Orlando City SC defeated New York City FC on Wednesday night in the quarter-finals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Lions will now move on to face Atlanta United in the club’s first semi-final appearance. It was a tough match for Orlando City considering they have had a packed schedule for the past two weeks. Yet, both clubs came out with a concerted effort to play their style and, as a result, it made for an interesting tactical battle with small adjustments and continuous shifts in momentum.
After a late equalizer from Maxi Moralez in the dying moments of regular time and a rather dull extra time in which both sides were desperately exhausted and, in Orlando’s case, had already subbed off most of their attacking threats, the match went to penalties.