Orlando City Lions traveled to Montreal Canada to take on the Impact on Saturday night, and the Lions were looking to capitalize and leave with 3 points to return above the red line for playoff contention. Jason Kreis was looking to get up early with his line up, which is listed below:
Bendik
Toia
Aja
Spector
Sutter
Nocerino
Higuita
Johnson
KaKa
Dwyer
Larin
As previously stated, Orlando came out applying a lot of pressure, which paid off as Cyle Larin muscled past the Impacts defense and toe poke his way into the back of the net in the 12th Minute. But as Orlando tends to do, they pulled back and played on the counter attack, looking to play a defensive mindset. As Orlando attempted some fast counter attack, the teams swapped possessions and Orlando remained up by one until the halftime break. Jason Kreis and the Lions were up going into halftime, and the goal for the second half was to not allow a last minute goal to bring the 3 points to 1.
Coming out of the half, Montreal applied a lot of pressure, and Orlando fouled Piatti in the box for a penalty kick. Piatti connects for a goal as it rolls over the hand of Joe Bendik and the score was tied 1-1 in the 48th Minute. Orlando started to pressure the opposing defense, while Montreal would try to counter on fast breaks, yet Orlando finally breaks down on defense and allows Jackson-Hamel to have an open goal in the 84th Minute to allow Montreal a 2-1 lead late in the game.
Orlando could not find a way to counter and win or even tie the game against Montreal on the road. Causing them to lose another game, not to mention fall apart in the later stages of the game which is just a meltdown through communication or teamwork. Orlando needs to find an answer to the mid-season meltdown immediately, especially if they want to achieve a playoff run for the first time in team history.