Orlando City's Luis Nani scored on a majestic free kick and new goalkeeper Pedro Gallese came up with a big couple of stops as the Lions won a preseason match over the Montreal Impact 1-0 at Exploria Stadium.
Nani's goal came in the 39th minute (watch video below), two minutes after Gallese made a double save.
"We would like many more things to be better," Orlando head coach Oscar Pareja said. "But we are very content with what we've seen today. It's very good."
The Montreal Impact, who are preparing for a Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 series against Costa Rica's Deportivo Saprissa which starts on Feb. 19, nearly got a late equalizer when Maxi Urruti struck the post with five minutes left in the match.
"I think it's a step in the right direction. Before Nani's goal, we had control of the game," Impact head coach Thierry Henry said postgame. "We were playing well and we were finding each other between the lines. It was a little more difficult for us in the final third, but we managed to settle into their half a few times and hold onto the ball.
"It was a little more difficult after their goal," Henry continued. "We were a little better in the second half. The guys that came on did well and we created some good chances, including Ballou's one-on-one and Urruti's post. In general, we're progressing. It would have been better to win, but I'm happy with the chances we created to score."
Goals:
- ORL - Nani - 39th min.
Lineups:
Orlando City: Pedro Gallese -- Ruan (83' Kyle Smith), Rodrigo Schlegel, Antônio Carlos, Kamal Miller -- Júnior Urso, Uri Rosell (57' Sebastian Mendez), Mauricio Pereyra (77' Andres Perea) -- Benji Michel (62' Chris Mueller), Nani (83' David Loera), Dom Dwyer (57' Tesho Akindele)
Montreal Impact: Evan Bush -- Jorge Corrales (78' Keesean Ferdinand), Rudy Camacho, Luis Binks, Clement Bayiha (78' Zachary Brault-Guillard) -- Samuel Piette, Saphir Taïder (61' Steeven Saba), Mathieu Choinière (71' Shamit Shome) -- Romell Quioto (61' Ballou Tabla), Bojan (71' Anthony Jackson-Hamel), Orji Okwonkwo (46' Maxi Urruti)
