1. Finally back in the win column, Orlando City took to the artificial turf of Gillette Stadium and came away with an important 2-1 win over the New England Revolution.
2. It started well for Orlando, who looked dangerous in the first 15 minutes of the match. Lots of positive play going forward and dangerous attacks for the Lions, who looked a bit slow the last two matches out of the gate, so tonight was a good change of pace.
3. With the match also came a change of tactics, due to the turf of Gillette Stadium. With the ball moving slower on the artificial field, there were more long balls and having more switches of field versus playing the ball around on the ground.
4. This would ultimately lead to the first goal from MartÃn Ojeda. After a ball taken down by Eduard Atuesta in the middle of the pitch, the midfielder turned and picked out a ball over the top for Ojeda, who had run in behind the defense. As he got closer to goal, the Revs keeper tried to come out to win the ball in the air, but he misplayed it, leaving an open goal for MartÃn to tap into and giving the Lions the lead.
5. The start to the second half brought some stress for the Lions. A heavy wave of attack right out of the gate by the Revs led to the Lions being on the back foot for the first bit of time. They held for much of the first 10 minutes, but the Revs got closer and closer to finding the equalizer.
6. This pressure eventually ended up leading to the New England equalizer from Tomas Chancalay, after the Lions defense got sucked into the middle with runners into the box, leaving the winger open out wide. It's a play that Orlando should do better with, but the response to that goal was exactly what you would want to see from the squad.
7. Just three minutes after conceding, Orlando took the lead right back. Iván Angulo, who had himself a great game, drove into the teeth of the defense and played a simple ball to Ojeda to smash home his second. It was a great moment for both of them, but MartÃn made sure to give Iván his props, pointing to him after the celebration. Just a good team moment between the two attackers.
8. As Orlando looked to hold out for the next half an hour, El Pulpo stepped up in a big way. After one save in the box in the 65th minute that denied a long range effort, Pedro Gallese came up with an even bigger save in the 73rd, stopping a point-blank strike in the box.
9. Unlike the last two matches, the Lions managed to dig deep and deny New England any chances of scoring a late equalizer as they held on through seven minutes of stoppage time to secure the three points.
10. The Lions now look ahead to next week, following the MLS All-Star match on Wednesday night, as they travel to Columbus to take on the Crew next Friday. That game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Lower.com Field.
