Florida MLS notebook week four
Vancouver Whitecaps 2 CF Montreal 0
Two of the Canadian teams currently stuck in the United States met in Utah for the first all-Canadian MLS match played outside of Canada. It was a difficult start from Vancouver after the Floridian resident Montreal held the Whitecaps off effectively.
Vancouver hadn’t managed a shot for 56 minutes but a penalty changed that, Kamal Miller brought down Cristian Dajome. That allowed Dajome to get up, dust himself off and score from the spot.
He sealed his brace with 20 minutes to play scoring off a corner when he was able to run through the defense and head the ball home for the final 2–0 lead.
Montreal thought it pulled a goal back when Lassi Lappalainen had the ball in the back of the net but his goal was ruled out due to Erik Hurtado’s handball.
Orlando City SC 1 New York City FC 1
A stunning goal from Nani put Orlando City in the lead but it wasn’t enough as a late penalty saw New York City FC come back for a 1–1 draw.
Nani’s stunner was his third goal in as many matches as his powerful shot from outside the box left the keeper rooted to the ground.
The Lions were the stronger side but couldn’t make their domination count as they struggled to really create clear-cut chances. The penalty came in the 77th minute and let NYC off the hook for the point leaving Orlando City frustrated.
Inter Miami CF 1 Atlanta United 1
Inter Miami CF manager Phil Neville was left frustrated on Sunday after he felt his side should have had a late penalty instead of having to settle for a 1–1 draw with Atlanta United at DRV PNK Stadium.
Atlanta started well and opened the scoring just 9 minutes into the match when Josef Martinez put away his chance after taking a touch and turning, finishing easily.
Miami took time but in the 77th minute had an equalizer as Lewis Morgan made a run through the Atlanta defense and then shot out of the reach of Brad Guzan to get the goal.
That came as a just reward for the Herons’ momentum and they could have had a penalty for handball in the 61st minute but VAR rejected the appeal. In stoppage time there would be another penalty appeal that was denied by VAR leaving Neville fuming. Guzan went down to smother a rebound and Victor Ulloa went down but the officials determined that the goalkeeper got the ball fairly and no penalty was awarded, leaving the final score 1–1.
This article originally featured at Florida Soccer Report with video content.
