MLS is Back and Orlando kick off with win over rivals Inter Miami
The long awaited return of the 2020 MLS season saw Orlando City record a 2-1 victory over interstate rivals Inter Miami at ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Central Florida.
The game wasn’t a classic but what mattered was play resuming and for life to start getting back to normal for sports fans.The evening started with over 100 members of the Black Players for Change movement demonstrating on the field. Clad in shirts that read “Silence is Violence,” “Black and Proud” and other phrases, they stood around the pitch with a fist raised in honor of the Black Lives Matter movement. The entire protest lasted eight minutes and 46 seconds, in remembrance of George Floyd’s death in police custody this past May in Minneapolis.
The first Florida derby between the two teams, in Group A of the MLS is Back Tournament, started slowly as players found their feet and after a poor first half it was Miami who struck first two minutes after the half time break. Poor defending from the Lions saw Juan Agudelo tap home a low cross from Victor Ulloa inside the 18 yard box.
Orlando’s Designated Player, Nani, then came to life as first he provided the ammunition for Chris Mueller to fire home an equalizer at the back post before securing all three points by poking home a lose ball in the six yard box with three minutes to go.
It was a much needed win for the men in purple and the first in new Head Coach Oscar Pareja’s reign.
