Orlando City Starts Season Right with Hard-Fought 1-0 Win Over New York RB

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) — Orlando City won their season opener for 2023 after a promising performance against a gutsy NY Red Bulls. This is Orlando’s fourth consecutive season avoiding an opposing goal in the first game of the year. Oscar Pareja’s men showed promising moments with standouts like Facundo Torres and Ivan Angulo enjoying a good run of form. Despite their offensive woes, Orlando’s defense and their rock at the back Pedro Gallese, held the line to ensure a 1-0 victory.

A choppy first half of football as both teams looked to implement their gameplan. NY Red Bulls furious press caused headaches for Orlando’s defensive line early. Instead of goal kicking into open field Orlando’s keeper Gallese opted for short passes to Robin Jansson. After a few attempts, Red Bulls pounced on a slow pass out from the back that caused a serious scare. To avoid the danger Jansson had to put in some dirty work, which came at a cost. The Swede was penalized with a yellow card, the first for him and Orlando this season.

Assessing the playing field

New signing Martin Ojeda looked particularly fresh in this early season encounter. While his speed and disposition on the ball are positives, his passes in space leave much to be desired. On more than one occasion he had Facundo Torres or Michael Halliday on an island by themselves but the precision failed him. However, it is still incredibly early days for this Orlando roster with more than a few new faces in their lineup. Seven of their nine substitutes tonight had yet to make their official debut in Orlando purple.

Regardless of New York’s aggression, the stats do not lie. Orlando City shot zero times on goal in the first half and their timidness left much to be desired. Despite the team’s lackluster first half, Michael Halliday and Luca Petrasso impressed in their debuts this season on the flank. Michael Halliday is a USMNT U-20 prospect that continues to grow his game. The right back showed his pace and poise and whipped in an excellent cross in the first half. It would have concluded with a goal if it wasn’t for a mistimed header.

2023: The golden year for Orlando

After a wild moment for NYRB in attack, the response from Orlando was valiant as they fought for a corner kick. The ball kicks into play and after an unfortunate ricochet, Red Bulls’ Sean Nealis was charged with a handball in the box right away. Facundo Torres stepped up to take the strike and easily put it past Carlos Coronel. The penalty marks Orlando’s scoring debut for the season.

Shortly after, Ramiro Enqirue and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson made their league debuts for Orlando City. Enrique, the former Banfield striker, immediately started turning heads after a sumptuous run into a shot that was just wide. The depth for Orlando City continues to be a huge talking point for the team going forward this season. With competitions in the CCL, MLS Cup, Leagues Cup and defending their U.S. Open Championship title, Orlando quite clearly needs all hands on deck for a positive run.

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