Just 10+ minutes away from snatching a 0-1 win at Portland Timbers, Orlando City SC had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Providence Park last Sunday.
Conceding a late Cristhian Paredes penalty, Oscar Pareja‘s side emerged from two quick-fire West Coast trips undefeated – something to take great heart from.
Before the LA Galaxy and Portland Timbers trips, City supporters would’ve snapped your hand off for four points.
But despite how difficult these two fixtures looked on paper, Orlando City SC had regrets from their latest away day.
Bunkering in, staying compact and frustrating Timbers for much of the encounter, Júnior Urso gave City a hard-fought lead on 52 minutes.
Dispatching a fantastic chipped assist from Alexandre Pato, it was a sumptuous Orlando City SC move.
With Urso cupping his ear to the Timbers Army in celebration, Portland appeared jaded and unsure of themselves.
The fact Portland Timbers were reduced to 10 men on 76 minutes made the 1-1 draw more difficult to swallow.
After Alexandre Pato bypassed Josecarlos Van Rankin, all the Mexican defender could do was pull him back to receive a second yellow card.
At this stage, it looked as if Oscar Pareja‘s game plan to frustrate would pay off for a second away day running.
But on 78 minutes, sub Andrés Perea carelessly tripped Cristhian Paredes in the City box to concede a needless penalty.
It was tough to take, especially considering Mason Stajduhar was largely untroubled in his 2022 season debut.
After Paredes dispatched his penalty, Orlando City SC survived a late Timbers rally to take a point over 3,000 miles back home to Central Florida.
On Gameweek 6, the Lions welcome Los Angeles FC to Exploria Stadum for the clubs’ first meeting since July 2020.
With Steve Cherundolo now in charge, LAFC last played back on March 20, achieving a 3-1 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps.
Orlando City SC vs Los Angeles FC – 2018/20 head-to-head stats
The last time Orlando City SC faced Los Angeles FC, it was one of the headline stories of the #MLSisBack Tournament.
Defeating tournament favourites LAFC on penalties, it was one of the most enjoyable moments of our MLS era so far.
Unbeaten in FIVE tournament games before this quarter-final, City had played extremely attractive soccer.
The Lions were unrecognisable from the side that had disappointed for much of our time in MLS.
After Bradley Wright-Phillips gave LAFC a 0-1 lead on the hour mark, it was easy to fear the worst.
But under Oscar Pareja, Orlando City SC were a new animal.
João Moutinho‘s last gasp 90th minute equaliser demonstrated everything Pareja’s Lions were about – gritty, focused, and determined.
Scoring against his former side, Moutinho’s goal took the game to penalties where Jordan Harvey’s miss and Nani‘s final conversion proved the difference.
Cue the famous scenes of a jubilant Nani cupping his ear as he and his Orlando City SC team-mates paraded around the field victorious – to Bob Bradley’s disgust.
Orlando City SC 1 (5) Los Angeles FC 1 (4) (A.E.T.) – Highlights – July 31, 2020 (Credit: Major League Soccer)
Including that #MLSisBack Tournament quarter-final penalty shootout victory, Orlando City SC have faced Los Angeles FC THREE times so far.
To date, both sides have each shared a win, draw, and defeat.
The most recent regular season meeting (September 2019) saw a relentless LAFC side settle for a point at Exploria Stadium.
Travelling to Central Florida as runaway Western Conference leaders, LAFC did visit understrength due to international call-ups however.
With Eduard Atuesta, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Brian Rodríguez, Carlos Vela and Walker Zimmerman all missing the game, this gave City hope.
Nani cancelled out Adrien Perez’s 12th minute opener exactly 10 seconds after the restart before Benji Michel put City 2-1 up on 20 minutes.
Unfortunately, James O’Connor‘s side couldn’t hold out for a crucial three points as Diego Rossi equalised with a 78th minute strike.
Orlando City SC 2 Los Angeles FC 2 – Highlights – September 7, 2019 (Credit: Major League Soccer)
Looking back on the previous three head-to-heads, Los Angeles FC have taken the lead in all three of them.
With Adama Diomande (4-1), Adrien Perez (2-2), and Bradley Wright-Phillips (1-1, 5-4 A.E.T.) goals seizing the initiative for LAFC, Orlando City SC will look to break this streak.
The Lions did peg Los Angeles FC back in two of these games however.
Additionally, City have only been behind for 71 out of 478 minutes (including stoppage time) so far this season.
Orlando City SC form
In this embryonic stage of the 2022 MLS season, Júnior Urso is currently Orlando City SC‘s top goalscorer with two goals.
The Brazilian has TWO goals in his last THREE City appearances, scoring against FC Cincinnati (1-2) and Portland Timbers (1-1).
It would’ve been three had Urso’s legitimate goal at Chicago Fire (0-0) been given.
Nevertheless, it’s reassuring to see Júnior Urso popping up in attacking areas, contributing with goals out of central midfield.
His strike at Portland Timbers last weekend was The Bear’s tenth goal in an Orlando City SC uniform.
Los Angeles FC form
Despite failing to quality for the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs, Los Angeles FC finished 2021 strong. They’ve started 2022 in the same vein.
Combining last season and this, the Southern California side are unbeaten in TEN of their last ELEVEN MLS fixtures.
The off-season saw Bob Bradley become Toronto FC head coach with former USMNT player Steve Cherundolo taking over at LAFC.
Cherundolo has started very well too, overseeing THREE wins and ONE draw in his opening four games in charge.
Boosted by the return of a fit Carlos Vela this season, Saturday’s game will be another true test of how far Orlando City SC have come.
Los Angeles FC 3 Vancouver Whitecaps 1 – Highlights – March 20, 2022 (Credit: Major League Soccer)
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Don’t forget, Orlando City SC vs Los Angeles FC will be shown LIVE on Premier Sports 2 at 00:30 (GMT) in the early hours of Sunday morning.
You can view our TV Fixture Tracker by clicking here.
DON’T FORGET 🚨 | @OrlandoCitySC 🆚 @LAFC is LIVE on @PremierSportsTV 2️⃣ at 00:30AM on Sunday. 🦁⚽️👍🏽
VIEW OUR 𝙏𝙑 𝙏𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙆𝙀𝙍 📺: https://t.co/KV9JvpAA0o#OCTwitter #ORLvLAFC #OrlandoCity #LAFC #MLSUK pic.twitter.com/7t6JnUTPHf
— Orlando City UK (@Orlando_CityUK) March 28, 2022
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