New York City FC maintained their momentum, while Orlando City SC's familiar problems reared their heads again, when the 2015 MLS expansion siblings met in Orlando on Thursday night.
The visitors rarely hit top gear, but didn't have to, as goals from Maxi Moralez and Anton Tinnerholm late in the first half provided all the cushion needed against a luckless Lions side short on confidence and cursed by several promising shots that clanged off the woodwork.
Moralez's opener had more than a slight whiff of good fortune, as the Argentinean tracked down a loose ball and roofed his finish after a scrappy pinball-esque sequence in front of Orlando's goal. Tinnerholm bagged his fourth of the year in first-half injury time to ensure a comfortable margin of victory, and a late red card to Shane O'Neill completed the Lions' misery.
The victory runs NYCFC's current winning streak to four straight, keeping pace with Atlanta United and the New York Red Bulls atop the Eastern Conference standings, while OCSC have now lost 10 of their last 11 in league play.
Goals
Three Things
THE BIG PICTURE
: Good teams figure out ways to win, and poor ones discover myriad new ways to lose, and so it was for these two teams who entered MLS at the same time but find themselves in markedly different states at the moment.
Next Up
- ORL: Sunday, July 29 at LA Galaxy (9:30 pm ET | FS1 - Full TV & Streaming Info)
- NYC: Sunday, July 29 at Seattle Sounders FC (5 pm ET | ESPN - Full TV & Streaming Info)
