Final score 4-1 as Lions run wild in Leagues Cup opener – The Mane Land

Four different Lions scored as Orlando City CF defeated Montreal 4-1 at Inter&Co Stadium in Leagues Cup action before an announced crowd of 16,033. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Facundo Torres, Ramiro Enrique and Martin Ojeda provided ample offense on a night when Orlando City (1-0-0, 3 points) could easily have scored six or seven points against visiting Montreal (0-1-0, 0 points). Josef Martinez prevented the shutout, but Pedro Gallese had the final say by denying the Venezuelan striker a penalty a few minutes later.

“It’s a great night for us in front of our fans to score four goals against a very tough rival,” Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja said after the game. “And you see a team in that evolution that we’re looking for, that’s carrying the momentum that we’ve had in the last six games, and that’s all good to see.”

Pareja’s line-up featured Gallese in goal behind a defensive line of Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo and Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena started in midfield behind an attacking line of Torres, Ojeda and Nico Lodeiro, with Enrique up front.

The game was wide open early on, with both teams attacking. A good ball over the top from Cartagena sent Thorhallsson behind the defence in the fifth minute, but Sebastian Breza did well to connect with the ball and clear it from the Icelandic full-back. Enrique ran up and fired the ball towards goal, but straight at Breza, who made the save. Orlando were quickly awarded a free kick from the right and Ojeda picked out Jansson, who headed the ball towards goal, but Breza made a good save to keep the score at zero.

Montreal had its next big chance when former Lion Ruan cut past Smith in the sixth minute and laid the ball into the middle for Mathieu Choinière to take a shot, but the ball went straight to Gallese.

A minute later, the Lions opened the scoring. The game started with a shot from Ojeda on the left, which Breza saved. The rebound found Lodeiro in the penalty area, who fired a shot that the Montreal defense was able to block. The ball bounced back to Thorhallsson, who fired it just inside the right post to make it 1-0 in the seventh minute.

“I saw the ball coming to me and I thought, ‘Well, I’m just going to shoot it,'” Thorhallson said. “I took a ball and shot it, and thankfully it went in, so it was a happy feeling. Pretty awesome.”

After the goal, the next 15 minutes were somewhat sloppy from both teams. Passes were often cleared off the line or out of play altogether as both teams struggled to find a rhythm. In the end, Orlando City settled in better. However, Montreal had a few chances in the 25th minute.

Sunusi Ibrahim picked up the ball above the penalty area, turned and shot, but it was blocked. The rebound fell to Gabriele Corbo, who fired a shot from distance. It went on target, but Gallese parried the swerving shot.

After the drinks break after half an hour, the Lions seemed the most rested.

Orlando countered in the 37th minute. Araujo made a good move to break through the defence on the right and then sent in a fantastic cross with two team-mates breaking. Enrique pounced on it but just managed to connect. The ball went through the penalty area to the far post, where Torres fired it in. The goal was originally ruled offside, but Leagues Cup uses Virtual Offside Line technology, which (eventually) deemed it a good goal, and the Lions went 2-0 up.

“Of course I’m very happy that I was able to score the goal,” Torres said. “On the play I saw Ramiro going to the middle of the box, and then I saw Cesar play the ball to him. So I just thought I would run to the far post and be there, and then we thought at first Ramiro would be offside, but luckily, when he was able to make the play on the ball, he wasn’t, and I was able to just bury him.”

Smith did well to send Torres into space in the 43rd minute, and the winger sent a good cross for Enrique, but the Argentine headed wide. Orlando got their third shortly after.

The Lions broke through in transition and Torres slipped Enrique in behind the defence. Enrique took a ball to set himself up and then used the outside of his foot to fire a shot past Breza in the second minute of first-half injury time to make it 3-0. It was Enrique’s fifth consecutive game with a goal in all competitions, equalling Daryl Dike’s club record.

Torres had one more chance before half-time, but his shot was blocked. Orlando could do nothing with the ensuing corner and that was it for the first half.

Orlando City had the upper hand in shots (11-3), shots on target (6-2) and corner kicks (3-0) at halftime, while the visitors had a slight advantage in passing accuracy (85.4%-85%).

“In the first half, we just settled the game early by just scoring sharply,” Pareja said. “We knew Montreal was going to come at us in the second half and they were just going to give us some space, and that’s what happened. And on the other end, we’re in front of goal really well and that’s something that just makes us look really good.”

The Lions tried to pick up the thread after the break. Enrique gave Cartagena a perfect drop pass in the 47th minute, but the Peruvian shot just wide of the left post. Five minutes later, Ojeda passed Lodeiro up front with a precise pass, but the Uruguayan shot straight at Breza.

In the 54th minute it was Araujo’s turn to fire wide after another good build-up play from Orlando.

Orlando extended their lead three minutes later. Lodeiro made a good move in midfield to free himself from traffic and lifted a beautiful chip pass over the defence for Ojeda to run onto. The Argentine lashed a shot through Breza’s legs and in to make it 4-0 in the 57th minute. With that goal, Ojeda extended his goalscoring run to seven games in all competitions, breaking Dike’s club record of six.

“Martin got his momentum when he improved his conditioning and that physical condition that he knows he needs to perform at that level as a DP (Designated Player), and as a protagonist of the team, and someone who can carry the team on his shoulders,” Pareja said. “And Martin increased all those numbers, and I think he’s getting rewarded by the game now.”

Montreal finally had a half-chance in the 60th minute when substitute Tom Pearce cut inside from the left and fired a shot from a poor angle wide of the right post. The visitors came into the game a little more as Orlando appeared to step on the gas pedal. The first warning sign was a decent attacking move that left Jansson forced to make a swing for a corner instead of a scoring chance, but Orlando cleaned up the set-piece.

Montreal pulled a goal back through an old nemesis of Orlando City. The visitors worked the ball into the penalty area, with Ariel Lassiter feeding a pass to his second-half sub Martinez, who broke free of Jansson and fired a shot towards the left post that Gallese couldn’t save, making it 4-1 in the 69th minute.

A few minutes after the goal, Martinez had a golden opportunity to cut Orlando’s lead to two. Araujo was called for a foul in the penalty area, giving Montreal a penalty. Martinez tried a cheeky stutter-step approach, but Gallese dove to his right and got a strong hand on it to keep the ball out with a huge save in the 74th minute.

“You have to wait until the last moment, especially with how Josef takes his penalties,” said Gallese, who made his third save from six penalties in 2024. “So you have to wait in those moments just before (he shoots). You have to keep your calm and just focus on what’s going to happen.”

“It was a great save and important because I felt like we were slowing down a bit, which is not good,” said Thorhallson.

The Lions should have scored a fifth goal in the 75th minute. Torres came in at right back and pulled Breza out of the goal. The Uruguayan stopped and selflessly played a pass to Enrique, who fired a shot at the only defender in the box, who made an easy block.

Orlando continued to search for goals, with substitute Luis Muriel firing home in the 81st minute and fellow substitute Rafael Santos heading a corner just wide of the left post a minute later. Araujo then found space just outside the penalty area but leaned back as he shot, sending a shot high into The Wall behind the north goal. Muriel’s left-footed shot over the bar a few minutes later on the final attempt of the night.

The match was decided after just two minutes of injury time and the Lions won their opening match of the competition.

Orlando City finished with the upper hand in shots (24-8), shots on goal (10-4), corner kicks (5-2) and passing accuracy (87.8%-86.8%), while Montreal finished with more ball possession (54.2%-45.8%).

“We are happy with the result, but as this competition teaches us, we have to prepare for the next one,” said Pareja.

The Lions will complete their Leagues Cup group match on Sunday, August 4, against Liga MX club San Luis. Montreal will host San Luis in the other group match on Tuesday night.

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