ATLANTA (May 12, 2019) - Orlando City SC (3-5-3, 12 points) fell 1-0 to Atlanta United (5-3-2, 17 points) on Sunday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Sunday’s contest served as the first of a two-game away trip for the Lions, as well as the first match of a three-game week for Orlando. City next heads to the Northwest, traveling to face the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night.
Defender Alex De John returned to the Orlando City starting XI on Sunday, while Cristian Higuita earned his first start of the year in the midday match.
Head Coach James O’Connor:
“I think the biggest thing for us is obviously coming away, not having gotten anything from the game. It really hurts. When you look at the chance creation and to come away and not get anything from the game, especially against Atlanta, it’s pretty painful...There will be very few teams that will come here and create the amount of chances [like we did], good quality chances like that, but we have to take them.”
Scoring Recap:
14’ - Pity Martinez (Héctor Villalba) - ATL 1, ORL 0
The home side opened the scoring on the night after Villalba carried the ball into the left side of the box. With Pity Martinez trailing, the midfielder laid the ball off allowing Martinez a one-timed left footed shot past goalkeeper Brian Rowe.
Match Notes
- Defender Alex De John started at center back on Sunday afternoon, marking the first start since March 23 for the first-year Lion. After starting in three of the four opening games of the season, De John missed the next six matches while recovering from injury.
- Orlando City’s Kamal Miller and Atlanta United’s Miles Robinson are both products of Syracuse University. Robinson was drafted by Atlanta in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft, while Miller was selected by Orlando City in 2019. Miller returned to the starting lineup on Sunday for the first time since April 13 against Real Salt Lake.
- Sunday marked Cristian Higuita’s first start of the season. The appearance was the 96th MLS appearance for the fifth-year Orlando player, extending his lead as the longest-tenured Lion.
- Atlanta United appeared to go up 2-0 in the 52nd minute of the match but Julian Gressel’s goal was later rescinded upon video review due to offside.
Next Match:
Orlando City will continue its two-game road trip as the Club faces the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday, May 15. Kickoff is set for 10:30 p.m. ET at CenturyLink Field. Orlando City will return to Orlando City Stadium on Sunday, May 19 when it hosts FC Cincinnati.
Scoring Summary:
ATL - Pity Martinez (Héctor Villalba) 14’
Misconduct Summary:
ATL - Michael Parkhurst (Yellow Card) 65’
ORL - Robin Jansson (Yellow Card) 90’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Brian Rowe; D Alex De John (Kyle Smith 58’), Kamal Miller, Robin Jansson; M João Moutinho, Will Johnson, Sebastián Méndez, Ruan, Christian Higuita (Josué Colmán 78’); F Dom Dwyer (Chris Mueller 64’), Tesho Akindele
Substitutes Not Used: GK Greg Ranjitsingh; D Shane O’Neill; M Dillion Powers; F Benji Michel
Atlanta United - GK Brad Guzan; D Franco Escobar, Miles Robinson, Leandro González Pirez, Michael Parkhurst; M Darlington Nagbe, Eric Remedi, Héctor Villalba (Brek Shea 84’), Gonzalo Martínez (Jeff Larentowicz 76’), Julian Gressel (Justin Meram 90+1’); F Josef Martínez
Substitutes Not Used: GK Alec Kann; D Florentin Pogba; F Romario Williams, Dion Pereira
Details of the Game:
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Dome
Date: May 12, 2019
Attendance: 68,152
Stats:
Possession:
ORL - 38%
ATL - 62%
Shots:
ORL - 3
ATL - 5
Saves:
ORL - 3
ATL - 4
Fouls:
ORL - 11
ATL - 5
Corners:
ORL - 0
ATL - 10
