ORLANDO,FL – Orlando City SC (8-5-7 31 points) defeated Chicago Fire FC ( 3-1 on a sweltering day in front of 22,070 fans at Exploria Stadium.
Orlando dominated the game, with Facundo Torres scoring a brace for the Lions, his 6th and 7th goals of the season for the purple squad. This win extends their home unbeaten streak to six consecutive wins.
Orlando started the game with their usual ferver, pushing the attack and challenging the Chicago defense. The Fire push Orlando higher than most teams, causing many battles to begin in the midfield as opposed the the opposing side.
Surprisingly, The Men in Red managed to have more possession time in the first half, but the Lions dominated in the attack.
In thee 38th minute, Martín Ojeda pounced on a poor touch from the Fire defense at the edge of the area, finding Kyle Smith on the right flank, who lofted a ball into the box that eventually found the head of Facundo Torres for the finish.
The goal was Torres’ 6th on the season.
Facundo continued his scoring quest in the 55th minute when he came to the spot for Orlando City due to a handball violation. Torres stepped up, and drove the score straight down the middle for the 2-0 lead.
The visitors managed to get one back because of a foul in the area. Xherdan Shaqiri stepped up for the Fire and converted from the spot with a strike into the right side of the net, just out of Pedro Gallese’s reach.
Orlando closed the deal in the 75th minute when Ramiro Enrique took a shot from the left ends of the area that cleared all of the traffic to fight the far right side of the goal, giving Orlando a two gaol lead.
Orlando Head Coach Oscar Pareja was naturally pleased with the results.
“Very good game in front of our fans. That is the most important note of the night, obviously the three points, but doing it in front of our fans means a lot for the group. The boys expressed themselves very well in the first 25-30 minutes. I wish we had scored a couple of goals, but we maintained our concentration and we were patient with the game, controlling it, creating sequences, creating options to score. We were patient, the goals came, the reaction from Chicago in a spell of about 15 minutes was hard and then the other goals came. We’re good, we’re pleased, I think the team is playing much better. We’re scoring goals, a lot of positive things. Those three points will give us a lot of confidence too and we’re happy for our fans.”
Orlando returns to the pitch on July 4th to face Toronto FC at Exploria Stadium.
