Lions Win 6-straight Games for First Time in Their MLS History

Orlando City SC used three different goal-scorers in a second-half, come-from-behind win over Real Salt Lake for its first-ever Major League Soccer six-game winning streak.

By
Victor Tan
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Orlando City SC center back Lamine Sane prepares to receive a corner kick during a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake at Orlando City Stadium on Sunday, May 6, 2018. (Photo by Victor Tan / New Day Review)

ORLANDO, Fla. – History was made in Orlando City SC’s most recent home game.

The Lions won their sixth-consecutive game for the first time in their Major League Soccer history in a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake Sunday night at Orlando City Stadium in front of 23,258 fans.

While the milestone is something head coach Jason Kreis was looking forward to achieving, the third-year City coach is also of the mindset that the team hasn’t achieved anything of significance yet.

“Any time there’s a record out there to be broken, I want to break it, and my team wants to break it, no doubt. So we stick that in our pocket, and we feel proud about it, and now we move on,” Kreis said after he win. “… It’s about not becoming complacent–at all. It’s about trying to improve week by week, and it’s also about staying hungry.

“Because the truth of the matter is we won six games in a row, but we haven’t won anything at all.”

Trailing 1-0, Orlando City’s defense kept it a one-goal game with a series of stops beginning about five minutes after the start of the second half. RSL’s first chance of the final period bounced off the post in the 49th minute, and keeper Joe Bendik did the rest.

In the 50th minute, Bendik leaped to his right and deflected a shot from Salt Lake forward Jefferson Savarino. A minute later, Bendik dove to his left and deflected away another on-target attempt, this time by midfielder Albert Rusnák from inside the left part of the box.

Bendik recorded another save in the 59th minute when he stopped midfielder Damir Kreilach‘s attempt from outside the top of the box.

“Yeah, they were important saves to make,” Bendik said after the game. “They weren’t overly difficult. We knew that we wanted to come out in the second half and try to get a goal and continue to put them under pressure, and I think we did that.”

The Lions applied that pressure immediately after Bendik contributed to his eight total saves.

In the 60th minute, midfielder Sacha Kljestan penetrated the left part of RSL’s box but had the ball stabbed away. Kljestan recovered the ball anyway, turned and crossed it to forward Dom Dwyer for the headed equalizer.

Three minutes later, first-year City defender Lamine Sané headed in City’s lead-taking goal. Midfielder Yoshimar Yotún delivered the cross from the right corner for his fifth assist of the season.

“I’m very happy for the team, for us, for the club and for me. First goal at home,” Sané said after the match.

Yotún helped put the game out of reach for RSL with a goal of his own in the 78th minute. Dwyer struck the ball from inside the left part of the box, and RSL keeper Nick Rimando made the save at full extension with a dive to his left. Yotún, however, waited near the middle of the box, recovered the rebound and took the open shot for a 3-1 lead.

City dominated the opening minutes of the match in just about every offensive statistic. By the end of the first half, the Lions had owned 63.4 percent of possession, out-shot RSL 10-8 (2-5 on-goal) and delivered more corners (5-3) and open-play crosses (8-4).

The Lions’ first-half performance was epitomized by a flurry of chances that narrowly evaded a final touch. Dwyer was on the receiving end of some of those chances, including whiffing from inside the box in the 15th minute.

Forward Justin Meram, who is still scoreless in 2018, also had opportunities to open his City account, but none of his game-high four shots were on-target.

“I think Justin is coming on. He needs more,” Kreis said. “He needs more time with these guys; he needs more opportunities. He needs to relax a little bit in front of the goal and take, maybe, a chance he probably should have tonight. But I’m really pleased with the overall effort.”

Despite City’s onslaught of opening-half chances, RSL struck first. Striker Corey Baird scored the game’s first goal in the 13th minute in a Salt Lake counterattack. Kreilach delivered a leading cross down the middle-left flank to Baird, who out-ran Sané.

As Baird turned the corner and met Bendik off his line, he chipped the ball into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.

“Being a goal down in the first half after I thought we started so incredibly brightly was difficult for the guys,” Kreis said. “And I think the beginning of the second half, there were some difficulties, again. But we continued to push; we continued to believe; we continued to stay together, and we get the result, I think, in the end, we deserved.”

Who’s Next?

The Lions stay at home for one more game of a two-game home stand, as they take on Atlanta United FC on May 13 in Orlando at 6 p.m. Atlanta is at the top of the Eastern Conference table with a 7-1-1 record and a league-leading 22 points.

For more on the Lions, as they are still looking for their first-ever win over Atlanta, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

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

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