Marco Pasalic scores in extra time. Photo by Mark Thor OCSC staff photographer
Antoine Griezmann scored twice and set up another goal as Orlando City SC beat D.C. United 4-1 on Saturday night at Inter.co Stadium. The win keeps the Lions in the Eastern Conference’s final automatic playoff spot.
D.C. United started the brighter side. Tai Baribo sent a shot just wide of the top right corner in the seventh minute. A minute later, Maxime Crépeau made back-to-back saves on João Peglow and Silvan Hefti to keep the match scoreless.
Orlando made the visitors pay. In the 15th minute, Martín Ojeda found Griezmann in the center of the box, and the Frenchman finished through the middle. Seven minutes later the two swapped roles. Griezmann lofted a ball over the D.C. back line, and Ojeda slotted an acrobatic right-footed shot with the Bottom of his sole into the bottom left corner for a 2-0 lead. Amazing goal and possibly a Goal of the Year.
D.C. answered in first-half stoppage time. Wilder Cartagena fouled Sean Nealis in the box, and Baribo converted the penalty.
Griezmann restored the two-goal margin five minutes after the restart. He intercepted a D.C. pass and finished left-footed into the bottom right corner for his third brace of the season. From there, Orlando controlled 59.3% of possession. D.C. outshot Orlando 15-13 but put only four on target, while Orlando tested Sean Johnson seven times.
Orlando brought on Justin Ellis, Braian Ojeda and Adrián Marín in the 70th minute. As the game slipped away, D.C. grew frustrated. Kimito Nono, Jackson Hopkins and Baribo all drew yellow cards in the final 13 minutes, and D.C. finished with 18 fouls to Orlando’s 10.
Two substitutes combined for the final goal. Marco Pašalić had come on for Ojeda in the 86th minute. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, he ran onto Ellis’ through ball on a fast break and finished left-footed into the bottom left corner.
The win leaves Orlando seventh in the East with 41 points, five points clear of the wild-card places with four matches left. Orlando is hot and all players are focused on the playoffs.
The run-in will test that cushion. Orlando hosts New York City FC at Inter.co Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m. It then visits Chicago on Oct. 28 and Charlotte on Oct. 31, and closes the regular season at home against New England on Nov. 7. All three of those opponents sit above Orlando in the table.
