Orlando City SC kept its Lamar Hunt US Open Cup run alive Tuesday night at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando Florida to advance to the Semifinals with a 4-1 victory against Atlanta United FC.
In front of an energetic announced crowd of 14,254, the Lions dominated the first half scoring four goals (and had opportunities to score more) and never looked back to return to the semis for the third time in club history.
Orlando battled through an intense rivalry matchup that came just three days after the two sides drew 1-1 in MLS season play. Atlanta made seven changes to their starting lineup from last weekend’s game, while Orlando made just two.
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Orlando started off aggressively in the opening minutes, pressing Atlanta high and forcing several turnovers in crucial areas. Scoring opened quickly in the fifth minute when David Brekalo gave Orlando an early lead with a header off of a cross from Braian Ojeda. Ojeda crossed the ball from the right wing and Brekalo broke free from his defender at the six yard box and headed it past Atlanta goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert who had no chance.
The early goal helped Orlando settle into the match as additional chances started developing for the Lions. Orlando doubled their lead when Griffin Dorsey had an easy tap in off a low cross from Ivan Angulo, whose speed and dazzling footwork lured the Atlanta goalkeeper in to leave Dorsey at the far post who beat a sliding defender to the ball.
Atlanta responded minutes later when Emmanuel Latte Lath struck the post with a powerful strike to deny the visitors a goal. But that would be the the best chance of the half for United.
It was a nightmare for Atlanta eight minutes later when Orlando punished Atlanta’s keeper who failed to clear possession. Hibbert received a back pass and tried to play the ball out wide but pressure from Ojeda forced him to make a bad pass right to Tiago Souza who dribbled in and beat the keeper to capitalize on the mistake and make it 3-0.
The Lions continued to dominate, collecting many chances, however several of those chances either missed the target or were ruled offside. The biggest was a 2-man breakaway in the 36th minute when a long ball was sent from Orlando’s own half. Thiago ran onto it and Hibbert came off his line to make an impressive save to keep the deficit at three.
Three minutes later, Ojeda was fed a through ball down the left wing and found himself 1-v-1 with the goalkeeper. Hibbert had the angle and got a hand to it with a diving save and the ball just barely missed the target.
Tiago would collect his brace to push Orlando’s lead to 4-0 in the final minute of stoppage time of the first half. An impressive through ball from Ojeda got in behind the defense on the left side which gave Tiago another breakaway. He curled the ball past Hibbert just inside the far post and into the back of the net. It was Ojeda’s second assist of the night and third of the tournament, which ties him for the lead in the competition.
Desperate to change the tide, Atlanta made four substitutions at halftime as the second half would become increasingly physical as both teams battled for control. Atlanta collected five yellow cards during the half while attempting to slow down the Lions’ momentum. The fresh legs helped them create most of the chances in the second half, but only one of them produced a goal.
Atlanta found its lone goal in the 84th minute when Latte Lath produced a brilliant individual effort, blasting a volley into the back of the net off a Saba Lobjanidze cross to make it 4-1. It ruined the shutout for Orlando’s Javier Otero, who only had to make three saves on the night, but it would be too little, too late for Atlanta.
After the match, David Brekalo credited the coaching staff for preparing the tactical approach that helped to limit Atlanta.
“I think I have to give credit to the coaching staff here, they prepared the plan really well, the main point was to either take the ball super high or super low and counterattack them,” said the Slovenian defender. “So it worked exactly like they planned.”
Orlando’s aggressiveness and willingness to break into space created many dangerous moments throughout the game. With this dominant victory, Orlando City SC advances to the US Open Cup Semifinals for the first time since winning their only US Open Cup title in 2022. The Lions will look to use the win to build momentum during a busy stretch of the season.
Orlando’s interim head coach Martin Parelman praised his players after the match for executing the game plan and emphasized the importance of staying focused on the match ahead.
“It worked because they did it,” Parelman said, “they put in the effort and made it happen and I am proud of the players, this is a good victory, this is a good step forward for us, for the club. But it’s just that, we need to maintain balance and now rest and prepare for the next game because we have a very important game.”
The 111th edition of the US Open Cup will now take a length break with the United States co-hosting the FIFA World Cup this summer. Orlando will travel to play the winner of New York City FC and the Columbus Crew in the Semifinals that are scheduled to take place the week of Sept. 15-16. The winner of that Semifinal match will host the 2026 US Open Cup Final, scheduled for Oct. 21.
