Orlando City Coach James O’Connor Makes Home Debut Tonight Versus Reigning MLS Cup Champ Toronto FC

By  //  July 14, 2018

broadcasted on WRDQ TV27 and YouTube TV at 8 p.m. ET

ABOVE VIDEO: OCT Shorts – James O’Connor. (Orlando City Video)

ORLANDO, FLORIDA (Orlando City) – Orlando City SC (6-11-1, 19 points) returns home to face reigning MLS Cup champion Toronto FC (4-10-4, 16 points) on Saturday, July 14. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET at Orlando City Stadium.

The match will be James O’Connor’s first at Orlando City Stadium since being named the Lions head coach on June 29.

The match will be locally broadcast on WRDQ TV27 and YouTube TV. Fans can listen to the match on FM 96.9 The Game in English and La Nueva 990 AM in Spanish.

“We want to win every game. Toronto will be the same. They were the champions last year, so there’s a lot of frustration in their camp as to what’s happening but I’m not really too interested in what Toronto are doing or the run that they’re on,” O’Connor said.

“We’ve no ability to control what Toronto do, what players they choose, what formation they play. What we can control is how we train, the intensity we work at and then really focus on things that we need to do. That’s something that I want to really start drilling down on.”

The match will be James O’Connor’s first at Orlando City Stadium since being named the Lions head coach on June 29. (Orlando City Image)

The Lions are coming off a 4-1 loss at 2018 expansion side Los Angeles FC. Sacha Kljestan scored his fourth goal of the season. MLS All-Star Yoshimar Yotún played his first minutes since returning from the FIFA World Cup with Peru.

Dom Dwyer leads the Lions with seven goals in 2018. Yotún leads the team with five assists.

Orlando City Head Coach James O’Connor Makes Debut, Lions Fall To Los Angeles 4-1Related Story:
Orlando City Head Coach James O’Connor Makes Debut, Lions Fall To Los Angeles 4-1

Toronto enters Saturday’s contest on the third of a four-game MLS road trip. Most recently, the Reds snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-2 draw at Sporting Kansas City. Jordan Hamilton scored for Toronto in the 69th minute to level the match and secure a road point.

Jonathan Osorio leads Toronto with six goals this season and Sebastian Giovinco leads the team with eight assists.

The Lions face a quick turnaround after Saturday as they begin a two-game road trip on Wednesday, July 18 in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals at the Philadelphia Union. City then visits Columbus on Saturday before returning home on Thursday, July 26, to host NYCFC.

CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS