Follow City Away!
By Orlando City UK member, Josh Keeble
A few weeks ago, when Orlando City SC announced their 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup date with bitter I-4 Derby rivals Tampa Bay Rowdies, I knew there was absolutely no way I would let such an opportunity pass me by.
A gap in university deadlines, (relatively) affordable flights, and a first visit to Al Lang Stadium in eleven years all meant that, regardless of the result, the trip made complete sense. And then we went and beat them 5-0!
Arrival in Tampa
After the unusual luxury of a lie-in and my first-ever direct flight from London to Orlando, I arrived in The City Beautiful late on Tuesday evening and made straight for Half Barrel Beer Project in high spirits.
Hitting local breweries would also be the theme of gameday.
This time, I was up alarmingly early, but only so we had ample time to hit three further drinking stops at Tampa Bay’s best en route to St. Petersburg.
Then, when coaches packed full of the travelling Iron Lion Firm and Ruckus faithful pulled up three hours before the game, it was time to tailgate.
I have always been slightly ashamed that my boyhood side, Norwich City, were commercial partners with the Rowdies until very recently – on account of their shared yellow and green club colours.
Unfortunately, this partnership meant that Norwich participated in two training camps at Al Lang, loaned young prospects Caleb Richards and Louis Lomas to the Rowdies, and even sold their hateful jerseys in our club shop.
But, I was keen to make my true feelings known, and soon my dual Norwich City / Orlando City SC stickers adorned every gate, fence, and wall at Al Lang Stadium.
Smoking out the Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium
Clouds of purple smoke soon swept through the Al Lang air as we marched to the stadium and took our seats.
It may well just be me, but I can never escape a sense of dread when I travel to an away game with Norwich City or Orlando City SC.
In my seven previous away trips with the Lions, I had only seen us win once – and even that was against Canadian Premier League minnows Cavalry FC in our 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup tie last February.
So, however irrational, I couldn’t suppress the feeling that somehow the Rowdies were going to scrape a win.
Luckily, Oscar Pareja and his boys are made of sterner stuff than myself, and were never going to let such a proud unbeaten I-4 Derby streak vanish.
Hitting the Rowdies for five, we soon put to bed recent troubles in front of goal.
A brace from 16-year-old full debutant Gustavo Caraballo and further strikes from Ramiro Enrique, Duncan McGuire, and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson ensured our comfortable passage into the next round of the U.S. Open Cup, where a home tie with Nashville SC awaits.
Yet another win over the Tennessee side will once again see Orlando reach the U.S. Open Cup quarter-finals.
A potential trip to USL Championship side Pittsburgh Riverhounds may well tempt me back over to the United States sooner than I expected – if the Riverhounds manage to beat Pennsylvania Turnpike rivals Philadelphia Union at the end of the month.
Catching some baseball
For me, I had learned from March’s whistle-stop trip to Yankee Stadium, so the Al Lang demolition didn’t quite spell the end of the trip.
The next day, I headed eastwards along Interstate 4 for a now-traditional visit to Daytona Beach’s Buc-ee’s and to check out a Daytona Tortugas Single-A baseball game.
In fact, not only were the Tortugas contesting a double-header with the Tampa Tarpons that day, but it was also ‘Thirsty Thursday’ at the Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
It’s safe to say that a very enjoyable evening at the ballgame was had – even if Tampa finally got one over me by sweeping the Tortugas.
The aftermath
As I am writing this, I have only just made it back home from Gatwick Airport.
As with every time I travel to an Orlando game, this trip has been exhausting, wallet-draining, and not entirely convenient
I have a 3,000-word exam to be set in less than a week!
Yet, I have never regretted one of these trips – even when we lose.
This club’s community is second-to-none, and every game I attend feels special in some way.
While I was lucky enough to attend our 5-1 semi-final rout of New York Red Bulls in 2022, I wasn’t quite able to make the final.
We now sit three games from another one, and we are all starting to believe again.
That’s the magic of the U.S. Open Cup for you!
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