MEMPHIS (June 12, 2019) - Orlando City SC earned a 3-1 victory over Memphis 901 FC on Wednesday night to advance to the Round of 16 of the 2019 edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Sacha Kljestan recorded a brace on the evening, his first as a Lion across all competitions. His two goals also served as his first in the Open Cup for City. Defender Robin Jansson rounded out the scoring for City on the night, finding the back of the net for the first time since joining the Lions earlier this season.
Head Coach James O’Connor:
“The first thing I’d like to do is pass on our thoughts and prayers to the Pulse families. I think that’s something that, as a football club, is extremely important to us - remembering the victims and their families. The first thing I want to do is pass on my thoughts and prayers to the families. In regards to the game, I thought Memphis played well and made it very difficult for us to break them down. They defended in numbers and it was a tough game for us. So we’re really pleased that we managed to get the win and get through to the next round.”
Scoring Recap:
38’ Sacha Kljestan (PK) - ORL 1, MEM 0
After City defender Shane O’Neill was taken down in the box by Memphis’s Abdi Mohamed, the Lions were awarded a penalty kick. Sacha Kljestan converted from the spot, burying a finish into the lower right corner past Memphis goalkeeper Scott Levene.
50’ Elliot Collier (Adam Najem) - ORL 1, MEM 1
The home side equalized off a corner kick from Adam Nejam that found the head of Elliot Collier on the near post, who flicked it over the head of Adam Grinwis to level the two sides.
54’ Sacha Kljestan (Cristian Higuita) - ORL 2, MEM 1
The Lions regain the lead off a combination play between Sacha Kljestan and Cristian Higuita. Kljestan strips the ball from Memphis in the Lions’ defensive half and takes his space up the middle before finding Higuita on the right side. Higuita then cut the ball across the face of goal for Kljestan who buries it give the Lions the lead once more.
71’ Robin Jansson - ORL 3, MEM 1
City doubled its with a goal from Robin Jansson, his first as a Lion. Chris Mueller whipped in a corner from the right side, that initially found the head of Kljestan. After a scramble in the box, Jansson got his foot on the end of it for the tap-in finish.
Match Notes
- Sacha Kljestan’s brace on the evening served as his first goals in the U.S. Open Cup as a Lion and his second and third goals of 2019.
- Robin Jansson’s 71st minute goal marked the first goal scored by the Swede while a member of Orlando City. Jansson has played in and started 11 MLS matches for City thus far this year, with Wednesday’s match marking his first career U.S. Open Cup experience.
- The Lions were awarded their fourth penalty in as many contests across all competitions in Wednesday evening’s match, dating back to May 19 against FC Cincinnati in MLS play.
- Goalkeeper Adam Grinwis made his first start for the Lions in 2019 on the night and his first in U.S. Open Cup play as a Lion. The second year City player finished with three saves in the match, including an acrobatic goal line save just before the end of the first half.
- Defenders Alex de John and Robin Jansson, as well as forward Santiago Patiño each made their U.S. Open Cup debut on the evening, with forward Tesho Akindele appearing in the nation’s oldest cup competition for the first time as a Lion.
- The Lions were missing a number of players on Wednesday due to international duty with Will Johnson (Canada), Kamal Miller (Canada), Sebas Mendez (Ecuador), Danilo Acosta (Honduras), Benji Michel (U.S. U23s) and Greg Ranjitsingh (Trinidad & Tobago) all with their respective national teams.
- Midfielder Cam Lindley is currently serving a loan spell with Memphis 901, but was not at Wednesday’s contest due to international duty with the U23 U.S. Men’s National Team.
Next Match: The Lions will advance to the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16, with a draw set to decide their matchup on Thursday at 10 a.m. ET, to be played on either Tuesday, June 18 or Wednesday, June 19. City plays its next MLS match on Wednesday, June 26 when it travels to face D.C. United at 8 p.m. ET.
Scoring Summary:
ORL - Sacha Kljestan (PK) 38’
MEM - Elliot Collier (Adam Najem) 50’
ORL - Sacha Kljestan (Cristian Higuita) 55’
ORL - Robin Jansson 71’
Misconduct Summary:
MEM - Marc Burch (Yellow Card) 60’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Adam Grinwis; D Shane O’Neill, Lamine Sane, Robin Jansson, Alex De John; M Dillon Powers, Sacha Kljestan (c), Cristian Higuita (Carlos Ascues 77’); F Tesho Akindele, Santiago Patino (Randy Mendoza 90+2’), Chris Mueller
Substitutes Not Used: GK Brian Rowe; D Ruan; M Uri Rosell
Memphis 901 FC - GK Scott Levene; D Wes Charpie, Jacob Hauser-Ramsey, Marc Burch ©, Abdi Mohamed; M Lagos Kunga (Morgan Hackworth 71’), Adam Najem (Luca Uccello 77’), Dan Metzger, Ewan Granison; F Elliot Collier, Jochen Graf (Oliver White 82’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Jeff Caldwell; Louis Bennett, Josh Morton, Todd Pratzner
Details of the Game:
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Weather:
Date: June 12, 2019
Attendance: 3,088
Stats:
Possession:
ORL - 65%
MEM - 35%
Shots:
ORL - 16
MEM - 10
Saves:
ORL - 3
MEM - 3
Fouls:
ORL - 10
MEM - 10
Corners:
ORL - 13
MEM - 6
