• Final stats

Orlando City SC traveled north to face a familiar foe for its first road game of 2018, but, unfortunately for City, the result wasn’t familiar.

Despite previously holding a 5-2-1 advantage over New York City FC, Orlando City suffered their second-straight loss and their third-overall loss to their fellow 2015 expansion side. The Lions (0-2-1, 1 point) lost 2-0 to NYCFC (3-0-0, 9 points) at Yankee Stadium on March 17.

“We just really need something to go our way,” third-year Lions head coach and former NYCFC head coach Jason Kreis said after the loss, per Orlando City. “One result, one bounce to go our way early in the game, and we will move forward very quickly from that.”

The Lions were integrating a host of new players into their lineup, but that didn’t stop them from producing early chances and keeping a scoreless draw for more than 60 minutes of the game.

NYCFC’s second goal, however, was initiated by an error from first-year Lion Sacha Kljestan.

With City already trailing 1-0 in the 74th minute, a pressured Kljestan attempted to lead his teammate down the left flank, but the errant pass fell to Saad Abdul-Salaam. The defender then drove the ball down the right side and inserted it into the box to midfielder Jesús Medina, who laid it off to Maximiliano Moralez for a one-touch goal and a 2-0 lead.

The Lions surrendered the first goal no more than 12 minutes earlier. An awkwardly bouncing back pass from midfielder Yoshimar Yotún fell to goalkeeper Joe Bendik. His attempted clearance failed, and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi capitalized by centering the ball and striking it past Bendik.

“Well, you know, the first [goal]–I think we just gave our goalkeeper a bad ball; it’s difficult to deal with,” Kljestan said after the loss, per Orlando City. “The second one, I tried to turn at out of pressure when I should’ve just played the way I faced.

“We put our goalie under pressure tonight two times, and they capitalized on both. So that was poor from us.”

While third-year Lion Cristian Higuita started for the first time this season, center back Lamine Sané and midfielder Josué Colmán made their Major League Soccer debuts. Colmán was a part of the Lions’ best scoring chance in the 86th minute.

From the top of the box, the 19-year-old led fellow midfielder Will Johnson down the right part of NYC’s box for an open look, and Johnson banged the ball off the bottom of the crossbar.

Colmán finished with one shot (zero on-goal) in 14 minutes while Sané played the entire second half for an injured Jonathan Spector, who City suspect suffered a concussion.

“What gives me comfort is that I still see a lot of positive things, and I still believe that we will be a good team when we put it all together,” Kreis said. “We are still missing, as you have noted, two very important players, but it doesn’t change the fact that the players that are out there and who have been out there in the last three games could have and should have gotten more points.”

Johnson was also on the end of another scoring chance for City in first-half stoppage time.

Kljestan delivered a corner kick from the right, and the ball fell to the right foot of Johnson. His shot from the top of the 6-yard box was deflected by an NYCFC defender.

“[Kljestan’s] comfortable on the ball. He wants the ball all the time,” Johnson said after the loss, per Orlando City. “I think it’s [a] slightly difficult first game for him to come on the road here on a field that wasn’t great. To get his first minutes of the year was tough for him, and I feel for him.

“He gave away the ball for that second goal, but he’s a man; he’s a big-time player in this league. He won’t shy away from anything, and he works hard; he makes this team much, much better. We are happy to have him.”

Who’s Next?

The Lions return to the safety of Orlando City Stadium for their next game on March 31 for a 1 p.m. matchup.

For more on the Lions, as they continue to search for their first three points, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.