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Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Final Score 5-1 as Nani, Tesho Akindele Lead Lions’ Romp

The Lions fell behind in their first ever match against Cincinnati, but roared back for an easy win.

Published

7 years ago

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City fell behind in the first half but broke its losing streak in convincing fashion with a 5-1 destruction of FC Cincinnati (3-8-2, 11 points) in front of an announced crowd of 22,341 on a hot day at Orlando City Stadium. The Lions got braces from Nani and Tesho Akindele and a header from Dom Dwyer to run the MLS newcomers out of the City Beautiful.

It was only the third time all season that Orlando (4-6-3, 15 points) had scored more than one goal in a game and it was the team’s first victory by more than one goal in 2019. The win broke a three-game losing streak and a four-match winless skid. The 5-1 win was Orlando’s second-biggest MLS win only to a 6-1 home win over New England on Sept. 27, 2017 — a game in which the Revs were a man down for much of the night.

James O’Connor praised his team’s mentality after the match for coming back after conceding the first goal in the team’s third game in eight days.

“Obviously very pleased — not just with the result,” O’Connor said after the game. “I thought overall the mentality of the players was excellent. To play at three o’clock in Florida is a mental test.”

O’Connor rotated 10 of the 11 spots from Wednesday’s game, leaving only Lamine Sané in the starting XI from the midweek match in Seattle.

The game was mostly a plodding affair before Cincinnati opened the scoring in the 24th minute. Up to that point, neither team seemed particularly adept at getting into the opposing team’s penalty area, instead passing the ball around the perimeter and either turning it over or sending in a hopeful cross.

The only real chance of the game had come from a shot by Emmanuel Ledesma in the 21st minute that rattled off the crossbar.

That warning shot failed to wake up Orlando, which had started to concede more of the possession after dominating the ball early, and it proved costly moments later.

Darren Mattocks’ opener came out of nowhere. The Lions were in excellent shape defensively, but seemed mesmerized by the Cincinnati attacker, who faked one way, went the other and fired his shot into the back of the net with the two center backs right in front of him and several other players in the neighborhood just watching the play happen.

The goal was exactly what the game needed as the match sprung to life after Mattocks’ strike. Will Johnson nearly pulled back the goal after taking a pass from Chris Mueller in the 30th minute, but he saw his effort blocked. Cristian Higuita followed with a narrow miss two minutes later from the top of the area.

Akindele tied things up in the 37th minute. Johnson took a pass from Joao Moutinho and played in Akindele with a nice through ball, and the Canadian fired home to make it 1-1.

“I saw Will making a run though,” Akindele said. “They fired the ball into him. I kind of was asking for the flick and he played a really good pass kind of around the corner. I took a good first touch, I thought, and then just tried to put it on target…I think the play was really well done by our team.”

The game remained open the rest of the half. Nani’s cross in for Johnson in the 41st minute provided a good opportunity, but the ball was deflected out for a corner. Mueller fizzed a ball in for Akindele in the first minute of stoppage time that was just inches too far in front for a deflection. Johnson had a go from distance moments later, but he didn’t hit it with much power and it was right at Spencer Richey for an easy save.

The last good opportunity for Cincinnati came off a set piece that was headed across goal, where Mathieu Deplagne got a head on it and forced a last-second save from Brian Rowe.

Orlando then finished with a set piece from the left that Cincinnati deflected off the outside netting and the teams went to the break tied at 1-1.

Orlando City led in shots, 7-3 (2-2 on target), possession (61.9%-38.1%), and passing accuracy (90.1%-81.1%).

The Lions came out of the break like a different team. Mueller and Nani each forced diving saves from Richey in the first two minutes of the second half. Shortly after the latter, Sebas Mendez was called for a foul, and during that stoppage, referee Nima Saghafi indicated he was going to video review. Replays showed that Kendall Waston had grabbed Sané from underneath both arms and took him down in a wrestling move during an Orlando corner kick. Saghafi didn’t review the play long and returned to the field, indicating a penalty to Orlando for Waston’s WWE move.

Nani took the spot kick but didn’t hit it well. Richey saved it, but the rebound fell right back at the feet of the Portuguese star, who calmly slotted home to make it 2-1 in the 50th minute.

Nine minutes later, Nani extended the lead to 3-1. Ruan worked a quick give-and-go with Akindele and made a lightning-quick dash down the right channel and cut in toward goal before crossing. Nani was there to stab home the cross in the 59th minute, scoring the 200th goal in Orlando City’s MLS history.

Orlando continued to press forward in the attack. Mueller won a free kick to the left of the area but sailed his set piece delivery over the bar in the 62nd minute. Two minutes later, the Lions struck again. Orlando won a corner kick and Mueller served in a corner kick cross that fell in the box and bounced off Sané. Akindele took it out of the air with the first touch and slotted it into the net to make it 4-1. With four goals on the season, it is the Canadian’s highest goal total since he scored four in 2017 across 29 appearances. It was also his first brace since July 4 of last year, when he got both of his goals on the season in a 3-2 win over Atlanta United while playing with FC Dallas.

“I think we got a little bit unlucky in the past on some of the chances we missed and I think maybe we got a little bit lucky today on some of the ones we scored,” Akindele said. “It kind of balances out in the long run as long as you’re creating chances, which we’ve been doing all year.”

City got a bit sloppy after that and failed to track second-half sub Fanendo Adi on a set piece. He brought the ball down in the area but couldn’t make good contact, sending a weak dribbler toward Rowe.

Dwyer came on for Nani and started to get things moving back in the other direction. He fired high from distance in the 73rd minute, but his injection into the middle of the attack began causing issues for the Cincinnati defense as the visitors tried pushing numbers forward to get back into the match.

After Ruan won a corner in the 81st minute, Dwyer broke his scoreless streak with a well-placed header off Josué Colmán’s corner kick cross. It must have come as a relief to the veteran striker and it was touching the way his teammates celebrated after the goal.

As time wound down, the Lions got a bit more lackadaisical in their own half and that nearly resulted in a cosmetic goal for Cincinnati. Ledesma fired just inches wide of goal in the 91st minute in what would have been a bit of a letdown for the team as well as the crowd. Instead, the Lions saw out the four minutes of stoppage and got a much-deserved victory.

Orlando City finished with a 17-5 advantage in shots (9-3 on target), a 61.1%-38.9% edge in possession, more corners (11-4), and a better passing accuracy (88.9%-83.5%).

“There were a couple of things I thought we just needed to be a little bit sharper on and areas we that needed to try to play in,” O’Connor said of his halftime adjustments. “The quality of the players started to come through. Again, I think the players deserve enormous credit for the mentality and the way they went on performed second half. I thought they were excellent.”

Akindele underscored the importance of the victory after the match.

“It was really important, especially to do it at home. The fans…they deserved that,” Akindele said. “They come out all the time. They support us. They’re making noise. And I’m so glad we could give them that win and they could experience that with us.”

Orlando City is back in action Friday night when the LA Galaxy come to town for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 1-1 home draw against FC Cincinnati?

Published

12 hours ago

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August 17, 2026

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Image of Tyrese Spicer rounding the goalkeeper against Cincinnati.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

With two potent attacks and two struggling, but improving, defenses one reasonably might have expected a high-scoring affair when Orlando City hosted FC Cincinnati on Saturday, but it was not to be. It was a tight match ending in a 1-1 draw, with no shortage of chances.

Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated in their matchup against FC Cincinnati.

Starters

GK, Maxime Crepeau, 6.5 — Although Cincinnati took a lot of shots, Crepeau only had to make three saves, including a couple of point-blank shots he did really well to stop. He came off his line when needed to snuff out trouble on a couple of occasions, and was a solid backstop for the Lions. A better defense in front of him is helping the Orlando goalkeeper, but he has looked better on his own following the World Cup break. Statistically, Crepeau attempted seven long balls, completing three, passed at 83.8%, and contributed a clearance as well.

D, Bernardo Rhein, 6 — Rhein had to be substituted out in the 39th minute, following what appeared to be a hamstring issue. The young left back had been performing well up until that point and hopefully he’s able to return sooner rather than later. He was energetic and decisive in his time on the pitch, exhibiting good control, helping to advance the ball in attack, contributing one key pass. Defensively, he compiled two clearances, one interception, and a blocked shot. He attempted two crosses, with one finding its mark, and attempted one long ball that did not connect, while passing with 90.5% accuracy.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — The captain did well overall, but he had a couple of bad passes while not under much pressure that might have turned out worse. Jansson was otherwise solid, and read the game well, snuffing out attacks as usual. He attempted only one long ball that did not connect and had no other offensive contributions. He had a whopping seven clearances though, and passed with 95% accuracy. Jansson sort of just defended his real estate in this one.

D, David Brekalo, 6.5 — Like Jansson, Brekalo also committed a pretty bad pass from a bad spot in the box late in the match. He was visible throughout the match though, if only on the defensive side of things. Brekalo had zero offensive contributions, but he finished with seven clearances, three tackles, a blocked shot, and 97.4% passing accuracy. He was nearly called for a penalty on Evander, but the attacker initiated the contact and was shown a yellow card for simulation. In any case, it was a solid, if not spactacular, night for both of Orlando’s center backs.

D, Griffin Dorsey, 7 — Dorsey was active in both directions against Cincinnati. He combined well with his teammates on multiple occasions and showed good control in tight spaces. He wasted a good opportunity on a pinpoint lofted ball into the box from Marin, by chesting it down for no one to get onto instead of taking the shot himself. Nevertheless, it was a productive night for the right back. Dorsey managed two key passes, and passed at a respectable 88.4%. He committed one foul and suffered three, but surprisingly attempted no long balls and no crosses. Defensively, he finished with two tackles, two interceptions, and one clearance.

MF, Tyrese Spicer, 7.5 (MotM) — This Man of the Match selection was easy for me. Obviously, Spicer got the team’s only goal, but he did so much more. He took six shots, although he put just one on target, and he also made three key passes, attempted five crosses — although none connected — attempted two long balls with one finding a target, and tried one through ball that did connect. He drew two fouls and did not commit any. His passing was the lowest on the team at 72.7%, but he contributed mostly with his intelligent movement and positioning, something that is not so apparent in the statistics, and he was the biggest threat to Cincinnati’s defense.

MF, Joran Gerbet, 6.5 — Gerbet completed 100% of his 36 passes in this match. That’s a pretty rare figure on that many passes, and it was a decent night for the midfielder. He recorded one key pass, one accurate cross, and three completed long balls on the offensive side of things. He finished with one interception and a block on defense, and he committed one foul and suffered none. His block was a painful one, as he blocked a drive at the top of the area with his face. Gerbet’s return from a longterm injury continued to show progress against a good attacking group from Cincinnati.

MF, Luis Otavio, 7 — In another bright spot on the defensive side of things, Otavio had possibly his best match for the Lions. He did well to read plays and snuff out attacks. He was able to steal the ball on multiple occasions, including from the always dangerous Evander, and was involved all over the pitch. He passed well, especially for being in the middle of the action so frequently, with 86.3% accuracy. He was active on the offensive side, attempting four long balls, with one connecting, finding a key pass, and attempting one cross that did not find a target. Defense is where Otavio really shined however. He contributed six tackles, one interception, and a clearance. He committed two fouls and suffered one.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — It was a “different” night for Angulo in this match. He was his usual active self and did a lot of the things he usually does, and even carved out five key passes. Maybe it’s the fact he put up zero defensive statistics, which is unusual, that stands out. He combined well with his teammates and helped to advance the ball forward on multiple occasions, but very little came from his forays. He made one accurate cross and missed on two long ball attempts. He was fouled three times for his efforts but committed none. His passing was an impressive 87.2%. Angulo came close to threatening Cincinnati’s goal on a couple of occasions, but a heavy touch in the 72nd minute, and a mix-up in the box with Antoine Griezmann kept him from making a greater impact.

F, Antoine Griezmann, 6.5 — Griezmann did his thing and repeatedly helped to build up chances against a Cincinnati defense that was stout on the evening. A lack of sharpness is still apparent among the Lions as a group though, which is not surprising given the short time Griezmann’s been with the Lions and the short rest over the past few weeks, not to mention the absence of Martin Ojeda. But the quality is unmistakable and he continues to impress. He took three shots, putting one on target, and attempted a massive 14 crosses, but only two connected among the tall Cincy defenders. He passed with 81.3% accuracy and attempted three long balls, completing one. As usual, Griezmann was active in defense and contributed a clearance and a block and committed one foul while suffering none.

F, Justin Ellis, 7 — Ellis once again showed his quality in this match. He was usually where he needed to be, and if there’s one aspect of his game that might need improvement it’s finishing, as he was gifted a fantastic opportunity by Dorsey in the 36th minute, but he fired his shot right at the goalkeeper. The young forward took five shots on the night with three on target but none of those troubled Roman Celentano. He also contributed a key pass, and attempted two through balls, with one finding a teammate. His deft touch earned him an assist on Spicer’s goal. He only made 13 pass attempts, completing 84.6%, as Cincinnati tried to keep him off the ball. Ellis had no defensive stats.

Substitutes

D, Adrian Marin (39′), 6.5 — Marin came on for the injured Rhein in the first half and filled in pretty well. The quality at the left back position did not suffer after he came on and he made some key contributions in this one. On offense, his only contribution was one accurate cross, but on the defensive end, Marin logged four clearances and a blocked shot. He committed no fouls and suffered one. His passing was accurate at 95%, although on only 20 attempts. The numbers don’t say it all though, and I have to give Marin a little credit in this match. He made an excellent sliding challenge in the 64th minute on a charging Ender Echenique and sent in a beauty of a lofted ball into the box for Dorsey that the fullback could have done better with. It was a good night and, importantly, improvement for the left back.

F, Marco Pasalic (46′), 5.5 — Pasalic came on for Gerbet at halftime, as the defensive midfielder was on a minutes restriction. It wasn’t a like-for-like, but Pasalic occupied a lot of his normal areas while Angulo temporarily moved back to work with Otavio in the defensive midfield. The Croatian was active and combined well on a few occasions, and he managed to get three shots off, but none were on target and he provided little threat. He attempted one cross that found no one and two long balls, connecting on one. He made no defensive contributions and neither committed nor suffered any fouls. His one long ball was a good one and sprung Angulo, but the chance ultimately went wanting. He had a glorious chance to send a charging Dike in behind but elected not to, opting to hold up play for reinforcements. He also had a slightly bad touch that former Lion Kyle Smith took advantage of, ending a potential Orlando opportunity.

MF, Wilder Cartagena (61′), 7 — Wilder came on for Ellis and made a convincing impact. He shut down several promising Cincinnati attacks, and contributed on offense as well. For not being on the pitch very long, he had a good number of touches (28) and passed at 94.1% on 17 pass attempts. He took a shot from range that was just a little high, but it was a good effort and didn’t miss by much. Cartagena attempted two crosses that were unsuccessful while completing one long ball. Defensively, he recorded two tackles and two clearances and committed one foul.

F, Daryl Dike (82′), N/A — Dike came on for Spicer, and did not have enough time to earn a grade. Of course, his presence could still be felt and he may have had more of an impact had he been played in behind by Pasalic, but it was not to be. He only made two pass attempts, and completed both. He was fouled once and contributed one clearance.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in a close match that could have gone either way. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/17/26

Lions draw FC Cincinnati, Pride and OCB lose, Americans abroad, and more.

Published

16 hours ago

on

August 17, 2026

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Image of Orlando City's starters pose for a pregame photo wearing their Archive Collection third kits.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’m back to covering high school sports again for the fall season, with golf, soccer, and football this week. Our beloved Lions, Pride, and OCB were all in action over the weekend. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Draw FC Cincinnati at Home

Orlando City drew FC Cincinnati 1-1 on Saturday at Inter.co Stadium. The Lions trailed 1-0 at halftime, but Tyrese Spicer’s early goal in the second half was enough for Orlando to secure a point at home. Orlando City hasn’t won in its last three matches across all competitions and will need to pick up wins down the stretch, with the club sitting outside the MLS playoff spots in the Eastern Conference standings with 21 points. Before the match, Orlando City announced it had signed OCB midfielder Issah Haruna to a short-term contract. Haruna was on the bench but did not play against FC Cincinnati. The Lions have a quick turnaround, with two home matches this week. Orlando City will face the Chicago Fire on Wednesday and Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

Pride’s Winless Run Continues with Loss at Portland Thorns

The Orlando Pride fell 2-1 to the Portland Thorns at Providence Park on Saturday. After a scoreless first half, Portland struck first to take a 1-0 lead in the second half. Jacquie Ovalle scored the equalizer for Orlando, but in stoppage time, Caiya Hanks scored a late winner for Portland. Orlando has lost three consecutive matches. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Sunday against the Washington Spirit.

OCB Falls at Chicago Fire II

Orlando City B fell 2-0 to Chicago Fire II at SeatGeek Stadium on Saturday. Robert Turdean scored the opening goal for Chicago in the first half, and the Fire took a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Damyan Villanueva added the insurance goal for Chicago, which won its third in four matches. The Young Lions have lost four consecutive matches. OCB will be on the road to take on Atlanta United 2 on Saturday.

Americans Abroad

Let’s catch up on Americans in action abroad in Europe. Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten were both in action for Middlesbrough in a 2-1 win against Lincoln City on Saturday in the EFL Championship. Ricardo Pepi scored, and Sergino Dest notched an assist for PSV Eindhoven in a 2-1 win over Excelsior in the Eredivisie. Gianluca Busio played a full 90 minutes for Venezia as his side defeated Modena 3-2 in the Round of 64 in the Coppa Italia. Austin Trusty scored for Celtic, and Cameron Carter-Vickers was also in action in a 4-0 win against Dundee United, as the Scottish Premiership leaders advanced to the quarterfinals in the Scottish League Cup. On Sunday, former Lion Alex Freeman came off the bench late in the second half for Villarreal in a 2-2 draw against Racing Santander in La Liga.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride forward Seven Castain, who is on loan at Dallas Trinity, scored her first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw against the Tampa Bay Sun on Saturday in the USL Super League.
  • Former Lion Cyle Larin scored for Southampton, but his side fell 2-1 to Watford on Sunday in the EFL Championship.
  • Atlanta United is reportedly close to signing forward Breel Embolo from Stade Rennes for an $18 million transfer fee.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 1-1 draw with FC Cincinnati.

Published

2 days ago

on

August 16, 2026

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Image of Luis Otavio playing the ball against FC Cincinnati.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hosted FC Cincinnati at Inter.co Stadium Saturday night in the new red third kits. This was supposed to be a high-scoring affair between two teams that like to score and also like to give up goals. Naturally, that meant it ended in a low-scoring 1-1 draw. Still, it’s hard to be too upset given Orlando City came from behind and managed to earn a point against a team higher in the standings. Here are my five takeaways from the match.

A Head Injury Goal

FC Cincinnati scored the first goal of the match, but it wasn’t without controversy. Cincinnati passed the ball to the top of the box for Evander. His shot went directly into the face of Joran Gerbet, who dropped like a sack of potatoes. That is the moment that Tori Penso should have blown the whistle to stop the play. You know, for a potential head injury. Instead, Penso allowed the play to continue as the ball rebounded off Gerbet’s head to Pavel Bucha who scored the goal. Fortunately, Gerbet was okay not that Penso was overly concerned in the moment. After the match, she stated the play was not stopped because of an immediate shot by a teammate after the deflection. It took about four seconds from hitting Gerbet in the head from point-blank range until the time Bucha shot, and perhaps four seconds is considered immediate.

Relentless Spicer

Tyrese Spicer continued his run of good form for Orlando City with a good run against the Cincinnati defense. As two defenders closed on him, Justin Ellis made a nifty flicked pass from a ball from Ivan Angulo to a streaking Spicer. The speedy winger held off Bucha shoulder to shoulder to win the ball. Bucha fell down and Spicer rounded the keeper before putting it under the crossbar for the equalizer. It was a hard-earned goal and just what Orlando City needed to get back into the match.

Justice for Brekalo

Kevin Denkey got around Maxime Crepeau and looked certain to score, but he hit the right post. The ball bounced out to Evander. David Brekalo battled to win the ball and Evander went down in the box. Penso immediately called a penalty, but the contact was very light. Then the video assistant referee suggested a call against Orlando City needed to be checked. Penso looked at the replay and rightly said no penalty. On top of that, Evander received a yellow for simulation. Do you believe in miracles? Yes!

Crepeau Continues to Crush It

Crepeau has been playing well since returning from the World Cup. He continued his good form against one of the best attacking teams in MLS. Despite only being credited with three saves, he once again made several saves on shots from offside players that would not have counted, but were still impressive. Additionally, he got better as the match went on. He had good command of the his area, coming out to get the ball, closing down the angles, and being a big contributor to the point at home.

Good Enough

Orlando City’s defense was not great despite holding Cincinnati to one goal, but it was good enough. For a team that gave up nearly three goals per match prior to the World Cup break, allowing an average of one goal per match, including in this game, is much better. On a sadder note, Bernardo Rhein went off injured in the first half. The youngster had supplanted Adrian Marin on the depth chart and now might be out for a bit depending on how bad the injury is. To his credit, Marin played better than he usually does once he came on. Again, the defense wasn’t spectacular, but it did enough to earn a point.

That is what I saw in Orlando City’s result with FC Cincinnati. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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