Orlando City started the game off on the front foot with several opportunities in the first 10 minutes. Lions’ Center back Lamine Sané got his head on a corner in the second minute, though he could not get the contact he needed to get the ball on target.
By the 15th minute, City had 70% possession which is extremely lopsided that early in a match. Additionally, the majority of said possession was in Orlando’s attacking third. They were doing everything except for scoring the goal that would have given them the early lead.
Lion left back Mohamed El-Munir fouled Portland’s Blanco inside the box to give the Timbers a penalty in the 16th minute. Initially, the referee gave the Libyan, El-Munir a red card, but after analyzing the Video Assistant Referee the referee took back the red card to El-Munir. The Timber’s captain Diego Valeri stepped up to the penalty spot and firmly placed his shot into the bottom left corner to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute.
Following the penalty, it took City 10 minutes or so to get back into the match and find their rhythm.
Orlando’s big summer signing, Sacha Kljestan saw himself on the end of a solid chance in the 42nd minute. Kljestan had the ball just outside the box and ripped a shot towards the bottom right corner of the goal, but Timbers’ goalkeeper Jake Gleeson dove quickly to his left to save it.
Right before halftime, Orlando winger Justin Meram, got a shot on goal from a corner, but Gleeson’s positioning was perfect to make the save.
At the start of the second half, the Lions looked as if half the team on the field was mentally still in the locker room. They gave up two golden chances to Blanco and Valeri. Both opportunities came from simple give-and-goes that gave Blanco and Valeri space inside the 18-yard box. Unfortunately for Portland fans, both shots cannoned off the post.
In the 59th minute, Portland center back headed a chance from a corner into the back of the net to double his sides lead. Things were looking bleak for City and their fans as they were down 2-0.
Although, Orlando City started to apply more and more pressure around the 75th minute with chance after chance on Gleeson’s goal.
In the 80th minute, Orlando’s rookie forward, Chris Mueller met a corner at the near post with his head and placed it perfectly in the back of the net to get his first career MLS goal and to also give his side a glimpse of hope late in the match making it 2-1.
Not even a minute later, Orlando’s Dom Dwyer drew a foul inside the box to give the Lions a penalty kick. Kljestan stepped up to the spot and passed the ball into the bottom corner to tie the game at two apiece.
“I said we are going to win this game.” Said Dwyer after being asked what he said during an injury timeout when it was tied at two. “I was just letting everyone know that we were going to win this game. I just believed at that point that it was going to happen. We had too much momentum. They were looking tired.”
City’s RJ Allen played a through ball to Dwyer, who spun his marker around to get space and eventually place a shot into the bottom right corner of the goal giving the Lions a 3-2 lead in the 87th minute. Dwyer’s goal was his third in the last two games.
Orlando managed to hold onto the lead for the remaining three minutes plus stoppage time to secure the win.
“Obviously, very, very pleased with the result,” Said Orlando City Head Coach Jason Kreis on the comeback victory. “Incredible work rate, great by the guys. It was incredible that they stuck together. Incredible that they came back from two goals down. You know, the effort and all those things was fantastic. I still think that we have a long way to go. We’ve got a lot of improvements to make. So, we cannot let this result take us to a place where we start to feel comfortable”
Orlando’s next match takes place Friday, April 13th at 8:00 P.M. EST in Philadelphia, and will look to win their third match in a row.