot that forces Clark into a diving save.
62ā Rivas dribbles into the final third and rips a left-footed shot that goes wide of the goal.
63ā PĆ©rez GarcĆa floats a free kick from the right wing in for Hines, whose header grazes the post.
64ā Larin catches up to a long ball on the end line and passes back across the face of goal for a streaking Rivas but the ball is just out of his reach.
68ā Brek Shea enters the match in place of PĆ©rez GarcĆa.
70ā KakĆ” wins a battle for a loose ball in the box, drives to goal and nearly chips it over Clark.
74ā Shea does well on the right wing to earn another corner.
76ā Rivas drives an in-swinging corner kick to the far post where Kevin Alston floats a header over the bar.
77ā Former Lion Corey Ashe enters the match for Columbus in place of Hector Jimenez.
79ā Larin curls a shot to the near post after Servando Carrasco does well to recover a loose ball. Carrasco works it up to Larin, who turns and fires a shot past Clark.
84ā Rivas fires a strike just over the bar.
90 +5ā Kamara chips it past to make it 4-1.
90 +6ā After six minutes of added time, the referee indicates the end of the match. Orlando City 1 Columbus Crew 4.
Scoring Summary:
CLB - Ethan Finlay (Ola Kamara) 6ā
CLB - Seb Hines (Own Goal) 22ā
CLB - Ola Kamara (Ethan Finlay) 44ā
ORL - Cyle Larin (Servando Carrasco) 79ā
CLB - Ola Kamara (Ethan Finlay) 90 (+5)ā
Misconduct Summary:
ORL - Carlos Rivas (Yellow Card) 49ā
ORL - MatĆas PĆ©rez GarcĆa (Yellow Card) 57ā
ORL - Mikey Ambrose (Yellow Card) 60ā
CLB - Gaston Sauro (Yellow Card) 62ā
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Joe Bendik, D Luke Boden (Mikey Ambrose 46ā), Tommy Redding, Seb Hines, Kevin Alston, M Tony Rocha (Carlos Rivas 46ā), Servando Carrasco, MatĆas PĆ©rez GarcĆa (Brek Shea 68ā), Kevin Molino, F KakĆ”, Cyle Larin
Substitutes Not Used: GK Earl Edwards Jr., D Rafael Ramos, M Pedro Ribeiro, F JĆŗlio Baptista
Columbus Crew SC - GK Steve Clark, D Hector Jimenez (Corey Ashe 77ā), Gaston Sauro, Michael Parkhurst, Harrison Afful, M Mohammed Saeid, Nicolai Naess (Rodrigo Saravia 93ā) Dilly Duka (Adam Jahn 68ā), Ethan Finlay, Justin Meram, F Ola Kamara
Substitutes Not Used: GK Brad Stuver, D Chad Barson, Waylon Francis, Cristian Martinez
Details of the Game:
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Cloudy
Date: September 17, 2016
Attendance: 30,218
Stats:
Possession:
ORL - 55.2 %
CLB - 44.8 %
Shots:
ORL - 20
CLB - 8
Saves:
ORL - 1
CLB - 7
Fouls:
ORL - 7
CLB - 11
Corners:
ORL - 7
CLB - 3