ORLANDO, Fla. (Sept. 22, 2018) – Orlando City SC (7-18-4, 25 points) and the Houston Dynamo (8-13-8, 32 points) battled to a 0-0 draw on Saturday at Orlando City Stadium. City goalkeeper Adam Grinwis made his Major League Soccer (MLS) debut in the match, earning his first career shutout with three saves over the 90 minutes.
“I think there were some lovely passages of play. I think the intensity was better. I think the final third eluded us tonight. I thought we had some half decent chances but I thought we were the better team tonight,” Lions head coach James O’Connor said. “Obviously, the positive keeping the clean sheet; it gives us a stronger foundation to hopefully go on and move forward.”
The Lions jumped out of the gates early, with Sacha Kljestan finding Dom Dwyer with a clever flick in the third minute but the forward was called offside. Later, in the 15th minute, Grinwis’ outlet to Scott Sutter led to another chance for City, using two touches to build up the field for the opportunity.
City maintained its pressure out of the halftime break, with Yoshimar Yotún generating multiple chances in the early minutes. The Peruvian midfielder first found Kljestan on a free kick but the veteran’s deflection went wide. Yotún took two chances of his own minutes later, with his shots whistling just wide of the Dynamo goal.
Grinwis came up with his most important save in the 57th minute, coming off his line to stifle Romell Quioto’s transition chance. Captain Jonathan Spector cleaned up the second chance, heading away Tomas Martinez’s follow-up as Grinwis raced back into position.
In addition to Grinwis’ marquee start, O’Connor’s lineup featured Lamine Sané in the starting XI for the first time since June 30 against Atlanta United FC.
With a bye weekend coming up, City will next head out on a two-game road trip, beginning with a visit to FC Dallas on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 8 p.m. ET. The Lions then visit the New England Revolution on Oct. 13, before returning to Orlando City Stadium on Wednesday, Oct. 17, to host Seattle Sounders FC.
Match Notes
- GK Adam Grinwis made his MLS and Club debuts. He made three saves to earn City’s first MLS clean sheet since April 13.
- D Lamine Sané made his first start since June 30 at Atlanta.
- M Will Johnson became the ninth player to make 50 MLS appearances for Orlando City.
- This is the second 0-0 draw between the Lions and Dynamo in Orlando. The teams played a scoreless stalemate on July 8, 2016, at Camping World Stadium.
Scoring Summary:
None
Misconduct Summary:
ORL - Jonathan Spector (Yellow Card) 24’
HOU - Andrew Wenger (Yellow Card) 33’
ORL - Carlos Ascues (Yellow Card) 73’
ORL - Dom Dwyer (Yellow Card) 90+1’
ORL - Yoshimar Yotún (Yellow Card) 90+4’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Adam Grinwis, D Mohamed El-Munir, Lamine Sané, ⓒ Jonathan Spector, Scott Sutter, M Uri Rosell, Carlos Ascues, Yoshimar Yotún, Sacha Kljestan (Stéfano Pinho 79’), Will Johnson, F Dom Dwyer
Substitutes Not Used: GK Joe Bendik, D Shane O’Neill, RJ Allen, M Pierre Da Silva, Josué Colman, F Chris Mueller
Houston Dynamo - GK Joe Willis, D Andrew Wenger, Kevin Garcia, Alejandro Fuenmayor, ⓒ DaMarcus Beasley, M Tomas Martinez, Juan David Cabezas (Boniek García 46’), Darwin Ceren, F Alberth Elis (Ronaldo Peña 79’), Mauro Manotas (Arturo Álvarez 82’), Romell Quioto
Substitutes Not Used: GK Tyler Deric, D Adam Lundkvist, Adolfo Machado, M Memo Rodriguez
Details of the Game:
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear
Date: Sept. 22, 2018
Attendance: 23,723
Stats:
Possession:
ORL - 54.4%
HOU - 45.6%
Shots:
ORL - 12
HOU - 11
Saves:
ORL - 3
HOU - 4
Fouls:
ORL - 18
HOU - 13
Corners:
ORL - 7
HOU - 4
