They didn’t deserve it.
On Saturday night in Columbus, the Lions jumped out to a early lead. After an equalizer from Columbus, City fought back and regained the advantage just 7 minutes later.
Then, it happened.
A controversial penalty decision from referee Silviu Petrescu gave Columbus the opening they needed.
Gyasi Zardes converted from the spot and just minutes later, in stoppage time, Will Trap struck a miracle ball from distance to keep all 3 points in Columbus.
On a night where the Lions should have brought home a least a point, they went home empty handed.
“It is just really, really disappointing for the players because the players didn’t deserve that tonight, they really didn’t.,” said head coach James O’Connor following the match. “I am exceptionally proud of the players and that’s the main point that I want to get across. Everyone can see what happened.”
It wasn’t a statistically dominating night for Orlando. They trailed in possession, shots and had a 17-0 deficit on corners. What they weren’t lacking was the defensive shape and grit needed to secure points on the road in this league.
Coming off a mid-week Open Cup match, and heading into a week where they will play 2 matches in the span of 4 days, it was a performance the team can build off.
“I’m very proud of the guys, I think everyone put in such a good effort tonight,” said Captain Sacha Kljestan. “Columbus is a good team, especially when they play here, they’re confident and move the ball well. We had a lot of guys put in performances on very tired legs. It’s a tough thing to swallow right now, but I think we have a very big week coming up. We gotta get this out of our minds as soon as possible and get ready for the next game.”
James O’Connor echoed Kljestan’s sentiments.
“We are exceptionally proud, really pleased. I think when you look at the opportunities that we created and I thought it was really good. Columbus are an excellent team and we have played really well. I think at times in transition we could have been maybe a little bit sharper, but that’s picky things when we look at the quality. It hurts, it really, really hurts.”
Orlando City will take on NYCFC on Thursday night at Orlando City Stadium before heading west to face the LA Galaxy on Sunday night.
“I think we can draw some confidence from the way we played,” said Kljestan. “It sucks but like I said we got a big week coming up and we have got to be ready for it.
