After drawing 1-1 at New England Revolution, Oscar Pareja‘s Orlando City SC are now set to contest their only home MLS fixture in June.
Welcoming Houston Dynamo to Central Florida for only the third time in Major League Soccer, Orlando City UK will be attending the game at Exploria Stadium LIVE.
Being a cross-conference opponent, Orlando City SC vs Houston Dynamo meetings are rare occasions.
Thus far, there’s been FIVE league meetings between the Florida and Texas sides with City only winning ONCE.
What’s more, this solitary victory over Dynamo came way back in May 2015 as part of our inaugural MLS campaign.
A momentous occasion under Adrian Heath, our 0-1 victory at BBVA Compass Stadium was our first ever win in MLS.
Sure, it was a Tyler Deric own goal on 74 minutes, but Orlando City SC didn’t care – not one jot!
Fast forward to 2022 and Orlando City SC sit fifth in the Eastern Conference. As for Houston Dynamo, Paulo Nagamura’s side sit eighth in the Western Conference.
Going 5-3-6 so far this season, Dynamo have been steady under Nagamura who succeeded Tab Ramos in the off-season.
His first head coaching job in MLS, Nagamura’s aim is to help Dynamo achieve something they’ve only managed once in the past eight seasons.
And that is reaching the MLS Cup Playoffs.
A forgettable side in the Western Conference during the last decade, it’s up to Orlando City SC to make their superior quality tell in this cross-conference affair.
Orlando City SC vs Houston Dynamo – 2015/19 head-to-head stats
Orlando City SC last faced Houston Dynamo way back in September 2019 but it was a sorry occasion for the Lions.
Surrendering yet another road lead after conceding two goals in three minutes, this 2-1 defeat at BBVA Compass Stadium all but consigned City to a fifth consecutive season without reaching the MLS Cup Playoffs.
City earned the perfect start after Dom Dwyer gave City an early 6th minute lead (0-1).
But in a game Orlando City SC needed to win, it was a second-half to forget.
It took just 180 second-half seconds for Alberth Elis and Christian Ramirez goals to take the game away from the Lions.
Both players have since impressed in Europe, representing Boavista (plus a loan to Bordeaux) and Aberdeen respectively.
Houston Dynamo 2 Orlando City SC 1 – Highlights – September 21, 2019 (Credit: Houston Dynamo FC)
Five games deep into this cross-conference game series and Houston Dynamo hold TWO victories to City’s ONE.
In our most recent home meeting with Dynamo, it ended up 0-0 back in September 2018.
Placed in the middle of a terrible stretch of five league losses between September and October 2018, the Lions had nothing to play for bar pride.
In a bitterly disappointing campaign, Orlando City SC did at least show battle in this one.
After arguably one of their worst MLS showings to date – a desperate 4-0 loss at Chicago Fire a week previous – James O’Connor wanted to see some effort and was repaid with a more committed performance.
Orlando City SC 0 Houston Dynamo 0 – Highlights – September 22, 2018 (Credit: Major League Soccer)
Houston Dynamo and Orlando City SC‘s most recent meeting in September 2019 was the first time that both sides had scored in the same game.
Prior to that, the other FOUR Major League Soccer head-to-heads saw one or no sides score.
Houston Dynamo first defeated Orlando City SC way back in May 2017.
Alberth Elis, Mauro Manotas (x2) and Romell Quioto strikes sealed an emphatic 4-0 home win over Jason Kreis‘ Lions.
Orlando City SC form
Overall, Orlando City SC have enjoyed a solid 2022 so far but that said, our home form is particularly concerning.
Contesting SEVEN MLS games at Exploria Stadium so far, Oscar Pareja‘s side have lost FOUR of them.
Home defeats came to FC Cincinnati (1-2), Los Angeles FC (2-4), New York Red Bulls (0-3), and FC Dallas (1-3).
Ultimately, this is way too many at this stage of the season.
To put things in perspective, the Lions only lost TWO regular season fixtures at home for the entirety of 2021.
It’s high time City got back to creating Exploria Stadium into a fortress again.
Granted, smaller attendances (compared to our early MLS years) don’t help, but the team must continue their upward trajectory to bring the casuals back to the 407.
Houston Dynamo form
Assessing Houston Dynamo’s last FIVE Major League Soccer fixtures, a pattern has emerged.
That pattern is that all FIVE of those fixtures ended ‘to nil’ with Dynamo winning TWO and losing THREE of these games.
A case of all or nothing when Paulo Nagamura’s side take the field, Dynamo were thumped 3-0 at Real Salt Lake prior to the league break.
With this game being Houston Dynamo’s first in 28 days, they had an extended break compared to City who visited New England Revolution in midweek.
Real Salt Lake 3 Houston Dynamo 0 – Highlights – May 28, 2022 (Credit: Houston Dynamo FC)
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