Late tie ruins Kaká goal, Dwyer debut
Atlanta ties Orlando City with stoppage-time goal
Hector Villalba scores in the 92nd minute as Atlanta United rallies to a 1-1 draw with Orlando City.
ATLANTA — After Orlando City lost in front of its home crowd last week, it wanted to pay Atlanta back with the same fate.
But, for the second week in a row, Hector Villalba scored in the final minutes to steal points from the Lions. Orlando City (8-5-6, 30 points) held a lead for 52 minutes but walked away with a 1-1 draw against Atlanta United (10-7-4, 34 points) at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Villalba, who scored last week’s game-winner in the 87th minute, struck in the 92nd minute Saturday to equalize and send the announced sellout crowd of 45,009 people into a frenzy.
“Late goals that happen in games [are] always lack of fitness or lack of focus,” Orlando City coach Jason Kreis said. “I think this team is very fit, so I don't believe it is fitness. I think it has to do with a little bit of focus, and how we’re managing the game as well. I don't know if at the end of the game we were making the best decision with the ball to keep it and cause them problems. I felt like we were more
than happy to give it back to them and defend for long stretches, which is going to hurt you against a team as dangerous as Atlanta.”
It looked like Atlanta would finish one of its many chances in the first half when Villalba shook defender Jonathan Spector a few feet from goal. He passed back to teammate Miguel Almiron, who rifled a shot that curled into the far post.
Lions goalkeeper Joe Bendik frantically scrambled to get in position as Villalba unleashed a rebound that flew slightly wide into the outside of the net.
Cheers rose from the stands as it seemed Atlanta had full control of the match. Before the applause died down, Orlando City transitioned and Kaká stunned the crowd with a shot that curled into the net from at least 30 yards out for a 1-0 lead.
Orlando City started strong with high energy, but was a bit loose with its passes. Atlanta soon settled in and began to control the pace of the game, closing out the match with 64 percent possession.
“For the most part we did really well,” Spector said. “It was just a lapse in concentration ... and they punished us for it. As much as coming here and getting a point is a good result, when it happens the way it did, we’re disappointed. It feels like two points dropped as opposed to one point gained.”
Newly acquired striker Dom Dwyer made his debut just three days after arriving in Orlando. Dwyer fit into the starting lineup next to Cyle Larin in the team’s usual 4-4-2 formation.
“Uh, decent,” Kreis said of Dwyer’s performance. “I think he and Cyle had some decent combinations up there, were looking to play off of each other very well. I think it’s going to take time to get perfect.”
Larin subbed off in the 62nd minute, replaced by Giles Barnes. About 10 minutes later, Dwyer’s debut came to an end as Carlos Rivas subbed on. Forward and midfielder Richie Laryea entered the match for defensive midfielder Cristian Higuita in the 76th minute.
Kreis said he felt the need for fresh legs up top because he wanted to see more defensive work out of the players who started.
“I also thought we could catch them on the break with our counterattack and score a second goal to close the game,” Kreis said.
That didn’t happen.