ORLANDO, Fla. (July 3, 2019) - Orlando City SC (6-9-3, 21 points) fell 3-1 to the Philadelphia Union (10-5-5, 35 points) on Wednesday night at Exploria Stadium.
Chris Mueller opened the scoring in the match in the eighth minute, his fifth goal of the 2019 season, but Philadelphia responded with a finish in the 32nd to level the two sides. The Lions were then shown two red cards, their first of the year, to Robin Jansson in the 43rd minute and Sacha Kljestan in the 67th, allowing the visitors to capitalize on the shorthanded side with goals in the 47th and 52nd minutes, respectively.
Head Coach James O’Connor:
“We started the game really brightly and got a goal and then after the goal it felt like we needed to do a better job of maintaining possession. We allowed them [Philadelphia] to come back into the game a little bit. They scored a goal but then I think, obviously, the sending off has a major impact. I haven’t seen it back yet, but I think that completely changes the game...Then we’re down another man. I think, obviously, the game was completely impacted by the sendings [sic] off.”
Scoring Recap:
8’ Chris Mueller - ORL 1, PHI 0
The Lions got things going early when Chris Mueller got on the end of a misplayed touch by the Philadelphia defense near midfield. He then took his space down the pitch before driving into the 18-yard box and hitting a shot into the right side of the net past Philadelphia goalkeeper Matt Freese.
32’ Kacper Przybylko (Jamiro Monteiro) - ORL 1, PHI 1
The Union got on the board after stripping the Lions of the ball near midfield. Jamiro Monteiro took his space before finding Kacper Przybylko to his right. Przybylko took a touch before cutting to his left foot and sending the ball into the far post past Brian Rowe.
47’ Kacper Przybylko (Alejandro Bedoya, Haris Medunjanin) - PHI 2, ORL 1
Philadelphia took the lead when a ball from Haris Medunjanin was lofted toward the Lions’ byline to Alejandro Bedoya, who got enough of a touch on it to volley it back towards the goal. Przybylko then ran onto it, hitting it first time on the bounce for the finish.
52’ Fafa Picault (Brendon Aaronson, Jamiro Monteiro) - PHI 3, ORL 1
The Union doubled their lead after Brendon Aaronson sent a ball in behind the City defense in the box for Picault to run onto. Picault hit it first time for the finish from the right side over the head of Brian Rowe.
Match Notes
- Chris Mueller’s goal served as his fifth of the 2019 season and the second against the Philadelphia Union in his career. It also served as the first goal scored by the Lions in the first 15 minutes of a match this season.
- Kamal Miller entered the match for the Lions at the start of the second half, appearing in his first match since returning from international duty with the Canadian National Team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Wednesday served as his fifth appearance on the season for the Lions.
- The red cards given to Robin Jansson in the 45th minute and Sacha Kljestan in the 67th served as the first two red cards handed to a City player in 2019.
- Forward Dom Dwyer made his first appearance for the Lions since May 19 against FC Cincinnati when he entered Wednesday’s match in the 61st minute.
Next Match: The Lions face another quick turnaround when they head to Philadelphia to face the Union for the second time in four days on Saturday, July 6. Kickoff for that match is set for 7 p.m. ET at Talen Energy Stadium.
