Entering play as one of Major League Soccer’s hottest teams, Orlando City SC will look to extend its strong play on Wednesday when it visits Atlanta United.
Orlando (7-2-6, 27 points) has won three straight matches and hasn’t lost in 12 straight (6-0-6), last falling on March 8 to New York City FC in a 2-1 setback. Across its three-match winning streak, Orlando has outscored its opponents 7-1 — including a 1-0 victory over the Portland Timbers on Saturday.
Orlando’s Duncan McGuire netted the game’s only goal in the 39th minute to propel the club to a franchise-record tying 12th straight unbeaten match.
“Apart from the talent and the capacity that our players have to have these performances and win games and keep our team in that mode, is that they trust us. I think that’s a big reason,” Orlando head coach Oscar Pareja said of the streak. “The tactical discipline that we have had in the last two or three games has been first class. And when you sense that the team believes in the idea and you see it on the field, then you have a big chance to win games.”
Orlando’s plus-12 goal differential ranks third in the league, behind only Vancouver’s plus-15 and Philadelphia’s plus-13.
Atlanta (3-7-5, 14 points) picked up three much-needed points with its 4-2 home victory over FC Cincinnati, snapping an eight-game winless stretch (0-5-3) that included a 3-0 road loss to Orlando City on April 26. The team had only mustered four goals since its last win on March 29, and Sunday’s offensive explosion was a welcome sight for a club suffering through a rough start to the season.
“Big, big credit to the boys,” Atlanta head coach Ronny Deila said. “I see a lot more leadership in the group. … We had some really good performances (on Sunday) as individuals and as a team.”
Atlanta got goals from Derrick Williams, Jay Fortune and Bartosz Slisz — each of whom scored their firsts of the season – before Jamal Thiare finished off United’s win. Emmanuel Latte Lath leads Atlanta with five goals, but he hasn’t found the back of the net since March 29.
–Field Level Media
