Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Photo Gallery

Orlando City returned home Saturday night to play Atlanta United for the second time in an eight-day span and the teams played to a 1-1 draw. The Lions, who had conceded a ton of possession to the Five Stripes in their first ever win in the series a week ago, were able to keep more of the possession this time and generate more good looks at goal. Unfortunately, they were also less clinical in front of net.

Combined with a late unforced turnover and a defensive mistake right afterwards, that lack of finishing turned what could have been a lopsided win into a draw. Benji Michel’s redirect of a Daryl Dike shot was canceled out in the end by an Adam Jahn header in stoppage time.

While a draw isn’t the worst result imaginable — and in fact it was the team’s fourth consecutive match without a loss — it still felt more like two dropped points than one earned point. Still, going two matches against Atlanta without a loss is a far cry from three losses without scoring a goal last year in the three meetings between the teams.

This shows how far the club has come in 2020 under Oscar Pareja. Expectations are higher because the performances have been better. What you see on the field tells you Orlando should grab all three points. But the reality of the game is that sometimes you win after a poor performance, sometimes you lose after a good one, and it often falls somewhere in between. The Lions will take the point, move on, and continue trying to improve game by game.

We hope you enjoy these photos from Saturday night’s match:

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