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(Photo Credit: SaJorden Miller / The SkyBoat)
Early in the match, Demar Phillips of RSL, received two quick yellow cards resulting in him being sent off, giving Orlando City SC a one-man advantage. The Lions were unable to capitalize on the one-man advantage, as a penalty inside the box setup Real Salt Lake for their first goal of the match, as Plata drilled it into the upper left corner.
Things got worse for Orlando City as the first half drew to a close. In the 45th minute, Orlando City’s Darwin Ceren was issued a red card and was sent off resulting in the end of the Lions one-man advantage.
At the end of the first half Real Salt Lake lead Orlando city SC 1-0. The Lions were winning the corner battle 6-2, they also led in shots on target 4 compared to RSL’s 3.
Real Salt Lake added to their lead in the 66th minute of the match as Joao Plata kicked in his second goal. The Lions continued to attacking mantra with 6 corners and 5 shots in the second half, but nothing seemed to work for Orlando City as the 90th minute approached.
The side judge held up the sign noting 4 minutes of extra time were added to the clock, that’s when the magic started for the Lions. Orlando City’s Cyle Larin netted the first goal in the third minute of extra time. That goal made it 2-1, giving the Lions hope with one minute of extra time remaining in the match.
It was then seconds after, Adrian Winter received a lob pass that gave him a one on one with Real Salt Lake’s keeper. That opportunity was taken and resulted with the Lions second goal to end the match in a 2-2 draw.
Head coach Adrian Heath for Orlando City spoke upon the resiliency of his team post-game, “They keep going. [They] kept going all afternoon. We had four or five good chances before the goal. The crowd was unbelievable even when we were two goals down. I always thought we were going to score. I didn’t expect it to be as late as it was, but I always thought we would get a goal at one stage.”
Man of the match Brek Shea for Orlando City gave all the glory to the fans for continuing to believe in them, “With the fans, it was like a 12th man out there. We were two goals down and a man down and they keep believing in us. Fans can turn in any stadium for any team and they stayed with us and obviously helped us get those two goals.”
Orlando City SC looks to heal and regroup ahead of Fridays match against the Chicago Fire. Kickoff is set for March 11th, 7pm at the Orlando Citrus Bowl.