Nani and Tesho Akindele each scored twice, and Dom Dwyer added a goal as a substitute, part of five unanswered scored by Orlando City in their 5-1 romp past FC Cincinnati on a steamy Sunday afternoon at Orlando City Stadium.
The Lions' goals all came after Darren Mattocks gave the visitors an early 1-0 lead, and helped Orlando snap a three-game losing skid.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, will have more concerns than the result after seeing fullback Greg Garza depart early with an apparent non-contact injury.
Nani's brace is his second in MLS, and the former Manchester United and Portugal national team star now has six goals in his last six appearances. Akindele's was his fourth multi-goal performance of his MLS career, his last coming on July 4 of last year when he found the net twice in the a 15-minute supersub cameo to help Dallas to a 3-2 win over Atlanta.
Goals
- 24' - CIN - Darren Mattocks | WATCH
- 37' - ORL - Tesho Akindele | WATCH
- 50' - ORL - Nani | WATCH
- 59' - ORL - Nani | WATCH
- 64' - ORL - Tesho Akindele | WATCH
- 82' - ORL - Dom Dwyer | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Cincinnati interim coach Yoann Damet may be able to write off his side's second-half wilting as just one of those bad days that happens in adverse, steamy conditions. More worrisome could be the injury to Garza, who appeared in considerable pain before he left the playing surface on a stretcher. For Orlando, the only frustration was the yellow card Dwyer picked up during his 24-minute shift. It's his fifth of the year, meaning he'll be suspended next weekend.
</li><li><strong>MOMENT OF THE MATCH:</strong> In live action, it went unnoticed by the officiating crew as well as broadcasters. But after Video Review, Kendall Waston clearly and recklessly hauled down Lamine Sane on a corner kick in a play that would eventually gift Orlando the lead. Spencer Richey saved Nani's penalty, but the rebound fell perfectly back to him for an easy tap-in.
</li><li><strong>MAN OF THE MATCH:</strong> Tesho Akindele. After battling injuries through most of March, Akindele has returned to become a more consistent fixture in coach James O'Connor's XI than some might have expected. After scoring only twice in all of 2018 — yep, with that July 4 brace — he's sitting on four this campaign, his most since 2016. </li></ul>
Up Next
- ORL: Friday, May 24 vs. LA Galaxy (7 pm ET | UniMas, Twitter, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)
- CIN: Saturday, May 25 vs. New York Red Bulls (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)
