ORLANDO, FL. – Orlando City SC hosted New York Red Bulls on Saturday afternoon at Exploria Stadium. Junior Urso and the Lions were looking to extend their unbeaten streak to nine, a club record. New York saw this game as a six-pointer against a team near the top of the Eastern Conference.
Junior Urso Roars Orlando City to 9th Unbeaten Game against RBNY
The first half was fairly even with both teams getting the ball in good areas, but they weren’t as sharp as they could have been in the box. Brian White missed a sitter in the 8th minute.
Darly Dike opened the scoring in the 24th minute. Mauricio Pereyra switched the field in the final third to find Kyle Smith. Smith whipped in a cross to Dike who headed the ball to score, unchallenged.
Five minutes into the second half, Junior Urso made it 2-0. Chris Mueller held up the ball well and passed perfectly to unleash the Brazilian. He ran onto goal, 1-v-1 and beat David Jensen.
Urso celebrated by putting his hands up and forward like claws. “Urso” in Brazlian means bear, in case you were wondering.
Against the run of play, Red Bulls pulled one back. Kamal Miller gave the ball away in the final third in the 54th minute. New York won the ball and after a deflection, Florian Valot ran onto it and scored with no players in purple tracking his run.
RBNY came alive in the final 10 minutes but were unable to get an equalizer. Center back Robin Jansson stood tall help his team win. Antonio Carlos scored in the last minute of stoppage time in transition into an open net. The goal was ruled offside but VAR overturned it. The match ended 3-1.
Good luck trying to duel @JrUrso. 🐻 #VamosOrlando pic.twitter.com/cSJk4JvD3J
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) October 3, 2020
Three Takeaways:
Nine unbeaten: OCSC have not lost since their first game of the restarted regular season. They’re on the best run of form in club history, nine unbeaten. Oscar Pareja and the players are doing a job.
A struggling young team: This writer is increasingly confused by RBNY, this game being a microcosm of the state of the club. They had some good moments. They’re young, full of energy, and have potential. But they came up short. That’s been the case for years and a lot is needed for things to change.
Conference champion contenders: Pending results from the rest of the weekend, Orlando could find themselves third in the Eastern Conference on Monday. They’re a contender.
