Final score 1-1 as teams trade second half goals – The Mane Land

Welcome to your match thread and preview for Saturday night’s matchup between Orlando City (9-9-6, 33 points) and New York City FC (11-9-4, 37 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). This is the second and final scheduled meeting between the Lions and Pigeons this season after the teams met in the Bronx a few weeks ago.

Here’s what you need to know before the match.

History

The Lions are 7-9-7 in 23 meetings with NYCFC in the all-time series in MLS play, and 7-9-9 including one playoff game and one US Open Cup meeting (remember, games that go to penalty shootouts in knockout competitions officially count as draws), so the series between the two expansion teams dating back to 2015 has proven to be a competitive one. Orlando is 4-2-5 in regular-season home games in the all-time series and 4-2-7 at home in all competitions. Orlando City also defeated NYCFC in the Greater Orlando area in the 2020 MLS is Back Tournament, albeit away from the Lions’ home stadium.

The Lions and Pigeons met a few weeks ago on June 28 at Yankee Stadium, with New York City FC winning 4-2. An early goal from Santiago Rodriguez opened the scoring, but things went horribly wrong after a clearly offside Malachi Jones collided with Orlando goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar. Both players left the game, each undergoing season-ending surgery to repair broken tibias and fibulas. Javier Otero made his MLS goalkeeping debut off the bench, and the Lions conceded two goals in first-half injury time to turn a tight game out of control. Orlando scored a pair of goals through Dagur Dan Thorhallsson and Duncan McGuire, but Mounsef Bakrar sealed the game late in the game for NYCFC.

The teams met on September 20, 2023 at Citi Field, a different baseball stadium than NYCFC’s usual home. The Pigeons were rude hosts, winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Bakrar and Talles Magno. That snapped Orlando’s five-game unbeaten streak, but the Lions still clinched a playoff spot that day thanks to other league results.

These teams also met last year in Orlando on May 17, and with the Lions poised for a 1-0 victory, NYCFC managed to secure a late 1-1 draw with Gabriel Segal scoring out of nowhere in the 89th minute. Ercan Kara scored early for Orlando City, but the Lions squandered their chances the rest of the way.

The teams faced off at Red Bull Arena (one of NYCFC’s many home games) on October 2, 2022, with the Pigeons overcoming a 1-0 halftime deficit caused by Facundo Torres. The “hosts” got second-half goals from Alex Callens and Magno to complete the comeback and win, 2-1. Earlier this year at Exploria Stadium, the Lions got a last-minute goal from Tesho Akindele to stun NYCFC when Orlando City won 2-1 on August 28, 2022. Junior Urso and Maxi Moralez had scored early in the first and second half respectively, leading to Akindele’s dramatic late winner.

Orlando City was riding a five-game unbeaten streak into the series (1-0-4) that was completely shattered on July 25, 2021, in a 5-0 loss to OCSC at Yankee Stadium. The Lions started with a makeshift lineup and it showed, as the Pigeons got goals from Jesus Medina, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, Moralez, Malte Amundsen and Valentin Castellanos. Why the makeshift lineup? That game was sandwiched between home games against Philadelphia and Atlanta, with quick turnarounds for each. The strategy paid off, as Orlando won the other two games in that nine-day span.

The teams met on May 8, 2021 in Orlando and drew 1-1. Nani hit a golazo in the second half to put the Lions ahead, but Joao Moutinho fouled Tajouri-Shradi in the penalty area and Castellanos scored from the penalty spot to equalize.

The final meeting of the 2020 season came in the postseason, and things got weird. Orlando City went on to win after a 1-1 tie in the postseason on Nov. 21, 2020. Nani put Orlando ahead from the penalty spot, only to see Maxime Chanot equalize on a set-piece. Overtime couldn’t decide the matter, so it went to penalties, with the Lions advancing thanks to a save from defender Rodrigo Schlegel — after goalkeeper Pedro Gallese was sent off with a second yellow card for leaving his goal line too early. Benji Michel’s shot made the difference in the shootout. (Just click on the link above in this paragraph and relive that madness.)

The Lions and Pigeons concluded the 2020 season series on October 14 at Exploria Stadium with a 1–1 draw. Chris Mueller opened the scoring, but Keaton Parks equalized just before halftime. The first meeting of 2020 also came in Central Florida at the MLS is Back Tournament on July 14, when Mueller’s brace and a late goal from Akindele led Orlando to a 3–1 victory. Medina scored for NYCFC. The win snapped Orlando City’s 0–4–3 streak in the previous seven competitive meetings with the Pigeons. The last game in that series without a win against NYCFC was a 1–1 draw, with the Lions subsequently knocking NYCFC out of the US Open Cup in a penalty shootout on July 10, 2019. That night is immortalized for The Wall’s performance and Adam Grinwis’ heroics in goal.

The teams drew in both of their 2019 regular-season meetings, 1–1 on April 27 at Yankee Stadium and 2–2 on Opening Day at Exploria Stadium. NYCFC won all three meetings in a dismal regular-season series in 2018. The Lions went 2–1–0 against New York City FC in 2017, including a win to christen the stadium now known as Exploria with Cyle Larin scoring the lone goal in a 1–0 OCSC victory. Orlando was 3–1–2 in its first six meetings with NYCFC in 2015 and 2016.

Match overview

Orlando City has been on a four-game winning streak since losing at Yankee Stadium on June 28, with the most recent win in that span coming 3-0 over Nashville SC on Wednesday. Orlando has outscored opponents 13-2 during the streak and has played its best team this season. The Lions have largely done that away from home, however, as they are just 3-5-3 at home in 2024. That said, the last home game saw Orlando defeat DC United 5-0.

New York City FC is 3-6-3 away this season, so that’s some consolation compared to Orlando’s home record. The Pigeons are playing their fourth straight away game, having gone 0-1-2 in their first three games away from Yankee Stadium in this streak so far. That includes draws in their last two, most recently a 2-2 draw at Atlanta United on Wednesday.

Tonight’s match could come down to who can best handle tired legs and minds as both teams play their third match in eight days ahead of the away Leagues Cup tie.

Rodriguez has been NYCFC’s main weapon this season, with eight goals and seven assists. Alonso Martinez also has eight goals and two assists. Both came against Orlando in the last meeting.

“We have the experience from the last game (against New York City FC). We know them and they know us, but now we’re in a completely different rhythm,” Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja said before the game. “I think we’re just getting things done, and we hope we can experience that in this game, and at home, and there’s nothing better than just winning games here in front of our fans.”

Orlando City will be without McGuire (international duty), Michael Halliday (knee) and Stajduhar (lower leg). New York City FC will be without Jones (lower leg) and no one else is listed on the availability sheet in the club’s match notes, despite Tayvon Gray, Kevin O’Toole and Andres Perea all being listed as absent on Wednesday. It’s a little-known fact that in New York City you bypass questionable players on your way back to full fitness.

Match Content

Official line-ups

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese

Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

Defensive midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Wilder Cartagena.

Attacking midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, Nico Lodeiro.

Forward: Ramiro Enrique.

Bank: Javier Otero, Kyle Smith, Alex Freeman, David Brekalo, Felipe, Jeorgio Kocevski, Facundo Torres, Luis Muriel, Jack Lynn.

New York City FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Matt Freese.

Defenders: With Christian McFarlane, Birk Risa, Thiago Martins and Mija Ilenic.

Midfielders: Justin Haak, James Sands, Keaton Parks.

Attackers: Santiago Rodriguez, Alonso Martínez, Hannes Wolf.

Bank: Luis Barraza, Tayvon Gray, Talles Magno, Mounsef Bakrar, Julian Fernandez, Jovan Mijatovic, Maxi Moralez, Agustin Ojeda, Strahinja Tanasijevic.

Referees:

REFERENCE: Joe Dickerson.
AR1: Erik Weisbrod.
AR2: Justin Howard.
4E: Calin Radosav.
VAR number: Alejandro Mariscal.
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson.

How to watch

Match time: 7:30 pm

Location: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

Television/Livestream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.

Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Twitter: For quick responses and live updates, follow us on @TheManeLandas well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

Enjoy the match. Go City!