Signing off
Enough goals for you? That’s all from Yankee Stadium. Thanks for following along with us and do check back later for a full match report.
Full-time: New York City FC 5-3 Orlando City SC
And there’s the final whistle. NYC FC scores three times after Pirlo comes on and staves off an Orlando rally to hold on for the three points. Have you caught your breath?
GOAL! New York City FC 5-3 Orlando City SC (Diskerud, 90 min+3)
Kaka’s near-equalizer inadvertently kicks off a counter-attack that sees David Villa, Poku and Diskerud trade passes down the middle of the field: a 3 v 1 breakway. Ultimately it’s the US international who puts a cherry on today’s offensive onslaught.
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90 min+2: Kaka with a free kick from a dangerous position just outside the box, and he finds the woodwork!
90 min: David Villa appears to have a hat trick ... but the flag is up and he’s offsides!
88 min: Pirlo shown yellow. Then seconds later St Ledger comes thisclose to equalizing when his lunging header just misses the target.
87 min: New York City FC wins a corner and Pirlo takes it, but it’s cleared easily by Orlando City.
GOAL! New York City FC 4-3 Orlando City SC (Larin, 85 min)
And it’s a hat trick for Cyle Larin! Quick counter-attack ends with Kaka dishing to Larin a the top of the area. He takes one quick touch and pounds home a goal from distance. Orlando City will have just over five minutes to find an equalizer.
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83 min: A nice ball in by Kaka, but the Orlando attacker loses his balance in the area and teeters over. Yikes. A substitution here as Pedro Ribeiro in on for Carlos Rivas.
81 min: Rivas shown yellow after getting a bit too handsy on a foul.
77 min: Larin goes up for the header off the corner and collides with Saunders. For a moment the ball is sitting on the line, there for the pouncing, but it’s cleared safely by an NYC FC player. Now play has been halted as Larin appears to be hurt from the collision.
76 min: Saunders with a incredible save from point-blank range! Corner for Orlando City.
74 min: A substitution for Orlando City: Martin Paterson on for Eric Avila.
GOAL! New York City FC 4-2 Orlando City SC (McNamara, 71 min)
It starts again with Pirlo, who finds Poku, who then finds Thomas McNamara in space at the top of the area. Within seconds he fires home a thunderous top-shelf goal. NYC FC’s second goal in four minutes opens the first multi-goal lead for either side today.
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68 min: Mix Diskerud on for Javier Calle. He’s listed as an international absence due to tonight’s Gold Cup final but, well, you know what happened there.
GOAL! New York City FC 3-2 Orlando City SC (David Villa, 67 min)
The sequence begins with Pirlo in a familiar deep-lying role slotting a pass to Kwadwo Poku, who finds David Villa at the top of the area. The Spaniard takes two dribbles to his right then uncorks a right-footed shot that deflects off an Orlando player into the net. His 12th goal of the year and New York City FC is back on top.
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GOAL! New York City FC 2-2 Orlando City SC (Larin, 61 min)
And it’s another for Larin! Carlos Rivas with a marauding run down the left flank, who finds an onrushing Larin making a run down the middle. The 20-year-old striker pounds it into the back of the net and we’re level at two goals apiece.
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56 min: The Andrea Pirlo era is under way. The longtime Milan, Juventus and Italy play-maker is enters the game for Mehdi Ballouchy. He high-fives Kaka as he takes his position deep in the midfield.
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GOAL! New York City FC 2-1 Orlando City SC (Calle, 53 min)
And just like that, NYC FC is back on top! Three New York players with some nice interplay up the right flank before a cross is sent through to an egregiously unmarked Javier Calle on the back post. He need just stick out his foot and redirect it into the gaping net for his first career MLS goal. The stadium is popping!
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GOAL! New York City FC 1-1 Orlando City SC (Larin, 50 min)
A long ball is flicked over the top on the right side to Larin, who takes two touches before thudding a shot past Saunders at the near post to level the match with 40 minutes remaining. It’s Larin’s seventh goal of the year.
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46 min: The second half is under way with no substitutions for either side. And almost immediately two quick chances for NYC FC, one off a deflection and another from a set piece.
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Half-time: New York City FC 1-0 Orlando City SC
And that’s that for the first half but what a finish it was! New York City FC in excellent shape to inch closer to the playoffs with a 1-0 lead at the break. Could Pirlo’s debut be afoot? Stay tuned.
GOAL! New York City FC 1-0 Orlando City SC (David Villa, 45 min)
And out of nothing New York City FC is on top thanks to a wonderful goal from their captain. A long ball from Angelino is played into David Villa, who tames with ease, takes one touch then blasts it into the goal. Goalkeeper Tally Hall hardly even moved. It’s the Spaniard’s 11th goal of the season, which leaves him two behind league leader Kei Kamara.
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40 min: Great to see Kaka and David Villa yelling at their team-mates and showing some passion.
38 min: Long cross to 18-year-old Angelino, who takes two touches in mid-air on the run and then thunders a left-footed shot to the far post. Just misses the target.
37 min: Foul called against Orlando City in the scuffle. It’s NYC FC ball.
36 min: Another corner kick conceded by NYC FC. Kaka to take it.
34 min: A bit helter-skelter in front of the NYC FC goal but the chaos ends when Kaka slots a through ball to Larin, which he aims toward the far post and very nearly deposits into the goal.
31 min: A lazy backpass by Orlando City nearly invites disaster as Calle rushes it and nearly gets the goal on a deflection. Alas, it soars harmlessly over the net.
29 min: David Villa’s corner is a throwaway. Orlando City back on the attack.
28 min: NYC FC working it up the left flank on the counter-attack. A long, incisive ball forward is desperately cleared by an Orlando City defender past the goal line and the first corner of the match goes to NYC FC. David Villa to take it.
26 min: Orlando City doing a bit more to threaten here, keeping the ball for longer periods on their attacking third, but it’s yet to translate to chances.
23 min: Kaka’s perfectly struck free kick sails up and over the wall, but veers wide left of the target. Goal kick to NYC FC.
22 min: Orlando City have another free kick here from a very dangerous area, several feet outside the area. Kaka lines up over the ball.
20 min: Mehdi Ballouchy shown yellow for apparent foul of Kaka. He’s miss NYC FC’s next match due to accumulation. Orlando City nearly scores on a set piece directly after.
16 min: Spotted on the NYC FC bench in street clothes: one Frank Lampard. Friday marked the one-year anniversary of his signing.
14 min: A non-contact injury to NYC FC’s Chris Wingert – a mild hamstring sprain per team officials – forces Jason Kreis to use his first substitution far earlier than desired. Out goes Wingert, in comes Jefferson Mena.
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12 min: A ball is played into Orlando’s Cyle Larin, who muscles for position with NYC FC’s Andrew Jacobson. Jacobson falls to the ground and Larin blasts it into the back of the net! But alas, the whistle sounds and Larin is called for a foul. Still scoreless.
8 min: No substantial chances for either side so far.
5 min: Getting lots of emails about the camera angle and the seemingly narrow field. Yes, this is the narrowest pitch in MLS. Here’s a quick infographic with the particulars.
3 min: Bit of a slow start as the teams trade possession early. Orlando City with a sloppy giveaway in the shadow of their own goal, but NYC FC can’t make them pay.
1 min: And they’re off! NYC FC attacking from left to right in light blue shirts and white shorts, with Orlando City looking sharp in all-purple strips. (A$AP Rocky, who grew up just a subway ride away from Yankee Stadium, would be proud.)
Anthem time
Yankee legend and noted classical guitarist Bernie Williams plays the national anthem – a few missed notes but an otherwise inspired rendition – and the players are out on the pitch.
The procession is underway
We’re about six minutes to kickoff. Not much longer now.
A good question
Teddy from Boston offers up this puzzler, via email:
With Kaka and David Villa in the starting lineup and Andrea Pirlo expected to make his NYC FC debut in the second half, could this mark the first time three World Cup champions are on the field on the same time during an MLS game?
Can’t say with any certainty but it does ring true. What say you, gallery?
The teams!
Here’s a look at today’s starting XIs. Andrea Pirlo is on the bench for NYC FC and there’s every indication he could make his debut as a second-half sub.
New York City FC: Saunders; Angelino, Wingert, Facey, Iraola; Calle, Jacobson, McNamara, Ballouchy; Poku, Villa
Orlando City SC: Hall, Ashe, St. Ledger, Hines, Collin, Avila; Ceren, Carrasco; Rivas, Kaka, Larin
Preamble
Good day and welcome to Yankee Stadium for today’s match between New York City FC and Orlando City SC. Lots at stake here with the visitors holding onto the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and the hosts just three points adrift. With kickoff roughly 20 minutes away, we’ll have the team information for you shortly.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime why not read Simon Evans’ lookahead to today’s rematch between Major League Soccer’s two newest sides:
When Orlando City and New York City met at the Citrus Bowl in week one, back in March, there was global interest in the encounter. Two expansion teams were taking their first bow in the league and it was the first chance to see Kaka in action in purple and David Villa in sky blue. It felt like MLS was entering a new phase in its growth, and indeed over 60,000 fans turned out for a game which was given the full hype treatment on domestic and international television. It wasn’t a classic, but it was a game played with plenty of intensity, and there was drama, too, as Kaka’s deflected injury time free-kick cancelled out Mix Diskerud’s opener.
The two teams meet again this Sunday, at Yankee Stadium, and once again there is something special in the air, with Italian World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo possibly in line for a debut and former England captain Frank Lampard perhaps also ready for his first outing.
The words ‘possibly’ and ‘perhaps’ aren’t exactly in the spirit of hype, but given that Lampard has missed out on his two planned debuts due to a calf injury and that Pirlo only began training with Jason Kreis’s team this week, caution is necessary.
They may both be past their best, but there is still something exciting about the novelty of seeing two of the best midfielders in European football from the past decade and a half line up alongside each other for the first time. Anyone who paid attention to Serie A last season knows that Pirlo, never the quickest player, had to endure his legs no longer getting him away from opponents, but his unmatched passing skills remain undiminished. Lampard is in better shape and showed during moments last season that he still has the eye for goal and the wit and speed to make dangerous runs into scoring positions.
With Pirlo playing at the bottom of the midfield and Lampard surely given licence to get forward in support of Villa, there shouldn’t be a compatibility problem, although it remains to be seen how Diskerud fits into the plan. He can probably expect to cover a lot of ground.
If there is one area where Pirlo and Lampard might get in each other’s way, it is the matter of free-kicks, in which they both specialize, although Kreis would no doubt be quick with the managerial cliché about that being the kind of problem you are happy to have.
The pair will have to start making an impact soon however. NYC FC are in penultimate position in the East, three points behind Adrian Heath’s Orlando, who currently occupy the final play-off position. While there will surely be a big crowd and plenty of excitement in the Bronx on Sunday, the likely lack of sharpness of NYFC’s new arrivals means this might not be a bad time for an Orlando team that has clearly gelled much quicker than their opponents, to visit New York in search of three points.
