Orlando City came from behind twice for the second consecutive road game. However, this time, there was no late winner in a 2-2 draw against CF Montreal at Stade Saputo in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The teams split the points in both meetings this season, although at least there were goals in this one.
Facundo Torres and Ivan Angulo scored for Orlando (2-3-3, 9 points), offsetting strikes by Mason Toye and Ariel Lassiter of Montreal (3-3-2, 11 points). The Lions are unbeaten in four straight games (2-0-2), although the play of the defense continues to be puzzlingly poor. Orlando conceded multiple goals for the fourth consecutive road match, including another early one.
“We’re happy with the performance and tying the game at the end seems like it could be a good result, but we were eager to win it at the end as well, and we could have walked out with three points against a good team ,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the game. “But the game itself was very competitive. I thought we played an excellent first half, but we could maybe be clearer in those last actions there, but we really played well. The second half, they got some momentum from (when) they got the goal (late), but after that, I think we dominated the game.”
Pareja’s lineup had only one change from the starting XI that defeated DC United a week ago. Pedro Gallese started in goal behind a back line of Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena took their usual spots in the defensive midfield behind an attacking line of Angulo, Nico Lodeiro (in for Martin Ojeda), and Torres, with Luis Muriel up top.
Both teams started the match probing the other’s defenses, so much of the play early on was between the penalty boxes. Jansson was booked early for something early in the match while looking to restart play after an infraction on Montreal, which seemed to surprise the Swede.
The opening goal came out of nowhere on the first real chance for either side. Montreal’s Samuel Piette was in his own half of the field, but wasn’t closed down. Toye timed his run well and roasted the Orlando City back line, which was caught sleeping. Toye took down the pass from Piette, rounded Gallese, who had come off his line, and slammed the ball into the empty net from the left. It was the kind of sleepy play from the defense that has been on display since the season started, and it bit the Lions again, putting Montreal on top just 16 minutes in.
Orlando City pulled the goal right back with some help from Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois. Lodeiro slipped the ball into the area for Muriel, who arrived at the ball at the same time as Sirois. The Montreal goalkeeper appeared to get a touch to the ball but then got a lot of Muriel in the 19th minute, and referee Jon Freemon wasted no time pointing to the spot. The play was checked and the penalty call was upheld.
Torres sent Sirois the wrong way and blasted the ball into the upper left corner of the net to make it 1-1 in the 22nd minute.
Torres’ goal was the first by an Orlando City Designated Player in 2024, although it was from the penalty spot.
Thorhallsson had an opportunity to put the Lions ahead a minute after the penalty conversion on a ball into the box that ricocheted into his feet. The Icelandic fullback, however, could not find the handle and lost control of the ball right in front of the goal. A minute after that chance, Muriel came close to scoring his first MLS goal from the top of the area, sending his shot just wide of the upper left corner.
Montreal defender George Campbell wasn’t closed down from long range in the 29th minute, so he had a hit. Campbell’s shot didn’t miss by much, but it was always high and buzzed the back of the top of the net on the way down.
Smith had a golden opportunity in the 41st minute, getting into the left side of the box. But the fullback hit his shot/cross just wide of the far post and out of play. Orlando had a few set piece opportunities in the later stages of the second half but could do nothing with them.
Similarly, Montreal had a free kick in a dangerous spot, courtesy of an unnecessary foul by Cartagena. Choiniere went for goal or the back post in the 45th minute, but either way it was comfortable for Gallese to stop.
Orlando got a bit sloppy with the ball late in the half, allowing Montreal to get a lot of late possession, but little came of it. The last chance of the half fell to Torres from long range, but the Uruguayan hit his shot poorly and sent it soaring high over the goal.
The teams went to the break all tied up at 1-1. Orlando’s biggest problem in the first half, aside from falling asleep to allow the opening goal, was getting into promising situations and then delivering passes either slightly off line or too close to a defender to easily knock away.
Montreal held a slight edge in possession (50.3%-49.7%), passed more accurately (84.2%-82.3%), and put more of its shots on target (2-1). Orlando City attempted more shots (4-3), and won more corners (2-0).
The hosts held possession for most of the first four minutes of the second half. Montreal played directly more out of the break and almost created something just seconds after the restart. Smith had to be sharp to knock away a dangerous cross from the left in the 46th minute.
Thorhallsson nearly found Angulo on Orlando’s first attack of the half in the 50th minute. The fullback sent a ball to the top of the six but Sirois got there just ahead of Angulo to smother the chance.
Montreal then attacked quickly and got in behind down the left. Gallese made a vital save with his left hand to deny Lassiter at the other end.
Lodeiro almost picked out Thorhallsson with a dangerous cross in the 52nd minute, but the defense arrived just in time to knock it behind for a corner. The Lions took the corner short and made a complete mess of it.
Jansson provided a vital block in front in the 55th minute to deny a cross getting in to Toye after Thorhallsson lost track of Raheem Edwards on the wing. The corner was headed away by Jansson. Edwards gathered and fired from distance but his shot was well wide of the left post.
Muriel conceded a set piece in the 59th minute, dropping back to help when Orlando was struggling to break out of its own end. The ball in was knocked away by Gallese, but he needed a visit from the trainers at the next play stoppage. The Peruvian was able to continue, and Muriel was subbed out for Duncan McGuire.
A good ball out of the back sprung McGuire down the left in the 69th minute. The striker picked out Torres crashing into the box but the Uruguayan’s shot was blocked by Joaquin Sosa.
Montreal appeared to score the late game-winning goal in the 88th minute and once again it was a direct play that sliced the Orlando defense open. The diagonal ball somehow got through Brekalo, who seemed to have measured it. Instead, it ended up on the feet of substitute Sunusi Ibrahim, who curled back to the top of the area and fired a shot. Gallese got down to parry it away but Smith got caught ball watching and didn’t have Lassiter marked, allowing him to swoop in and score an easy goal. Montreal led 2-1 with just two minutes remaining in normal time.
“We are trying to have more cohesiveness with the players that are starting or playing the game,” Pareja said of his defense. “Our lines have to be better. Conceding early goals or conceding goals especially in the first half for us is something we need to resolve and we need to figure it out. How can we be more solid? Not just a defender’s problem. It’s a collective problem. We all have to be in charge.”
It didn’t look like Orlando’s night when McGuire missed the net moments later. Off a set piece, the ball was headed by Jansson to his right, where McGuire volleyed it out of the air. His shot looked to be headed inside the top left corner but he missed the net wide by inches in the 90th minute.
No matter though. The Lions scored two minutes into stoppage time instead. McGuire played the ball out to Ojeda on the left and the Argentine drove towards the end line and sent a cross into the area in front of Sirois. Angulo won the race to the ball and put it in the net, scoring his first league goal of the season and tying the game in the 92nd minute.
“I saw ‘Tincho’ bringing it up into space on the left wing,” Angulo said through a club interpreter. “He found himself in a good spot and I saw a space that I could attack. I was able to attack the space right behind the fullback, and thankfully Tincho was able to get me the ball, and all I had to do was to push it in to get that tying goal,”
“The good news is that we are scoring now, that we are overcoming difficult moments, and the forwards are stepping up as well,” Pareja said.
The Lions nearly pulled off a mirror image of that goal five minutes later. Ojeda again got to the end line on the left and sent in a cross towards Angulo. This time the cross was just inches out of Angulo’s reach and skipped through the box.
Orlando ended the game with a series of corner kicks, but could not score on the set pieces and the game ended deadlocked.
Montreal’s stronger second half was reflected on the stats sheet. The hosts held the advantage in possession (53.5%-46.5%), shots (10-8), shots on target (5-2), and passing accuracy (84.6%-81.6%). The Lions won more corners (8-1).
“It was a very tough game, a very contested game,” Angulo said. “A bunch of running. The way they like to play, they love to attack through the wings, so there was a lot there. But I feel like we rose to the level of the game. The way we played, we probably deserved three points, but happy to walk out of here with a point tonight.”
“After we have our results at home and we come out to this journey to go two games away against rivals who are direct and difficult rivals, and now we get these four points, just leaves us with the feeling that we are much more like us ,” Pareja said. “The team is raising the confidence and everybody’s raising the level, and now we have two games at home where we have a big responsibility to keep adding and keep getting closer to the (top) of the standings.”
Orlando City returns home to face another Canadian side, as Toronto FC visits Inter&Co Stadium next Saturday.
