Orlando City came from behind to beat Monterrey 2-1 in the League Cup group stage on Tuesday night. A. Griezmann opened the scoring before T. Spicer equalised from the penalty spot, then H. Cuypers ended a barren spell with a late winner.
Monterrey thought they had taken the lead when R. de la Rosa's effort was ruled out for offside on six minutes. To be fair, the visitors made their mark on twenty-seven minutes when Griezmann found the net. Spicer made it even from the spot after half an hour, and here's the thing about that period — both sides were pressing hard.
Orlando City's second goal came when the game was nearly done. Cuypers scored on ninety-plus minutes, and by then the tie was effectively over. There were two VAR decisions that night, both cancelling goals for offside, which changed the complexion of the match.
Monterrey dominated possession at 54 per cent and had eleven shots to Orlando City's seven. The hosts created two big chances while the visitors managed four. Shots accuracy was similar — 23 per cent for Monterrey, 27 per cent for Orlando City. The visitors were more clinical.
Orlando City's recent form has been mixed, with losses to New York Red Bulls and Cincinnati among their last five results. Monterrey had won their previous outing 2-0 against Atlas. The result leaves Orlando City in a strong position in the group.
There were ten yellow cards between the sides and several substitutions, including G. Dorsey for Orlando City and R. de la Rosa for Monterrey. The match finished with Orlando City taking all three points from a game that could have gone either way.