Montreal came out of the locker room on the front foot and Orlando struggled to maintain possession, break pressure, and connect passes. The goal just before the half should have buoyed the Lions but instead the opposite happened. The visitors passed more accurately (85.3%-83.3%). Orlando dominated in shots (8-0) - but only got one on goal for a 1-0 edge in that category - and corners (5-1). Montreal had slightly more possession (51%-49%) although it didn’t seem like it. I just did my job and got to the back post and it just felt good to score.” “The ball accelerated up the right side, found Daryl, who slipped in Ruan. “The team made a nice combination play out the back end,” Mueller said. It snapped a 14-game goal drought for the Money Badger. It was Mueller’s third goal of the season, the 21st of his Orlando City career, and first since July 3 against the New York Red Bulls. #VamosOrlando /fX3mgyIsns- Orlando City SC October 21, 2021 In the 17th minute, Dike bulled his way through multiple defenders to get into the box but Samuel Piette got his foot on the ball and was able to clear the danger just as the forward was shooting.Īpplaud every single Lion from start to finish. Two minutes later, Jansson was forward for a set piece, took the ball up the left side and fired a shot that was deflected out for a corner. The Bear fired a shot toward goal but it took a deflection off a defender and hit the crossbar before flying out of play. The first good opportunity came in the 13th minute off a corner kick that fell for Urso in the box. Orlando spent much of the first half on the front foot, but had little to show for it.
Uri Rosell slotted into the central midfield with Junior Urso, with Mauricio Pereyra and Chris Mueller tasked with facilitating the attack to Benji Michel and Daryl Dike. Pareja’s lineup featured Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Emmanuel Mas, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel (for the suspended Antonio Carlos), and Ruan. “We felt that we needed to put the game away but we could not score more than one goal and just left the game there for any opportunity that they had.” “I think we can divide the game into two different halves,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. The dropped points will sting with four games remaining in a tight playoff race as the Lions must still face the top two teams in the Eastern Conference in their last two home games and go on the road to Columbus and Montreal - two places they’ve rarely won. The Lions (12-8-10, 46 points) ran their unbeaten streak to four matches (2-0-2) but a lack of sharpness around goal in the first half and a flat start to the second period helped Montreal (11-10-9, 42 points) escape with a point on Rudy Camacho goal. Chris Mueller gave Orlando City a halftime lead but the Lions gave up a set piece goal early in the second half to drop valuable points in a 1-1 draw against CF Montreal at Exploria Stadium.