Orlando City SC had their sights set on fourth in the Major League Soccer (MLS) Eastern Conference held by CF Montreal, but had to settle for a 1-1 draw against at Atlanta United on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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By virtue of this result, the Florida team reduced the gap with the Montreal team to two points, but Wilfried Nancy’s men still have one more game to play.
Uruguayan Mauricio Pereyra gave his people good hope of advancing in the standings from the 10th minute of the day’s duel. The midfielder rushed confidently from a free kick at the edge of the penalty area and did not miss his chance, lodging the ball in the right corner of the net.
The hosts went into action afterwards and completely dictated the pace of the encounter, not allowing a single shot on target. The Atlanta club generated 18 attempts – but only four reaching the goal – towards Pedro Gallese’s goal, but the Peru international closed the door.
It wasn’t until the 71st minute that the crowd favorites managed to equalize. Thiago Almada served a brilliant cross directly to the head of Juan José Purata, who scored his first goal in an Atlanta United uniform by narrowly avoiding offside.
New York City FC are closing in on the lead
At Red Bull Arena, New York City FC gave themselves a serious option on the top tier in the East by winning the Big Apple derby 1-0.
NYCFC are just one point behind the Philadelphia Union with the win, and have a game in hand over their Pennsylvania rivals.
Valentin Castellanos scored a spectacular 69th-minute goal to break the deadlock against the Red Bulls. He redirected a long aerial stint from Santiago Rodriguez with an acrobatic kick to register his 13th success of the season, good for the top of the MLS.
Sean Johnson posted his tenth shutout of the season, also earning him the top spot in the Garber League in a statistical column.
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