It was stoppage time. The Lions only had ten men on the field. Forward Stéfano Pinho was playing his first minutes as member of Orlando City. Then, like a strike of lightning the game was equalized.
An incredible run by defender and captain Jonathan Spector, feed by Justin Meram, and then finished by Pinho.
It was an incredible evening for Pinho who scored three goals in Orlando City Stadium while playing for Miami FC in the U.S. Open Cup.
"Yeah, it's good. I feel at home now,” said Pinho following the match. “Now I play for fans, so I feel home. I feel happy with the fans, the supporters here. I'm very happy.”
“We were working for this moment. We pressured them, we tried to score and then we finally scored in the last minute so I'm very happy. The guys are very happy with the results, but we can do better for the next game.”
Trailing by a goal and down a man in the 58th minute, head coach Jason Kreis inserted his new striker into the lineup looking for a result.
"He told me just do what you know, like just go there and play soccer,” said Pinho. “So it made me more confident. It gave me confidence and I could play well.”
And play well he did. The stoppage time goal unleashed a haze of purple smoke from The Wall and sent the sellout crowd home happy.
"Yeah it was. I dream about this moment. So, I'm so happy to score and help Orlando. So, I saw the fans go crazy. I like that they cheer because it makes it fun.”
