ORLANDO, Fla. – Passion undoubtedly runs deep through the veins of Orlando City SC players and fans alike. That was shown in very explicit fashion in the Lions’ 2-1 loss to Atlanta United FC on May 13.
The first instance came in the 87th minute when team captain Sacha Kljestan and left back Mohamed El-Munir engaged in a semi-physical argument during stoppage of play. Second-half substitute Stéfano Pinho attempted to break up the dispute, as well.
It appeared the argument derived from miscommunication and discontinuity between Kljestan and El-Munir in the final third, as the Lions were pushing for a late, second-half equalizer.
87′ | Uh… Sacha Kljestan and Mohamed El-Munir appeared to be fighting. Stefano Pinho tried to get between them.#ORLvATL #OCSC #ATLUTD #VamosOrlando #FaceOfCity #Soccer #MLS
— New Day Review (@NewDayReview) May 14, 2018
Lions coach Jason Kreis wasn’t overly concerned with the argument, as he noted both players apologized to each other after the match.
“They are two players that are the ultimate competitors. They don’t like being down again at home,” Kreis said after the team’s first loss since March 17. “They’re striving for more; they want to do better. And so it comes from a very honest place, and the two players have already apologized to each other, and it’s water under the bridge.
“But, again, it’s an emotional thing, as I said, that I think we need to be a little bit more composed as we move forward.”
As for City’s fans, they had a disreputable showing in stoppage time that the club was quick to condemn.
Midfielder Will Johnson worked his way down the right flank to just outside of Atlanta’s box and attempted to draw a foul for a late free kick. Despite falling, Johnson did not draw a foul and, instead, was promptly issued a yellow card for dissent.
As Johnson was given his booking, fans from the supporters’ section began littering the field with both empty and filled cups.
.@OrlandoCitySC‘s statement on fans’ behavior (i.e., throwing drinks, cups onto the field) in stoppage time of a 2-1 loss to @ATLUTD.#ORLvATL #OCSC #ATLUTD #VamosOrlando #FaceOfCity #Soccer #MLS pic.twitter.com/J3ZbkWdj7C
— New Day Review (@NewDayReview) May 14, 2018
“Yeah, my message is pretty clear. You know, we’ve said all along that the fans are part of our family, the crowd is part of our family, and, from our point of view, the players–we started to lose control emotionally, as well; the coaches were losing control a little bit emotionally, as well,” Kreis said. “And the crowd…we can’t be that; we can’t do that.
“We certainly want to be a very, very difficult place to play, but we need to show the right amount of restraint…to not throw things on the field. We just can’t, can’t do that.”
Much of the fans’ dissatisfaction with the match seemed to focus on the officiating. In total, Orlando City out-fouled Atlanta 12-10 but were issued four more yellow cards (5-1).
The Lions return to action on Friday, as they will travel to face 10th-place Toronto FC. Toronto is 2-6-1 in the early-season going. The Canadian side will be without Italian forward Sebastian Giovinco, as he serves a one-game suspension for a red card issued to him in TFC’s most recent match against the New England Revolution.
For more on the Lions, as they embark on quick, one-game road trip, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.
[…] Fla. – Orlando City SC’s 2-1 loss to Atlanta United FC on May 13 was clearly not the result the team and its fans wanted, but there were positives to take away from the […]
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