On the verge of continuing their worst start in club history, Orlando City salvaged a 1-1 draw at home Saturday night against the New York Red Bulls after an own goal from New York defender Noah Elle in the 89th minute.
The Lions (1-3-2, 5 points) held possession for the most of the night and ended the match with a 14-7 shot advantage over the Red Bulls (3-1-2, 11 points). But Orlando City trailed for the better part of the match before Ivan Angulo’s cross from the left wing and into the six-yard box was deflected by Elle into the bottom right corner to draw them level.
New York held a 1-0 lead late thanks to a first-half penalty from Lewis Morgan, who netted his fourth goal in two matches and his sixth total of the season with the spot kick. The meeting with Orlando was Morgan’s 100th career MLS match and was another encouraging show of form after the Scottish forward dealt with nagging hip injuries across the 2023 campaign.
The Red Bulls won the penalty in the 20th minute after right back Dylan Nealis made a strong run down the right wing and into the box. Nealis then passed the ball a few yards back to Morgan, who was fouled by Orlando defender Kyle Smith.
Despite fighting back for the draw, the Lions are off to a rough start to the year with only five points through their first six matches. In 2023, Orlando City finished second in the Eastern Conference standings during the regular season with an overall record of 18-7-9.
Orlando is still looking for its first goal from Colombian forward Luis Muriel, who was brought on by the team in February after scoring 68 goals and totaling 23 assists over the past five seasons with Italian club Atalanta.
The draw was disappointing for New York, but it didn’t lose any ground in the Eastern Conference standings with Inter Miami and FC Cincinnati also picking up draws Saturday.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the Red Bulls’ recent run of play is they have done it for the most part without star midfielder Emil Forsberg, who signed with the team as a Designated Player back in December after totaling 71 goals and 68 assists over the previous 10 seasons with German club RB Leipzig.
Forsberg has missed New York’s past two matches after contributing one goal and two assists in his first four appearances.
–Field Level Media
