Orlando City Ties 2-2 with Philadelphia Union as Duncan McGuire Continues to Score

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) — Orlando City drew with Philadelphia Union after a last-minute screamer from Jose Martinez. Orlando were the protagonists from the beginning but tired legs started to creep in during the second half. Despite their best efforts the 2-2 draw will be a welcome result. The Orlando Lions fly out Thursday morning for their West coast trip. They will face Seattle Sounders this Saturday with some starters returning to action after international duty.

Orlando City needed momentum in this encounter at home after having infamously bad form in front of their fans this year. On the heels of an uninspiring loss to New England Revolution, Oscar Pareja modified the roster in order to boost the Lions chances. And with that, Duncan McGuire’s inclusion became a major talking point.

“We’ve seen a lot of good things these past few weeks. A lot of players getting minutes. Guys like Mason [Stadjuhar] had an amazing performance today. We’re very proud of them as they wear their moment and we just need to keep going. We’re adding up minutes and it’s providing us depth which gives us chances to compete with different lineups. Mason is a perfect example of that.”

— Oscar Pareja on the teams squad depth during FIFA dates.

The rookie striker has been in scintillating form this season and this game was no different. Duncan McGuire pounced on a contested ball in Philly’s defense after a heel flick from Martin Ojeda. Big Duncan stole possession from Glesnes and sliced the ball past the keeper with his left foot.

Before this game, he had an outstanding 91% shots on target from his 11 total shots this season. With almost 600 less minutes played than some of his starting colleagues, he has made a massive impact on the offensive makeup of this team. Today’s goal against Philadelphia marked his sixth goal of the season. His form continues to impress as he also marked the lone goal in Orlando’s loss to New England.

Frustration started to mount for Philadelphia as both Olivier Mbaizo and Leon Flach were hit with yellow cards with time dwindling. Despite falling behind in possession, Orlando City remained protagonists all throughout the first half, limiting Philadelphia to only one shot on target.

Pedal to the metal

The second half started off promising for Philadelphia Union after a near goal. If it wasn’t for Mason Stadjuhar pulling off a highlight save with his left hand, the score would have been equalized. Just minutes later, Orlando would extinguish any fire that Philly had left after a beautiful curled shot from Ojeda. The shot was spectacular and was caressed into goal after it flicked off the end of Duncan McGuire’s boot. It seems like the rookie from Creighton has the Midas touch because even when he doesn’t try to score, it ends in a goal.

The fireworks would continue in this encounter as Philadelphia was able to cut the deficit in half. After a brilliant save, Orlando’s keeper got a little lackadaisical with a lofted shot into the box from Jack McGlynn. He was able to put a glove to the ball but the subsequent bounce lazily went into the goal. After the goal, Julian Carranza picked up a yellow card for hitting Stadjuhar in the back. With the game in balance, tensions started to flare between both sides.

After a slew of substitutions, the game seemed to be done and dusted after a hulking Ercan Kara run. He was able to stiff-arm two defenders before crossing it into Ivan Angulo. However, VAR came out in full effect and revoked the goal while also giving Kara a yellow card. The momentum shift would not stop there. Philadelphia Union bounced back in full effect after an absolute GOLAZO scored by Jose Martinez. The Venezuelan saw his moment from way outside the box and slotted in what will surely be a goal of the year candidate.

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Nicolas Vera is a reporter for Florida National News, part of the FNN News Network. | info@floridanationalnews.com