ORLANDO, Fla. (Aug. 24, 2018) – Orlando City SC (7-16-2, 23 points) lost 2-1 to Atlanta United (16-4-6, 54 points) on Friday at Orlando City Stadium.
“Obviously very disappointed. It was a game we wanted to try and win for the supporters. Very, very disappointed,” Lions head coach James O’Connor said. “We need to be honest with ourselves. Look, we can point and we can say we had some key players missing, but again, for me they’re excuses. I think for where we want to get to and where we’re going to get to, we need levels of performance that are higher.”
Atlanta opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Ezequiel Barco’s free kick delivery bounced off goalkeeper Joe Bendik and Leandro González Pirez was there to put away the rebound.
City fought back through the half, and eventually leveled the score in the 39th minute when Will Johnson found Scott Sutter in the box. Sutter drilled a right-footed shot from 17 yards out that whizzed past Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
The remainder of the match was very closely contested, but Josef Martínez scored the eventual game-winner in the 74th minute. The goal was Martínez' 28th of the season, setting the MLS single-season record.
The match saw Peruvian defender Carlos Ascues make his Club debut after being acquired on loan on Aug. 21. Midfielder Pierre Da Silva made his 2018 Lions debut when he came on for Josué Colmán in the 61st minute.
The Lions return to action on Saturday, Sept. 1, when they host the Philadelphia Union at 7:30 p.m. ET at Orlando City Stadium.
Tickets to all City home matches are available at OrlandoCitySC.com or by calling 855-ORL-CITY.
Match Notes
- D Scott Sutter scored his second goal of the season. M Will Johnson earned his first assist of the season on the goal; F Chris Mueller earned his sixth assist of the season, tying M Sacha Kljestan for second-most on the team.
- GK Joe Bendik made his 88th MLS appearance as a Lion, passing F Cyle Larin for second-most in Club history. Bendik made eight saves, passing the 300-save mark for his Lions career.
- D Carlos Ascues made his Club debut. Ascues started and played 67 minutes.
M Pierre Da Silva made his season debut when he came on for M Josué Colmán in the 61st minute. - D Jonathan Spector made his first start since July 7 at Los Angeles FC.
Atlanta F Josef Martínez set the MLS single-season scoring record with his 28th goal of 2018.
Scoring Summary:
ATL - Leandro González Pirez 21’
ORL - Scott Sutter (Will Johnson, Chris Mueller) 39’
ATL - Josef Martínez (Julian Gressel) 74’
Misconduct Summary:
ORL - Will Johnson (Yellow Card) 60’
ATL - Josef Martínez (Yellow Card) 75’
ORL - Uri Rosell (Yellow Card) 86’
ORL - Jonathan Spector (Yellow Card) 90+3’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Joe Bendik, D PC, Shane O’Neill, ⓒ Jonathan Spector, Scott Sutter, M Carlos Ascues (Stéfano Pinho 67’), Uri Rosell, Chris Mueller, Will Johnson (Jose Villarreal 87’), Josué Colmán (Pierre Da Silva 61’), F Dom Dwyer
Substitutes Not Used: GK Earl Edwards, Jr., D Amro Tarek, Dillon Powers, Tony Rocha
Atlanta United - GK Brad Guzan, D Chris McCann, Leandro González Pirez, Michael Parkhurst, Julian Gressel, M Eric Remedi, Jeff Larentowicz, Ezequiel Barco (Kevin Kratz 90+1’), Miguel Almirón, Héctor Villalba (Miles Robinson 83’), F Josef Martínez (Romario Williams 90+1’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Alec Kann, D José Hernández, George Bello, M Andrew Carleton
Details of the Game:
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear
Date: Aug. 24, 2018
Attendance: 25,058
Stats:
Possession:
ORL - 38 %
ATL - 62 %
Shots:
ORL - 6
ATL - 19
Saves:
ORL - 8
ATL - 3
Fouls:
ORL - 11
ATL - 7
Corners:
ORL - 4
ATL - 10
