Union erase two-goal deficit to draw at Orlando

ByReuters ESPN logo
Thursday, June 22, 2023

Jose Martinez scored late in the second half and the visiting Philadelphia Union rallied for a 2-2 draw against Orlando City on Wednesday.

Martinez struck for his first MLS goal in the 90th minute, firing a shot from several yards above the arc that went high into the net past diving Orlando goalie Mason Stajduhar.

The Union (9-5-4, 31 points) trailed 2-0 after 54 minutes. Philadelphia, coming off a defeat on June 10, has not lost consecutive games since March, the only time it dropped back-to-back contests this year.

Orlando (7-5-6, 27 points) has earned points in seven of its past eight games, going 3-1-4 in that span.

Duncan McGuire tallied for a second consecutive match to give Lions a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute. The rookie took a pass from Martin Ojeda in the attacking third and after sliding at the top of the arc, quickly got back up to retain possession before bending a shot from the top of the box into the left corner.

Philadelphia had several opportunities to draw level in the first half, with six corners through the opening 45 minutes. However, the ball often went untouched by the visitors inside the box or was quickly cleared by Orlando.

The Union pushed early in the second half and had a quality chance to tie the game in the 48th minute when Stajduhar came off his line for a save on Mikael Uhre. Four minutes later, Stajduhar denied Julian Carranza point blank from the top of the 6-yard box.

Ojeda doubled Orlando City's lead in the 54th minute. He cut to the inside and directed a shot into the bottom left corner.

A fortunate bounce put Philadelphia on the board in the 60th minute. Jack McGlynn took a long shot from well outside the box that fooled Stajduhar and found the far post to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Ivan Angulo appeared to give the Lions a 3-1 lead in the 86th minute, but the tally was overturned after a video review confirmed a foul was committed before the goal was scored.

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