• Final stats

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando City SC had two goals in three games to start the season. On Saturday, the Lions doubled that mark with a four-goal performance in their first win of the season.

The Lions (1-2-1, 4 points) defeated the New York Red Bulls (2-2-0, 6 points) 4-3 at Orlando City Stadium in front of 23,257 spectators.

“Really, really difficult to get that result today for a lot of reasons,” Orlando City head coach Jason Kreis said after the win. “I think without 100-percent commitment, we don’t walk out of here with all three points.”

City earned their three points thanks to an outside-of-the-box bullet in the dying minutes of the game. Midfielder Sacha Kljestan sent the ball across the top of the penalty area to right back Scott Sutter, who smashed the ball between the Red Bulls defenders toward goal.

The ball collided off midfielder Josué Colmán, fooling goalkeeper Luis Robles into diving the wrong way, as the ball bulged in the back of the net to give the Lions a 4-3 lead in the 86th minute.

For Kreis, Sutter advancing so far forward was part of the plan.

“He was supposed to be up that far,” Kreis said. “We want our outside backs, at certain moments, to take really advanced positions. And against the Red Bulls, we felt like, for sure, switching the point of attack was gonna be critical for us.”

The Red Bulls opened the scoring in the seventh minute when midfielder Alejandro Romero Gamarra, or Kaku, was given space on the left side of the penalty area.

Kaku whipped in a cross past the City defense to the other side of the post and found midfielder Florian Valot, who sent a downward header to the back of the net for his first-career, Major League Soccer goal, giving the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead.

The Lions responded eight minutes later when Kljestan, a former Red Bulls midfielder, sent the ball through two defenders to forward Justin Meram. With a left-footed, first-time touch, Meram sent a low ball across the goal to midfielder Will Johnson, who tapped it in to level the game at 1-1.

“That’s only [Meram and Kljestan’s] second match together this season,” Kreis said. “[Kljestan’s] first game was two weeks ago against New York City [FC]. And, obviously, that was a difficult, difficult field and difficult circumstance to play under.

“We think that those two players are like-minded and should be able to combine very well. But we also have a few others that we think should tie into there as we move forward, as well.”

Valot’s first MLS goal wasn’t his only contribution this match. He also made a mark in the game with a through ball into the box toward sprinting midfielder Derrick Etienne Jr. Etienne Jr. wiggled past center back Lamine Sané and hit it home first time with his left foot to give New York a 2-1 lead in the 24th minute.

Once again, the Lions responded promptly. After a Johnson shot was blocked out of bounds, the Lions were given a corner kick. Midfielder Yoshimar Yotún took the corner with his left foot and found forward Dom Dwyer at the near post tangled with Robles.

Dwyer, in his first appearance with City this regular season, got his head on the ball to score a goal from close range and to draw the Lions level at 2-2 in the 26th minute. Robles hollered at head referee Jair Marrufo for an interference call, but the goal was allowed.

“The first corner right before that almost went in. So, I just tried to put myself in that same position, and I actually got myself right in front of Robles,” Dwyer said after the match. “I don’t really know what part of my body it went off. Was it the back of my head? But, a goal’s a goal.”

City took their first lead of the game with help from a 48th-minute throw-in. Dwyer, who was standing at the top of the box before the throw, signaled to left back Mohamed El-Munir that he wanted the ball. El-Munir obliged and sent a throw to the left side of the penalty area.

Dwyer sprinted toward the bouncing ball and volleyed it with his left foot to the right of a diving Robles to give City a 3-2 lead and Dwyer his second goal of the match.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” Kljestan said after the match. “I’ve said that [Dwyer] and I need to continue to work together and get to know each other on the field and our tendencies.”

The Red Bulls drew level for the third time in the game in the 82nd minute. Midfielder Marc Rzatkowski drew a foul on Orlando’s side of the field and lined up to take the free kick. Rzatkowski’s ball was sent into the box and off the head of center back Aaron Long into the back of the net to make the game 3-3.

“Great performance,” Dwyer said. “Obviously, we don’t want to concede three. But if we score four, I’m fine with that.”

Who’s Next?

Orlando welcomes the Portland Timbers to Orlando City Stadium on April 8 at 4 p.m. The Timbers have yet to win a game this season, going 0-2-1, so far.

For more on the Lions, as they attempt to start their first winning streak of 2018, follow Tommy Cardinal on Twitter at @NDR_TomCardinal.