HARRISON, N.J. (August 12, 2016) – In the first match of a two-game road trip, Orlando City B (8-7-7, 31 points) fell to New York Red Bulls II (14-3-5, 47 points) 5-1 Friday at Red Bull Arena. Michael Cox scored his ninth goal of the season in a match that began Video Assistant Referee testing.
“Every game is a learning experience, win, lose, draw; whether it’s a good or bad performance,” OCB Head Coach Anthony Pulis said. “From the time you step on the field we’re all learning and we’re going to have to make sure that we have a reaction now because we’ve got a massive game on Wednesday night at Charlotte.”
Red Bulls II got on the board in the eighth minute when Florian Valot’s shot deflected off Conor Donovan and into the net. It was the only shot that snuck past goalkeeper Mark Ridgers during a very busy first half. Ridgers came up huge twice in the 26th minute when he stopped a pair of shots from Junior Flemmings.
The Scotsman made another pair of incredible saves to start the second half. Flemmings flicked the ball on frame from just six yards out but Ridgers swatted it away. Ridgers quickly got up and covered the post to stop the rebound. Ridgers finished with 10 saves.
The match was the first in the United States to use Video Assistant Referee, a replay program being tested by the International Football Association Board, Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League at Red Bull Arena for Red Bulls II games. The referee used the VAR in the 35th minute to issue Conor Donovan a straight red card for a challenge on the edge of the box. The VAR was used again in the 80th minute after a challenge by OCB’s Kyle McFadden. The Irish defender was issued a yellow card after review and earned another yellow just six minutes later, dropping OCB to nine men.
Cox scored his team leading ninth goal of the season in the 68th minute after sprinting the ball up the right wing and firing a sharp-angle shot just inside the far post. The Canadian’s goal made it 3-1.
Orlando City Pro Academy product David Loera made his third consecutive appearance with OCB when he came on in the 89th minute. The match also saw fellow Academy product Landen Haig come on in the 90th.
Orlando City midfielder Harrison Heath earned his first minutes since injuring his knee in MLS play on July 13 at Red Bull Arena just days after being selected to the 2016 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game. Forward Keegan Smith earned his third consecutive start.
The match was paused in the 29th and 73rd minutes for a water break. Water breaks are observed when the wet bulb globe temperature exceeds 89.6 degrees.
Orlando City B finishes the road trip at the Charlotte Independence on Wednesday, Aug. 17. The Lions return to Titan Soccer Complex on Sunday, Aug. 21, when they host the Richmond Kickers. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Tickets to all OCB home matches are available at OrlandoCityB.com or by calling 855-ORL-CITY. Follow the latest Orlando City news and updates via Facebook,Twitter,Instagram and YouTube.
Scoring Summary:
NY - Conor Donovan (OG) 8’
NY - Brandon Allen (PK) 61’
NY - Devon Williams (Vincent Bezecourt) 66’
OCB - Michael Cox 68’
NY - Junior Flemmings 87’
NY - Zoumana Simpara 90’
Misconduct Summary:
NY - Florian Valot (Yellow Card) 21’
OCB - Conor Donovan (Red Card) 36’
OCB - Kyle McFadden (Yellow Card) 82’
OCB - Kyle McFadden (Yellow Card) 88’
OCB - Kyle McFadden (Red Card) 88’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City B - GK Mark Ridgers, D Tyler Turner, Conor Donovan, Kyle McFadden, Antonio Matarazzo, M Richie Laryea (Johnny Mendoza 62’), Harrison Heath (Andrew Ribeiro 62’), Lewis Neal (Landen Haig 90’), Pierre Da Silva (David Loera 89’), F Keegan Smith (Zach Hayden 40’), Michael Cox
Substitutes: GK Jake Fenlason, D Devron Garcia
New York Red Bulls II - GK Ryan Meara, D Chris Gloster, Aaron Long, Tim Scholl, Zach Carroll, M Dan Metzger, Devon Williams, Vincent Bezecourt (Kazu Shigenobu 69’), Florian Valot, F Brandon Allen (Zoumana Simpara 85’), Junior Flemmings (Ben Mines) (Omir Fernandez )
Substitutes: GK Rafael Diaz, D Noah Powder, M David Najem
Details of the Game:
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Weather: Cloudy
August 12, 2016
Attendance: 478
Stats:
Shots:
OCB - 29
NY - 4
Saves:
OCB - 10
NY - 1
Corners:
OCB - 2
NY - 6
