ORLANDO, Fla. (May 1, 2021) - Orlando City SC (1-0-2, 5 points) earned its first victory of the 2021 Major League Soccer (MLS) season on Saturday night, taking a 3-0 win over FC Cincinnati (0-2-1, 1 point) at Exploria Stadium.
Tesho Akindele scored the fastest goal in Club history in the match, finding the back of the net just 31 seconds into play for his first finish of 2021. Akindele bested teammate Chris Mueller’s previous mark of 63 seconds, scored on April 21, 2018 against the San Jose Earthquakes.
Nani and Júnior Urso accounted for the Lions two other finishes on the evening, the former finding the back of the net in the 19th minute and the latter in the 80th for the insurance. The goal served as the City captain’s second in as many contests, while Urso bagged his first of the year. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese did not have to record a save on the night en route to his second shutout in three fixtures.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja:
“Very good game for us, very solid performance. The best part of the game was that we found the net, something that we were missing in the last two games. We had very good performances also, but we were missing that final touch. Today is a game where we were more precise and that makes us happy. Congratulations to the group, congratulations to the fans as well for the first win of the year and hopefully we can have many more.”
Scoring Recap:
1’ Tesho Akindele - ORL 1, CIN 0
The Lions opened things up right out of the gate with Mauricio Pereyra playing Tesho Akindele in behind, who was able to run onto a misplayed touch by the Cincinnati defense. Akindele hit it into the bottom right corner for the fastest goal in Club history, clocked at 31 seconds.
19’ Nani (Chris Mueller) - ORL 2, CIN 0
The City captain doubled the advantage less than 20 minutes later, dancing at the edge of the area before cutting it back to make his defender miss, then rifling off a shot straight into the left side of the net.
80’ Júnior Urso (Benji Michel) - ORL 3, CIN 0
City added another to its tally on the evening, this time with Andrés Perea heading a ball across the face of goal off a cross from Nani. After a scramble in the box, it was Júnior Urso who was able to get on the end of it for his first goal of the season.
Match Notes:
- Tesho Akindele scored the fastest goal in Club history 31 seconds into the match, his first finish of the year. Akindele bested teammate Chris Mueller for the quickest finish for the Lions through their MLS tenure, with Mueller finding the back of the net 63 seconds in against the San Jose Earthquakes on April 21, 2018 for the previous record.
- Nani scored his second goal in as many contests, good for his 20th in regular season action as a Lion.
- Júnior Urso found the back of the net for the first time in 2021. Benji Michel registered his first goal contribution of the year on the finish, earning the assist.
- João Moutinho logged his first minutes for City since Aug. 29, 2020, entering the match in the 85th minute for Ruan.
- Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese recorded his second shutout in three matches to start the year for the Lions and his fifth in regular-season action through his City career.
- Chris Mueller teamed up with Nani for the second time in as many weeks, earning his second assist of the campaign on the captain’s finish.
- Head Coach Oscar Pareja made two changes to his starting lineup from last Friday in Kansas City, with Chris Mueller reentering the fold for the Lions while midfielder Mauricio Pereyra registered his first start of the year after missing the Club’s first two matches due to suspension.
Next Match: The Lions close out a two-game home stint on Saturday, May 8, hosting New York City FC at Exploria Stadium with kickoff set for 6 p.m ET.
Scoring Summary:
ORL - Tesho Akindele 1’
ORL - Nani (Chris Mueller) 19’
ORL - Júnior Urso (Benji Michel) 80’
Misconduct Summary:
ORL - Sebastián Méndez (Yellow Card) 26’
ORL - Chris Mueller (Yellow Card) 62’
CIN - Caleb Stanko (Yellow Card) 78’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Pedro Gallese; D Kyle Smith, Rodrigo Schlegel, Antonio Carlos, Ruan (João Moutinho 85’); M Mauricio Pereyra (Andrés Perea 60’), Júnior Urso (Joey DeZart 85’), Sebastián Méndez, Chris Mueller (Benji Michel 71’); F Nani ©, Tesho Akindele (Silvester van der Water 85’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Brandon Austin; D Robin Jansson; F Matheus Aiás, Alexander Alvarado
FC Cincinnati - GK Przemyslaw Tyton; D Ronald Matarrita ©, Tom Pettersson, Nick Hagglund, Joe Gyau; M Juergen Locadia (Brandon Vázquez 60’), Yuya Kubo (Haris Medunjanin 77’), Kamohelo Mokotjo (Caleb Stanko 77’), Álvaro Barreal; F Isaac Atanga (Calvin Harris 55’), Brenner
Substitutes Not Used: GK Cody Cropper; D Edgar Castillo, Gustavo Vallecill, Zico Bailey; M, Allan Cruz
Details of the Game:
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear
Date: May 1, 2021
Attendance: 11,503
Stats:
Possession:
ORL - 52.5%
CIN - 47.5%
Shots:
ORL - 22
CIN - 7
Saves:
ORL - 0
CIN - 3
Fouls:
ORL - 16
CIN - 10
Corners:
ORL - 4
CIN - 4
Heineken Man of the Match: Nani
