Orlando City snapped Atlanta United’s five-game unbeaten streak at home, prevailing 2-1 on Saturday night to pass the Five Stripes in the MLS East and move into fifth place.
Atlanta came into the weekend with a 7-1-3 home record, having only lost 3-1 to Charlotte FC (6-9-8, 26 points) on May 13. Atlanta had lost just one of eight home games against Orlando — 3-1 in August 2020 — since its inception in 2017.
Meanwhile, Orlando sought road redemption following a brutal 4-0 loss to Real Salt Lake (10-7-7, 37 points) last Saturday at America First Field in Sandy, Utah.
With Columbus’ 3-2 loss at Portland, Orlando City (10-6-7, 37 points) moved up to sole possession of fifth place in the East while Atlanta United (9-6-8, 35 points) slipped to seventh.
“I saw today a lot of character on the field, with a team that had a tough experience over the past weekend and today, coming to Atlanta, we needed this one game,” Orlando City coach Oscar Pareja said. “It was important for our confidence, it was important for the standings.”
The Deep South rivalry was the Lions’ last regular-season match before a break for the MLS All-Star Game and Leagues Cup. They will resume MLS action on Aug. 20 against Chicago Fire FC (8-7-8, 32 points).
The Five Stripes took the lead in the 22nd minute. Forward Machop Chol blasted a right-footed ball from outside the 6-yard box, saved off the goal line by Lions center back Antonio Carlos before 18-year-old Caleb Wiley buried the rebounded ball to earn his fourth goal of the season and fifth of his young career.
Carlos quickly responded, scoring a header off captain Mauricio Pereyra’s free kick in the 25th minute.
The first half ended 1-1. Atlanta held the majority of possession (52.5%) while Orlando led offensively, tallying 7 shots to Atlanta’s 5.
Pereyra’s through-ball to Duncan McGuire allowed the Lions to get ahead in the 59th minute. McGuire darted past the backline, nudging the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net for a team-leading 8th goal.
“We needed a team that had character the whole time, and the players had that today,” said Pareja, whose club is 4-8-7 all-time against Atlanta. “We had very good health, in terms of movement, controlling the game, controlling the ball. All the credit for the players. They held their own tonight and I’m very proud of them.”
The Lions, who have yet to lose consecutive regular-season games, return home to face Houston Dynamo FC (8-10-5, 29 points) in the Leagues Cup on Friday.
