MELBOURNE, Fla. (July 24, 2016) – In its first home game since July 2, Orlando City B (6-6-7, 25 points) played to a 2-2 draw against the Wilmington Hammerheads (6-7-6, 24 points) at Titan Soccer Complex. Michael Cox scored his team leading seventh goal of the season before Tony Rocha scored his first of 2016. The draw extends OCB’s unbeaten streak to seven games.
“I thought we were going to be able to see out the victory. Unfortunately we couldn’t kill the game off,” OCB Head Coach Anthony Pulis said. “I think we got better as the game went on. I thought there were some strong individual performances that we can build on going forward.”
Orlando City B entered the game not having allowed a goal in over five halves and continued their strong defensive form early in the match. Despite conceding the majority of possession early, the Lions held Wilmington without a shot for the first 19 minutes of the match.
OCB took the lead in the 27th minute after Marius Obekop, who made his second consecutive start, played a clever give-and-go with Lewis Neal, dashing through the Hammerheads defense before being dragged down in the box. Cox lined up for the penalty kick and smoothly slotted it inside the far post.
The Lions came within inches of making it 2-0 in the 31st minute when Obekop again played a ball off Neal, who made a clever flick over the backline to a sprinting Obekop. The Cameroonian fired a left-footed shot just inches wide of the near post.
Lions goalkeeper Mark Ridgers, who entered the match leading the Eastern Conference with 59 saves, made several strong stops on the evening. His first moment of brilliance came at the stroke of halftime when he made a sprawling kick save off the line following a Wilmington corner kick. Ridgers finished with three saves.
Wilmington’s Ashani Fairclough equalized in the 48th minute when a Hammerheads corner kick fell into the six-yard box. The visitors were reduced to 10 men just four minutes later, though, when Bruno Perone was issued a straight red card for throwing the ball at Andrew Ribeiro’s face.
The Lions used the man advantage to turn up the pressure in search of the go-ahead goal. Their efforts were thwarted by Wilmington goalkeeper Eric Ati, who made two incredible saves in the 65th minute. First, a Hammerheads clearance only cleared the box before coming to Riberio, who fired a shot that Ati dove to his left to stop. Then, Richie Laryea fired a tight angle shot on the rebound, but Ati was able to kick it away.
OCB was able to find the second goal in the 82nd minute when Rocha ripped a shot from outside the box. The midfielder corralled the ball, took a touch past his defender and fired a rocket into the back of the net for his first goal of the season.
Wilmington was able to steal a point on their last touch of the game when Liam Miller lofted a ball into the top corner.
Antonio Matarazzo entered the match in the 69th minute, earning his first minutes since June 11. Honduran center back Devron García made his first start since July 2.
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Scoring Summary:
OCB - Michael Cox (PK) 27’
WIL - Ashani Fairclough (Michael Binns) 48’
OCB - Tony Rocha 82’
WIL - Liam Miller 90’
Misconduct Summary:
WIL - Michael Binns (Yellow Card) 23’
WIL - Liam Miller (Yellow Card) 27’
WIL - Bruno Perone (Red Card) 52’
WIL - Ashani Fairclough (Yellow Card) 72’
OCB - Richie Laryea (Yellow Card) 89’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City B - GK Mark Ridgers, D Zach Hayden (Tyler Turner 54’), Mikey Ambrose, Devron García, Kyle McFadden, M Tony Rocha, Andrew Ribeiro, Johnny Mendoza (Richie Laryea 46’), Lewis Neal, Marius Obekop (Antonio Matarazzo 68’), F Michael Cox
Substitutes: GK Jake Fenlason, D Craig Nitti, M David Loera, F Keegan Smith
Wilmington Hammerheads - GK Eric Ati, D Michael Mecham, Michael Binns, Ashani Fairclough, Bruno Perone, M Liam Miller, Logan Miller, Justin Moose, Austin Martz (Ferretty Sousa 60’), F Matthew Barnes Homer (Stefan Defregger 81’), Jeff Michaud (Qudus Lawal 73’)
Substitutes: GK John Smits, D Zev Taublieb, Tom Parratt, Mike Soboff
Details of the Game
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear
July 24, 2016
Stats:
Shots:
OCB - 8
WIL - 10
Saves:
OCB - 3
WIL - 3
Corners:
OCB - 6
WIL - 10
