Dwyer stars in emotional 4-3 Lions win
Dwyer scores 2 goals, ignites fans in debut match
Dom Dwyer gave Orlando City supporters a gift they could take to the grave on Saturday. Literally, figuratively, spiritually. On an emotional day when the Iron Lion Firm — one of City’s two main supporter groups — paid tribute to a fallen member, so too did Dwyer. Making his 2018 debut after sitting out the first three matches due to a nagging leg injury, he scored two goals and nearly had a third to lead the Lions to a crazy, crucial 4-3 victory over the New York Red Bulls.
And when the game was over, he peeled off his No. 14 jersey and walked toward the empty capo stand traditionally manned by Miguel Vasquez, who died in a car accident earlier this week. On either side of the stand were flowers and a handwritten message:
“Heaven has gained its best capo yet.”
Vasquez was laid to rest after the match on Saturday night and there was discussion among Iron Lion members about burying their compadre with
Dwyer’s jersey in the casket with him. When Dwyer was told this after the match Saturday, you could tell by his face and his words what such a gesture meant to him.
“That’s pretty special … just special,” he said. “We have a very loyal and important fan base. We lost someone and I think it’s important for us as players to let them know we’re sensitive to that and they’re family to us.” And vice versa. More than any other sport I’ve ever covered, the connection between soccer clubs and their supporter groups is a sacred bond. Without fail, Orlando City coach Jason Kreis and his players always mention the word “family” when talking about the relationship between the team and its fans.
And no player feels like a bigger part of that family than does Dwyer, who was with Orlando City when the Lions were winning championships during their minorleague USL days. What longtime Orlando City fan will ever forget the 2013 USL championship game when Dwyer was on loan from Sporting Kansas City and scored four goals to lead the Lions to a 7-4 victory?
That’s why his two-goal performance on Saturday was so meaningful — because it gave loyal supporters that nostalgic old-time feeling and reconnected Dwyer with a fan base that adores him. At a nearby bar after the match, Orlando City fans could be seen toasting the victory with beers and cheers. Who knows, at a more upscale establishment, perhaps the patrons were popping the cork on a bottle of Dom (Pérignon) in honor of Dom (Dwyer).
At long last, the euphoric serenade at the airport last year had come to fruition Saturday for Orlando City.
“He scores when he wants, He scores when he wants, Dom [bleeping] Dwyer scores when he wants!”
That’s what hundreds of fans gleefully sang last season upon Dwyer’s arrival at Orlando International Airport — and it’s what thousands of fans saw for the first time at the Purple Palace on Saturday. This is what everyone expected when Dwyer was acquired late last season for the unprecedented price of $1.6 million in allocation money — by far the largest intraleague deal in MLS history. But because of a series of injuries, his output had been underwhelming — until Saturday.
Frankly, Dwyer’s belated coming-out party couldn’t have come at a better time. No, this wasn’t a must-win game only four matches into Orlando City’s season, but it was a crucial one nonetheless. City’s offense had only scored two goals in its first three matches — and one of those was on a penalty kick. With the fans grinless and the team winless, Dwyer’s delirious debut is exactly what this team needed.
His first goal was a header off a corner kick in which he simply attacked the goal — and the goalkeeper for that matter. Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles screamed for interference after Dwyer charged into the net and used the back of his head to score an equalizing goal. Quite frankly, this is the type of fire, desire and, yes, Dwyer that City has been lacking for far too long.
“He showed an amazing amount of commitment,” Kreis said of his star striker. “He threw his guts out there for us. Dom is the type of player who has no fear about putting his head into things. He does it for goals and he does it to try to make life miserable for central defenders. Those types of players are very rare and extremely important for the way we want to play.”
Somewhere up there on the Wall in That Big Purple Palace in the Sky, Miguel Vasquez is unfurling a new Orlando City tifo and unleashing an old chant:
“He scores when he wants, He scores when he wants, Dom [bleeping] Dwyer scores when he wants!”
And you just know he’s cheering, chiding and chanting while proudly wearing the jersey Dom Dwyer just gave to him.
Heaven has gained its best capo yet.