Orlando City SC got their first win since July 14, with Sacha Kljestan converting a PK deep into stoppage time, to defeat Columbus Crew SC 2-1 at Orlando City Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The first half was evenly matched — including in yellow cards, with the one per side making for some of the testiest moments of the half. In the 33rd minute, Jonathan Mensah caught Dom Dwyer, and several minutes later, Dwyer ran into Mensah to draw his own warning. Though the fouls ramped up the intensity on both sides, the goalkeepers held their clean sheets into halftime.
Less than nine minutes into the second half, Federico Higuain converted a free kick opportunity for his sixth goal of the season. That lead wouldn't last long, though. A Gaston Sauro handball in the box led to Yoshi Yotun getting a chance to equalize less than three minutes later — Yotun delivered via a cheeky panenka. After an up-and-down final third of the match, a stoppage time penalty drawn by sub Chris Mueller, attributed to Wil Trapp, allowed Kljestan to step to the spot and give the Lions the extremely late game winner.
Goals
- 54' – CLB – Federico Higuain | WATCH
- 57' – ORL – Yoshi Yotun (PK) | WATCH
- 90' + 6'– ORL – Sacha Kljestan (PK) | WATCH
Three Things
THE BIG PICTURE:
It was an easy scenario for Columbus: Beat a team that's found wins hard to come by in the second half of the season, and make it to the playoffs. While Crew SC still have their destiny in their hands — a win gets them past the
Impact
no matter what the Impact do next week — they're leaving the playoff question to their final game, which certainly wasn't the hope going into today. It was also a game in which
Justin Meram
, who returned to Columbus from Orlando earlier this year, was conspicuously absent, for what apparently was a prearranged reason:
For Orlando? It's a win, which they clearly needed.
Next Up
- ORL: Sunday, October 28 at New York Red Bulls (4:30 pm ET | TV & streaming info)
- CLB: Sunday, October 28 vs. Minnesota United FC (4:30 pm ET | TV & streaming info)
