MLS Multiplex
Fansided

Orlando City Vs Montreal Impact: 3 things we learned – Orlando moves on

By Harvey Cruz

Orlando City, Sebas Mendez (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Orlando City, Sebas Mendez (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
REUNION, FLORIDA – JULY 25: Orlando City and Montreal Impact players walk on the pitch prior to their game during the knockout round of the MLS is Back Tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on July 25, 2020 in Reunion, Florida. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
REUNION, FLORIDA – JULY 25: Orlando City and Montreal Impact players walk on the pitch prior to their game during the knockout round of the MLS is Back Tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on July 25, 2020 in Reunion, Florida. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

On Saturday night, Orlando City moved on to the quarter-finals thanks to a 1-0 victory over the Montreal Impact. Here are three things we learned.

Orlando City continued their excellent MLS is Back Tournament on Saturday night with a 1-0 victory over the Montreal Impact to move into the quarter-finals of the knockout stages. Oscar Pareja’s side had the better of the chances of the match. They were denied a goal before half-time due to an offside call but continued to push the envelope.

Orlando’s pressure finally paid off in the second half. Rod Fanni’s errant backpass gave Clement Diop no chance to clear and Tesho Akindele easily tapped the ball home. From that point, Montreal pushed on for an equalizer but the damage had already been done.

Here are three things we learned from Orlando’s 1-0 win.

REUNION, FLORIDA – JULY 25: Sebas Mendez #8 passes the ball to Tesho Akindele #13 of Orlando City who scores a goal past Clement Diop #23 of Montreal Impact in the second half during the knockout round of the MLS is Back Tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on July 25, 2020 in Reunion, Florida. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
REUNION, FLORIDA – JULY 25: Sebas Mendez #8 passes the ball to Tesho Akindele #13 of Orlando City who scores a goal past Clement Diop #23 of Montreal Impact in the second half during the knockout round of the MLS is Back Tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on July 25, 2020 in Reunion, Florida. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

3. Orlando continues impressive run

The gameplan was simple: pass the ball, hold possession and be patient for the chances to arrive. Orlando City’s plan worked to a tee as they controlled the game throughout and eventually reaped the rewards.

Oscar Pareja will no doubt be pleased by his team’s performance as they are now four games unbeaten after a tough start pre-pandemic. While neither Chris Mueller or Nani were on the scoresheet, they threatened Montreal’s backline on occasion and Jhegson Carabali was great in possession and winning duels frequently.

The defense deserves much credit for holding the Impact to just a single shot on target throughout the 90 minutes. It has taken some time but Orlando are on to greener pastures and are deservedly through to the next round.

Home/Orlando City SC