Orlando City flew into its final six-game stretch of the postseason push with a 1-0 win on Saturday night at FC Cincinnati, reinforcing the team’s position in the top layer of the Eastern Conference.
Júnior Urso thundered into the match to power the Lions. The midfielder tested a low, skipping shot toward the corner of the Cincinnati goal once, then buried the same shot in the 13th minute to give Orlando City an early lead.
The rest of the match wasn’t quite as dominant for the Lions. Cincinnati fought back with a fire on their home pitch, nearly earning a penalty kick in the final minute of stoppage time. But Orlando City held off the lowest-ranked team in the league to secure a second straight victory.
The Lions stumbled in the standings during a midseason slump, but Saturday’s victory set the team straight as it chases a second-straight postseason berth. Currently holding the fourth spot on the Eastern Conference table, the Lions (12-8-9, 45) are on pace to compete for one of the top three spots in the conference as they finish the regular season.
“Today we put our heart on the field,” Urso said. “We got, I think, the confidence back. We have to try everything. Tonight we got the three points, which is so important for us.”
Striker Tesho Akindele nearly doubled the Lions’ lead in the second half, splitting two defenders to strike a shot from long distance. The ball glanced off the crossbar and appeared to cross the goal line, but the referees did not utilize VAR to check for a potential goal.
Orlando City coach Oscar Pareja expressed frustration with the call, which he believed should have awarded Akindele the goal.
“I thought we could have had that second goal of Tesho’s,” Pareja said. “I cannot understand why it wasn’t seen. … I didn’t have the chance to see the ref. Immediately from upstairs, they sent us a message that it was in. We trust a lot in our referees. Obviously, something happened that we have not seen and we have to respect that.”
Only two days after facing Lionel Messi in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers, keeper Pedro Gallese led the Lions to their first clean sheet in nearly three months. The Lions’ last shutout came on Aug. 27 in a scoreless draw against Inter Miami.
The keeper made three saves to fend off an energetic Cincinnati attack, saving a point-blank sitter from Geoff Cameron in the first half.
Gallese received praise after the game for his commitment to the team after starting a game less than 24 hours after arriving in Cincinnati directly off a flight from Peru.
“He arrived last night very late. In our conversation this morning, the first thing he said is that he wanted at any cost to play tonight,” Pareja said. “That showed his commitment as a great professional. That brings those moments. He kept us in the game in the first half.”
Striker Alexandre Pato traveled to Cincinnati and made the bench for the first time in months after suffering an injury in the season opener. The Brazilian star struggled to return to the pitch, first after knee surgery, than with a series of undisclosed knocks.
Although he didn’t make an appearance in the match, Pato’s inclusion was a positive sign for the Lions as they aim to increase scoring to end the season.
The Lions dive right back into action at home this week with a Wednesday match against Montreal and a Sunday match against New England.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Julia Poe at jpoe@orlandosentinel.com.
