Orlando City Battles Odds, Despite Key Players Out
Despite having seven players away for international duty and multiple others sidelined due to injuries, Orlando City SC (1-1-2, 5 points) earned an important road point on Saturday afternoon, drawing the Montreal Impact (0-1-2, 2 points) 2-2 at Olympic Stadium. ( Image for SpaceCoastDaily)
ORLANDO – Despite having seven players away for international duty and multiple others sidelined due to injuries, Orlando City SC (1-1-2, 5 points) earned an important road point on Saturday afternoon, drawing the Montreal Impact (0-1-2, 2 points) 2-2 at Olympic Stadium.
The Lions’ fell behind early on when Ignacio Piatti tucked away a penalty-kick after Sean St. Ledger was called for a handball inside the area.
Montreal doubled their lead in the 27th minute when forward Jack McInerney ran behind the City defense and poked the ball over Orlando goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.
Unrelenting, Orlando City responded one minute later when Pedro Ribeiro slotted away Kaká’s deflected effort. Less than two minutes later, the Lions equalized the scoreline when Kaká calmly finished Ribeiro pass inside the box for his second goal of the season.
Adrian Heath
“I thought we scored at the right time. It sort of gave us something to go for again because I thought we started quite hesitant, which was disappointing,” said head coach Adrian Heath.
“But after we scored the first goal I think we got a foothold in the game, and I was very pleased from there on after. I honestly thought we were going to score again all evening, and I’m really delighted with the players’ attitude. I can’t praise the players enough. It’s been a difficult week for us with so many of the guys missing and this is a difficult place to come and play.”
