ALL PHOTOS BY FABIO GALIZIA
Orlando City SC beat Nashville SC 1-0 Saturday night, knocking off the top team in MLS in the club’s first match at the newly renamed Inter.co Stadium (They dropped the ampersand). And our Orlando Shine Photo Friend Fabio Galizia (Instagram) was there to capture it all on film.
The win came in Orlando’s first home game since the FIFA World Cup 202 break. Orlando City SC entered the match at 6-9-2, while Nashville SC came in with the best record in the league at 12-2-3.
Both teams were scoreless at halftime. Orlando created several chances in the first half but just couldn’t get anything in.
The Lions broke through in the 72nd minute. Adrián Marín found Justin Ellis between Nashville’s lines. Ellis dribbled past multiple defenders before slipping a pass to a streaking Tyrese Spicer, who finished left-footed for the game’s only goal. Spicer’s goal was his third in MLS play and fourth across all competitions this year.
Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau made three saves to claim his 29th career MLS clean sheet. It marked Orlando’s second straight clean sheet since the World Cup break and third across all competitions this season.
Eighteen-year-old Bernardo Rhein, an Orlando City Academy and Orlando City B product, made his first career MLS start. He started alongside Ellis and Luís Otávio, marking the first time Orlando City has started three teenagers in an MLS match.
Interim head coach Martín Perelman made two changes to his lineup from the San Jose match, inserting Rhein and Otávio into the starting XI.
Defender Nolan Miller (knee) and midfielders Joran Gerbet (knee) and Martín Ojeda (thigh) missed the match with injuries. Defender Clovis Archange and midfielder Colin Guske were away on international duty. Midfielder Eduard Atuesta served a suspension for yellow card accumulation, for which we thank him. Keep fighting the fight, Atuesta.
“Very happy for everyone here at the club,” Perelman said. “I think this was a really good victory against a very difficult opponent. Highlight the effort of our players and highlights the support of our people. Today they brought an amazing energy to the stadium; they filled the stadium. It was a really good night. We really enjoyed it.”
Spicer said the crowd’s energy carried into the team’s performance.
“The turnout today was incredible,” Spicer said. “I loved the energy and passion from the fans, and that showed on the field. I thought it was a really strong performance from the team, solid from the first whistle to the last.”
Forward Antoine Griezmann, playing his first official match at Inter.co Stadium, said the atmosphere stood out.
“The atmosphere was fantastic,” Griezmann said through an interpreter. “We need that energy during the difficult moments in a game, and it was amazing for us today. We showed that we’re a strong team, and I think that’s what the fans want to see, a strong team that wins games.”
Orlando City SC travels to New Jersey to face Red Bull New York on Saturday, Aug. 1, at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
